Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction To The Philosophy of The Human Person: Supplementary Learning Material Lesson 2: Methods of Philosophizing
Introduction To The Philosophy of The Human Person: Supplementary Learning Material Lesson 2: Methods of Philosophizing
Philosophy of the
Human Person
Supplementary Learning Material
Select the keyword that best fits the statement in each item. Write the chosen letter
on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Which fallacy literally means hitting the person below the belt instead of
focusing on the issue at hand?
A. mora licensing
B. equivocation
C. argumentum ad baculum
D. ad hominem
2
6. Which among these headlines presented information that are fair, objective,
and moderate?
A. It’s time to consider other means of cash aid distribution
B. Other countries around the world have much better means in cash
aid distribution
C. Government vows to faster distribution of coronavirus aid
D. We can also learn lesson from Vietnam how they distribute their cash
aid
9. Which among the following authors could be the most credible according to
his or her Twitter account’s background?
A. Banat By – Simpleng tao na mahilig bumanat
B. Atom Araullo- Journalist. @ UNHCPPh Goodwill Ambassador
C. AkoNgaSY Lyco- Speak now or be silent forever. Follow me I will not
follow you
D. Senyora- Full time haciendera and professional husgadera
10. Which among the following publishers pose no particular agenda or bias?
A. Bulag Ang ABS-CBN sa Katotohanan by Antonio Brigas
B. ABS-CBN Naipasara Sanhi ng Di Pagrenew ng Prangkisa by GMA
News
C. Nararapat Lamang na Huwag ng Magbukas ang ABS-CBN by Balat
Sibuyas
D. Bye Bye Kapamilya by the Avengers
3
Lesson
Methods of Philosophizing
1
Truth is one of the significant lessons in philosophy. It has been a topic of discussion
in its own right for many years. Moreover, its value and influence to man’s life cannot
be denied.
What’s In
ACTIVITY: Unscramble Letters (Critical Thinking)
Directions: Unscramble the following letters to identify the concept being described.
UNSCARMBLED LETTERS DESCRIPTION ANSWER:
4
What’s New
ACTIVITY: Comic Strip (Critical Thinking, Communication, Character)
Directions: Analyze the comic strip and answer the following questions.
1. Look at the comic strip. Do you agree with the reasoning of the person inside
the car? Why or why not?
2. If you are the biker, how would you react to the remarks of the person inside
the car?
What is It
Philosophers generally believe that reason is the road to wisdom. However they have
different interpretations of what reason consists of and some philosophers even
challenge the pre-eminence of reason in the pursuit of wisdom.
I. METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING
5
1. The dialectic method
This method of philosophizing was conceived by the
Greek philosopher Socrates, (born 470 BCE) one of the
great philosophers of the ancient world.
Unfortunately, he did not leave any written words and
everything people know about him came from the
Dialogues written by his famous student, Plato.
life which is based on the proper care of one’s soul (psyche in Greek). The soul,
according to Socrates, can be properly taken care of if we make it as good as
possible (Stumpf 2008). Since by its very nature the soul’s activity is to know,
the soul can only be good if we employ it in the activity of having a clear
awareness of the meaning of some words (Stumpf 2008). When we have a clear
awareness of what justice is, we harm our soul if we act contrary to what we
know, like harming others (which is the opposite of being just).
6
and corrupting the youth. His defense (which was dramatically recorded in
Plato’s dialogue the Apology) was a model of “forceful argument” (Stumpf 2008)
but it fell on deaf ears. In the end, he was forced to drink poison. Socrates was
the first philosopher to die fighting for truth.
The Socratic Method was modernized and treated in a different way by George
Wilhelm Hegel, a German philosopher. Hegel was an idealist. He believed that
the ideas of the human minds have access of what the world is like. People are
social beings and could be completely influenced by other people’s ideas. An
individual’s mind is influenced by means of a common language, customs of
one’s society, and the cultural institutions that one belongs to. Hegel refers
this to “Spirit” as the collective consciousness of a society which is responsible
for honing one’s consciousness and ideas.
Hegel also believed that the Spirit is constantly changing and evolving.
