SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Introduction to the
Philosophy of the
Human Person
Quarter 1 – Module 2
Methods of Philosophizing

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 OVERVIEW
Hello dear learners! Welcome to this module on Introduction to the Philosophy of the
Human Person. This module will help you understand the meaning and process of doing
philosophy of the human person as an embodied being in the world and the environment as a
means towards a holistic understanding of life. It contains activities that will help you reflects on a
concrete experience in a philosophical way and demonstrates various ways of doing philosophy
and evaluate opinion. The module is self – instructional and allows you to learn in your own space,
at your own pace. So, relax and enjoy learning.
To the teacher:
This lesson assume that the teacher has already introduced to his/ her learners knowledge
about philosophy and its importance as discipline and a means of understanding life.
The primary goal of this module is to help learners engaged in some simple activities in
order to have necessary skills and understanding and reflects on a concrete experience in a
philosophical way.
To the Learners:
At the end of this module, you will be able to reflect on your daily experiences from a
holistic point of view and acquires critical and analytical thinking skills so that you can apply this
critical and analytical thinking skills to the affairs of your daily life and should be able to
demonstrate a capacity for a critical and analytical reflection from the perspective of a holistic and
profound vision of life.
In order to achieve the objectives of this module, it is necessary to have completed all the
module for you to fully understand the activities and discussions.
Specifically, this module consists of the following lessons:

 Lesson 2.1- Distinguish opinion from truth

 Lesson 2.2 – Realize that the methods of philosophy lead to wisdom and truth
 Lesson 2.3 – Evaluate truth from opinions in different situations using the methods of
philosophizing

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 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

For the learners:

To be guided in achieving the objectives of this module, do the
following:
1. Read and follow instructions carefully.
2. Write all your ANSWERS in your PHILOSOPHY ACTIVITY
NOTEBOOK.
3. Answer the pretest before going through the lessons.
4. Take note and record points for clarification.
5. Compare your answers against the key to answers found at
the end of the module.
6. Do the activities and fully understand each lesson.
7. Answer the self-check to monitor what you learned in each
lesson.
8. Answer the posttest after you have gone over all the lessons.

For the teacher:

To facilitate and ensure the students’ learning from this module,
you are encouraged to do the following (you may edit this part):
1. Clearly communicate learning competencies and objectives
2. Motivate through applications and connections to real life.
3. Give applications of the theory
4. Discuss worked-out examples
5. Give time for hands-on unguided classroom work and
discovery
6. Use formative assessment to give feedback
7. Introduce extensions or generalizations of concepts
8. Engage in reflection questions
9. Encourage analysis through higher order thinking
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 Lesson

2 Method of Philosophizing

The study of this subject is an initiation to the activity and process of philosophical
reflection as a search for a synoptic vision of life. At the end of the course, you should be able to
reflect on their daily experiences from a holistic point of view, acquire critical and analytical
thinking skills and should be able to apply this critical and analytical thinking skills to the affairs of
daily life and become truthful, environment-friendly and service-oriented. Actively committed to
the development of a more humane society and articulate their own philosophy of life.

What I Need to Know

Objectives: After going through this module, you will be able to demonstrate various ways of doing
philosophy and evaluate opinions:

1. Distinguish opinion from truth PPT11/12-Ic-2.1

2. Realize that the methods of philosophy lead to wisdom and truth PPT11/12-Id-2.2
3. Evaluate truth from opinions in different situations using the methods of philosophizing
PPT11/12-Id-2.3

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 What I Know

Before heading on to our lesson, let us first check what you have learned from our previous
lesson.

Direction. Identify each statement. Choose your answer from the box and write them on the space
provided.

Plato Wisdom Doubt Philosophy Holistic Thinking

Love of wisdom Karl Jaspers Partial Thinking Reflection Love

_______________ 1.It is the study or discipline that uses human reason to investigate the
ultimate causes, reasons, and principles which govern all things.
_______________ 2. The Greek term, philosophia, means ______.
_______________ 3. The Greek word, philos, means _________.
_______________ 4. The Greek word, sophia, means _________.
_______________ 5. The Greek philosopher who believes that Philosophy is brought about
by man’s sense of wonder.
_______________ 6. He believes that persons engage in philosophy in order to make sense
of difficult life experiences.
_______________ 7. It is an activity that requires a person to examine his or her thoughts,
feelings, and actions and learn from experience.
_______________ 8. Rene Descartes consider this as a reason why people philosophize.
_______________ 9. It is a perspective that considers the “bigger picture” when looking at
problems and situations.
_______________ 10. It is a perspective that focuses on specific aspects of a situation.