According to Hegel, the spirit changes through dialectic. First, there is an idea
about the world (much like a thesis), which has a natural characteristic of
having errors which give rise to the antithesis.
The thesis and antithesis can be eventually resolved by creating a synthesis
which is a new idea comprised of the essentials of both the thesis and the
antithesis.
To Hegel, society and culture follow this design, and one could understand all
of human history without the use of logic or empirical data simply by using
logic (Klein, 2013).
7
2. The Pragmatic Method
Hundreds of years after the death of Socrates, a new philosophy emerged as
inspired by the idea of change initiated by the evolutionary thoughts of Hegel
and Darwin in 19th century America. This philosophy became known as
pragmatism. It was started by Charles S. Pierce (1839-1914), popularized by
William James (1842-1910) and institutionalized in American culture by John
Dewey (1859-1952).
What pragmatism aims is to test the dogma of science, religion and philosophy
by determining their practical results. The pragmatic test is: if I practice this
belief, will it bring success or failure? Will I solve problems or create problems?
Successful experience is the verification process of truth for the pragmatists
(Stumpf 2008).
8
science was on the ascendancy prompted by the great discoveries of Galileo,
Newton, and Darwin among others. Husserl himself was impressed by the
achievements of science. Unfortunately, according to Husserl, science brings a
certain attitude which is counterproductive to the human soul: the naturalistic
attitude (or simply naturalism).
Naturalism in this context is the idea that everything can be explained in terms
of matter or the physical. Since man is not only physical (i.e. body) but also
spiritual, this naturalistic attitude brings a distorted view of man by banishing
the spiritual from the world which includes the banishment of ideas, values,
and cultures (Husserl, 1965).
Husserl’s main purpose was to build a philosophy free from any biases or
preconceived ideas. One can only do this if one returns to immediate
experience. Husserl said that he was only looking to “things and facts
themselves, as these are given in actual experience and intuition” (quoted by
Stumpf 2008). This experience is not the objective world of science separate
from us, but the world as it appears to us or (borrowing the term of the 18 th
century German philosopher Immanuel Kant) the phenomenal world - hence,
the term phenomenology.
However, our beliefs about human beings and the world prevent us from seeing
clearly this immediate experience which he calls “pure subjectivity”. Thus, to
know the truth, we have to put aside one by one all our limiting beliefs about
the world which represents our biases. Husserl calls this process
phenomenological epoche (epoche is the Greek word for bracketing).
Bracketing is not ignoring. It is an act of stepping back at our biases and
prejudices to make sure that they do not influence the way we think. Only facts
provided by immediate experience must influence us.
9
4. The Primary and Secondary reflections
Another influential intellectual movement which had its roots in the 19th
century ideas of Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-
1900) was existentialism.
Kierkegaard’s ideas were in part a reaction against the overly ambitious system
building the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831).
On the other hand, Nietzsche’s ideas were a reaction
against the religious and rational value system still
prevalent in 19th century Europe (Stumpf 2008).
While Kierkegaard was religious and Nietzsche was
atheistic (atheism is the denial of the supernatural),
they both grounded their philosophy on the personal
choices of the individual which becomes one of the
important tenets of existentialism.
10
From this example, you will see that reflection arise when there is a disruption
from your normal routine and when something valuable is at stake.
Then, Marcel identified two levels of reflection: primary reflection and
secondary reflection. Marcel applied these two levels of reflection to the most
fundamental question: Who am I?
Yet, we had an uneasy feeling that all the information we put on the form
(although true) do not fully capture who we really are (Marcel 1970). We view
that our self is bigger and more expansive than what is there on the form. Thus,
we are not merely thinking but we are thinking about thinking and about the
process we perform in answering the form. This is the secondary reflection.
The result of secondary reflection is a more expansive view of the self until it
embraces the world. Thus, the separation of the self and the world brought
about by primary reflection were united by the secondary reflection.
11
make propositions clear”. Analytic philosophers employed various methods of
linguistic analysis such as the principle of verification and logical analysis
(Rudolf Carnap). What we are going to use is the method of Wittgenstein.
However he soon realized that words had multiple functions depending on the
context to which it occurs. Wittgenstein used the analogy of “tools in a tool box”
(Wittgenstein 1968). If we look at the tools inside a tool box ‘there is a hammer,
pliers, a saw, a screw driver, a ruler, a glue pot, glue nails and screw. The
functions of words is as diverse as the functions of these objects’ (quoted by
Stumpf 2008).
What Wittgenstein wants is to analyze language in the way actual people used
it in ordinary situations and not to construct an ideal language based on logic
and mathematics like what Russell seems to be doing.
To analyze language, we have to realize that it follows rules. If there are rules
in every aspect of life, there are certainly rules on how we put together and
communicate words. Wittgenstein believed that these rules are like the rules of
games (Wittgenstein 1968)-language games. For example, the usage of words
like “demand”, “supply”, “money”, “price” in the context of economics differ
from its usage in everyday life. These are technical words and they follow certain
rules (i.e. the language game) within that discipline that affects the way these
words are used.
12
Lesson DIFFERENT FALLACIES
2
You have just learned that it is not enough to acquire knowledge but you should
analyze if that knowledge you have acquired is truthful or not. Philosophizing involves
the gift of speech and the gift of intelligence that enable us to reason out and detect
the falsity or truthfulness of a statement. When one reasons out, he/she expresses his
opinion and when others disagree, then argument begins. In philosophical parlance
argument is not an emotional reptilian word war or a territorial show of force between
persons but a philosophical method in knowing the truth of a certain phenomenon or
reality. It is a set of statements which includes the premises and conclusion (the latter
is the one that claims the truth of the premises) (Cornejo & Ebia, 2017).
However, there are arguments that are erroneous or based from faulty
reasoning called Fallacies (Abella, 2016). Unconsciously, we are culprits of this in our
daily interaction with people including our families and friends. Even TV commercials
intentionally employ some faulty reasoning to convince their target market to
purchase their products. Lawyers outwit each other by employing some fallacies to
defend their clients. I am sure you are familiar with the famous “Flip Top Battles”
group in today’s digital world. Shall we say a modern dialectical approach which
appeal not only to the mind but also to our aesthetic sense? They entertain audience
and it is awesome how they display their wit to outsmart each other in a poetic
manner. It becomes an art and aesthetically superb, but if you go beyond
entertainment and analyze their statements there are a lot of faulty reasoning going
on. Below are some of the Fallacies which we believe you need to be aware of. Abella,
Roberto D. in his book “Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person” laid
down some of these fallacies:
13
FALLACY Short Description Examples
1.Argumentum ad Hominem came from Latin word “How can we believe him
Hominem “homo” which means man. This when he talks about social
“Attacking the fallacy literally means hitting the distancing, he is a lawyer who
Person” person below the belt instead of is a liar.”
focusing on the issue at hand.
2. Argumentum ad Baculum is a Latin word which “TV Patrol is the best news
Baculum means scepter or stick. A scepter is program on TV. If you don’t
(Appeal to Force) a symbol of authority. Normally it believe me, I won’t let you
is the Pope who carries it in his watch the TV.
hands. This is committed when a
person uses threat or force to
advance an argument.
3. Argumentum ad Misercordiam came from Latin “Forgive me officer, there are
Misercordiam word Misericordia which means lot of boarders in this
(Appeal to Pity) pity or compassion. A person uses apartment including myself.
emotion such as pity to convince Only the owner was issued a
someone quarantine pass. We don’t
have food, we can’t give our
ATM to the owner. That’s why
I went out. So I did not violate
the Bayanihan Act Heal as
One.”
4. Argumentum ad Populum is the Latin word for “I’m sure you want to have an
Populum people. Most of TV commercials i phone. Almost 80% of your
“Appeal to people”/ are guilty of this argument which schoolmates are using it.”
Bandwagon fallacy exploit people’s vanity, desires,
etc.
5. Argumentum ad Traditio means tradition. All of us in the family, from
Tradition Advancing an idea since it has our ancestors up to now,
“Appeal to Tradition” been practice for a long time. are devout
Catholics, so it is only right
that you will be
baptized as a Catholic.