Great job! Later we will see if your answers are correct by reading the rest of this module.

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 What’s In

Philosophical method (or philosophical methodology) is the study of how to do

philosophy. A common view among philosophers is that philosophy is distinguished by the ways
that philosophers follow in addressing philosophical questions. There is not just one method that
philosophers use to answer philosophical questions.
Philosophy is concerned with determining the concept of truth. Truth lies at the heart
of any inquiry.

What’s New

Direction. Choose five words you found inside the box. Write down other related words or ideas
that can you think of in relation to the words you choose. Write you answer on the space
provided.
Box No. 1

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 What is It

Truth in metaphysics and the philosophy of language is the property of sentences, assertions,
beliefs, thoughts, or propositions that are said, in ordinary discourse, to agree with the facts or to
state what the case is. It is most often used to mean being in accord with fact or reality, or fidelity
to an original or standard. Truth is also sometimes defined in modern contexts as an idea of "truth
to self", or authenticity.
Propositions is a statement about the world or reality. Propositions may or may not carry truth.
Knowledge is the clear awareness and understanding of something. It is the product of questions
that allow for clear answers provided by facts.
Facts are propositions or statement which are observe to be real or truthful.
Claim is a statement that is not evidently or immediately known to be true. This means that any
claim can be proven by verification and experimentation.
Therefore, truthful statements can be considered as based on facts.
There are several views regarding truth. Philosophers emphasize the importance of belief as a
basis for determining truth. But as a philosopher, we do not assume that every statement is true.
Remember the famous French philosopher, Rene Descartes traced the need to philosophize to
doubt.
In philosophy, systematic doubt is employed to help determine the truth. This means that every
statement, claim, evidence, and experience is scrutinized and analyzed.
Philosophers always engaged with the concept of truth. Philosophers consider truth as a kind of
quality or value. Knowledge is the clear awareness and understanding of something, since it is true
knowing that we are able to determine what is true.
Doubt has a very important purpose in philosophy as it drives our desire to discover the truth. In
philosophy, systematic doubt is employed to help determine the truth.
A belief is true if it can be justified or proven through the use of one’s senses. Another basis for
determining truth is a belief or statement is true if it is based on facts.
Getting consensus or having people agree on a common belief is another way of determining what
is true. Although this approach has certain limitations. Getting everyone to agree on something
may not take that belief true.
Philosophers also believe that claims and belief should also be subjected to test to determine
truth. In determining truth requires also that a person can prove a statement through an action.

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 Lesson
Distinguish Opinion from Truth
2.1
Let us take a look at the following statements and determine which one states fact or opinion.

- 1. It takes me 30 minutes to walk from my home to school.

- 2. Living near the school is better because we do not have to spend much for
transportation.
- 3. My sister ate the last piece of pizza pie.
- 4. My sister is a selfish person because she ate the last piece of pizza pie and did not
share it with me.
- 5. The policeman firmly pushed the suspect to his knees and placed him in handcuffs.
- 6. The aggressive manner by which the policeman arrested the suspect is an example
of the brutality that characterizes our police force.

Statements 1, 3, and 5 are more factual than statements 2, 4, and 6. Using the philosophical tools
we learned, they fit into the category of facts since they contain ideas or information that are
easily verifiable.
While statements 2, 4, and 6 could be considered as opinions. These statements go beyond
providing facts. It also provide conclusions or perspectives regarding certain situations. Opinions
are also the bases for making arguments and convincing people that a certain claim is a fact.

everybody, but opinions can differ quite widely.

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Examples of an opinion:

 Ann can have the opinion that Italian food tastes best, while Joe has the opinion that French
food is ideal.

 Sue can have the opinion that reading is boring, while Mike can have the opinion that reading is
fun.

 Penny can have the opinion that cold weather is better, while Tim can prefer hot weather.

What I Know

Direction: Give a brief answer to the following question. Write your answer in the space provided.

1. Give 5 examples of a factual statements and 5 examples of an opinion.

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 What’s In

- Opinions are statement that go beyond providing facts.

- A conclusion is a judgment based on certain facts.
- Beliefs are statements that expresses convictions that are not easily and clearly
explained by facts.
- Explanations are statements that assume the claim to be true and provide reasons
why the statement is true.
- Arguments are series of statements that provide reasons to convince the reader or
listener that a claim or opinion is truthful.
- Fallacies are arguments based on faulty reasoning.
- Bias is disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way
that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair.