6. Argumentum and Ignorantiam a Latin word for According to Zecharia
Ignorantiam ignorance. Whatever has been Sitchin, the author of the book
“Appeal to Ignorance” proven false must be true and vice “Cosmic Code, “Adam was
versa the first test tube baby. Since
nobody proves otherwise,
therefore it is true.”
7. Petitio Principii According to Merriam Webster’s “God exists because the Bible
(Begging the dictionary (www.merriam- says so. The Bible
Question)
14
webster.com>dictionary>petitiopr is inspired. Therefore we
incipii) know that God
, it is a fallacy in which a Exists.”
conclusion is taken for granted in
the premises. Also called-“circular
argument.”
8. Hasty This fallacy is committed when Our neighbor who is a police
Generalization one reaches a generalization officer was convicted of being
based on insufficient evidence a drug dealer, therefore, all
police officers are drug
dealers.
9. Cause and Effect Assuming that the effect is related “My teacher didn’t collect
to a cause because both events the homework two weeks
occur one after the other. in a row when my friend
was absent. Therefore, my
friend being absent is the
reason why my teacher
doesn’t collect
the homework.”
10. Fallacy of Infers that something is true of a “You are a doctor, therefore
Composition part, is true of a whole you came from
a family of doctors.”
11. Fallacy of Division Infers that something is true of “Your family is smart,
the whole, must also be true on its therefore you are
parts smart.”
12. Fallacy of Using the same term in a different “Humans walk by their legs.
Equivocation situation with different meaning. The table has legs.
Therefore the table
walks by its legs.”
15
Michigan State University reference librarian Terry Link suggests examining the
following factors when evaluating the quality of a Web site:
Authority: Who is the author and what are his or her qualifications? Who is the
publisher and what is the purpose of the site?
Verifiability: Are sources provided?
Timeliness: Is the information current? When was it posted and/or last updated?
Relevance: Does the material contain unsubstantiated generalizations?
Bias: Is the language emotional or inflammatory? Does the information represent
a single opinion or a range of opinions?
Orderliness: Is the page arranged in an order that makes sense? Are underlying
assumptions identifiable? Is the information consistent?
Clarity: Is the information clearly stated? Does the author define important
terms?
Validity: Do the facts presented support the conclusions?
Likewise, when we critique sources, we must first understand the difference between
fact and opinion.
FACT OPINION
A fact is a statement that can be proven An opinion is a statement of belief which
true or false. may or may not be backed up by facts,
but cannot be proven true or false.
Is objective Is subjective
Is discovered Is created
States reality Interprets reality
Can be verified Cannot be verified
16
contact information, such as an email or snail-mail address.
Once students have located sources that appear appropriate and credible, Harris
advises students to subject the sites to the CARS checklist for informational quality.
The four components of the CARS checklist are:
Credibility: What about this source makes it believable?
Accuracy: Is the information provided up-to-date, factual, detailed, exact, and
comprehensive?
Reasonableness: Is the information fair, objective, moderate, and consistent?
Support: Can the information be corroborated?
C. HOW DO I KNOW?
Harris suggests that, when evaluating those four components, students examine the
sites based on the following:
Type -- determine whether the URL includes .gov (government), .edu or .ac
(educational/academic), .com (commercial), .org (nonprofit organization), or. ~
(personal page).
Publisher -- determine whether the organization, agency, school, business, or
individual maintaining the site is likely to have a particular agenda or bias.
Author -- determine the author's education, training, and background to find out
whether he or she is a trained expert, an experienced enthusiast, or an uninformed
observer.
Structure -- determine whether the format is clear, logical, and easily navigable.
Language -- determine whether the text contains emotional, inflammatory,
profane, or confusing language. Count the number of spelling, grammatical, and
typographical errors. Too many mistakes can indicate carelessness and suggest
informational errors as well.
Dates -- determine when the information was published and/or updated. If
possible, check the publication dates of supporting data.
Graphics -- determine whether images and animations take up a disproportionate
amount of space in relation to their informational value. Decide whether the
graphics convey information, add interest, provide interactivity, or simply
distract.
Links -- determine whether the site's bibliography and/or links contain both
supportive and contradictory information.
17
What’s More
Directions: Analyze the following pictures. Write BILIB if the picture followed CARS
(Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, and Supported) and write NOT if it did not
follow CARS according to Robert Harris. Afterwards, explain your answer.
18
ACTIVITY 3: LET’S APPLY (Critical Thinking, Character)
Directions: Fill in the table below with the main proponents of methods of philosophizing.
For each method, answer the questions: “How can you find truth using this method?” and
“On what real-life situation can you apply this method?”
On what real-life
How can you find
Methods of Main situation can you
truth using this
Philosophizing Proponent(s) apply this
method?
method?
19
1. Dialectic
2. Pragmatic
3. Phenomenological
4. Primary and
Secondary
Reflections
5. Analytic
20
What I Can Do
THESIS ANTI-
SYNTHESI
S
21
ACTIVITY 2: COMIC CON
(Critical Thinking, Character, Communication, Creativity)
Directions: Draw a comic strip that portrays ONE type of fallacy. Explain your work.
Explanation:
22
Assessment
Select the keyword that best fits the statement in each item. Write the chosen letter
on a separate sheet of paper.
1. What type of fallacy is present in the statement, “Before we begin the debate,
everyone here should know that my opponent is a convicted felon”?
A. mora licensing
B. equivocation
C. argumentum ad baculum
D. ad hominem
5. What type of fallacy is present in the statement, “My father smoked four
packs of cigarettes a day since age fourteen and lived until age sixty-nine.
Therefore, smoking really can’t be that bad for you”?
A. ad misericordiam
B. false analogy
C. hasty generalization
D. post hoc
23
6. Which among these headlines presented information that are fair,
objective, and moderate?
A. It’s time to consider other means of cash aid distribution
B. Other countries around the world have much better means in cash
aid distribution
C. Government vows to faster distribution of coronavirus aid
D. We can also learn lesson from Vietnam how they distribute their cash
aid
9. Which among the following authors could be the most credible according to
his or her Twitter account’s background?
A. Banat By – Simpleng tao na mahilig bumanat
B. Atom Araullo- Journalist. @ UNHCPPh Goodwill Ambassador
C. AkoNgaSY Lyco- Speak now or be silent forever. Follow me I will not
follow you
D. Senyora- Full time haciendera and professional husgadera
10. Which among the following publishers pose no particular agenda or bias?
A. Bulag Ang ABS-CBN sa Katotohanan by Antonio Brigas
B. ABS-CBN Naipasara Sanhi ng Di Pagrenew ng Prangkisa by GMA
News
C. Nararapat Lamang na Huwag ng Magbukas ang ABS-CBN by Balat
Sibuyas
D. Bye Bye Kapamilya by the Avengers
24
Additional Activities
ACTIVITY: EVERYDAY FALLACIES (Critical Thinking, Communication, Character)
Directions:
A. Observe conversations of your parents and identify three (3) common fallacies.
B. Watch commercials on TV and news and take note of the fallacies committed.
Identify 5 fallacies and write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. In your relationship with your family, what common fallacy or fallacies you
commit as an alibi for any wrongdoing? Narrate at least two occasions.
2. Do you think Fallacy can help us in finding the truth? Why or why not?
3. What methods of philosophizing do you think are most useful in finding the
truth? Explain?
25
References
Books
Copi, Irving M. and Cohen, Carl (2002). Introduction to Logic (11 th edition). New
Jersey: Prentice Hall
Peikoff, Leonard (1990). Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. New York: Dutt
26
Rand, Ayn (1990). Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (2 nd edition). New York: Meridian
Stumpf, Samuel Enoch & Fieser, James (2008). Socrates to Sartre and Beyond (8 th
edition). New Yok: McGraw Hill
Websites
St. Joseph’s College (2019). Evaluating Sources: Fact Checking, Fake News, and
Bias: Fact vs Opinion. Retrieved from:
https://brooklyn.sjcny.libguides.com/c.php?g=648836&p=4692986
27