The facts that form the bases of a conclusion may not be disputed but the conclusion itself
could still be contested or questioned. To judge the truthfulness of belief, we must also consider
things such a person’s experiences and views.
Facts are statements that are observed to be real or truthful. Claims are statements that
require further examination to determine their truthfulness. Some arguments may contain
fallacies. We must be aware of the various kinds of fallacies as these affect the validity of
arguments. Opinions are often influenced by bias. We must be aware of bias so that we can
objectively and critically examine points of view.
Opinion is something intermediary between knowledge and ignorance. While Public
opinion is the intermediate faculty which seizes the things that float between the two extremes
(Plato)
Opinion applies to what, being true or false, may be other than it is: in fact, opinion is the
apprehension of an immediate and unnecessary premise (Aristotle)
Opinion, founded in the probable, perhaps also the name of knowledge (Leibniz)
Opinion is a belief that is conscious of being insufficient both subjectively and objectively
(Kant)
An opinion gives for truth something that has been said, although sometimes they are
absurd words, which mean nothing, impossible to understand (Hobbes)
Public opinion is the convergence of the opinions of the greatest number of people in a
community, so that they form a common and dominant feeling, exerting diffuse pressure (Freund)

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The following are the examples of fallacies.

Fallacy
Ad hominem
Appeal to force
Appeal to emotion
Appeal to the popular
Appeal to tradition
Begging the question
Cause-and-effect
Fallacy of composition
Fallacy of division
Characteristics
attacking the person presenting the argument instead of the
argument itself.
using the threat of force or an undesirable event to advance an
argument.
using emotions such as pity or sympathy.
the idea is presented as acceptable because a lot of people
accept it.
the idea is acceptable because it has been true for a long time.
assuming the thing or idea to be proven is true; also known as
circular argument.
assuming “cause-and-effect” relationship between unrelated
events
assuming that what is true of a part is true for the whole
assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its parts.

The following are the examples of biases.

Bias Characteristics
Correspondence bias or effect tendency to judge a person’s personality by his or her
attribution actions, without regard for the external factors or influence.
Confirmation bias tendency to look for and readily accept information which fits
one’s own beliefs or views and to reject ideas or views that go
against it.
Framing focusing on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring other
aspects.
Hindsight the tendency to see past events as predictable, or to ascribe a
pattern to historical events.
Conflict of interest a person or group is connected to or has a vested interest in
the issue being discussed.
Cultural bias analyzing an event or issue based on one’s cultural standards

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 Lesson
Methods of Philosophy Lead to
2.2 Wisdom and Truth
The methods of philosophy will help to learn the process of doing philosophy in a
systematic way. On the other hand, philosophizing is to think or express oneself in a philosophical
manner.
Although philosophy is an organized body of knowledge, the subject matter of philosophy
is questions, which have three major characteristics;
1. Philosophical questions have answers but the answers remain in dispute.
2. Philosophical questions cannot be settled by science, common sense, or faith.
3. Philosophical questions are of perennial intellectual interest to human beings.
The methodology or method that philosophers use to address philosophical question is
critical thinking.
Critical Thinking is the careful, reflective, rational and systematic approach to questions of
very general interest.
Critical thinking means understanding if philosophy and refraining from merely giving
claims but through careful thought, one reasons through to argumentation.
The scientific method also leads to wisdom and truth because it uses an evidence- based
approach to come up with its conclusion. In this method, all truths are supported by facts that can
easily be tested or proven again through experiments, logical reasoning, or observation.

What I Know

Direction: Give a brief answer to the following question. Write your answer on the space provided.

1. How will you determine the truth from an opinion?

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 _______________________________________________________________
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What’s In

An understanding of opinions and facts and the mean to distinguish one from the other can
further improve our understanding and appreciation of varied views and ideas.
The ability to determine truth goes hand in hand with the holistic perspective and enables
us to make wiser decisions, especially in choosing then ideas and views which we find acceptable.
A critical mind aided by philosophy can help us from our own personal point of view that
can guide us in making decisions and actions when we faced with a problem.
Philosophy can help us determine ideas that are truthful and acceptable, which we can use
to form our own views regarding certain matters
For Maboloc and Pascua (2008) critical thinking is a lifelong process of self- assessment
that further consists of:
Defining, analyzing and devising solutions,
Arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions
Applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems.
Willingness to say “I don’t know.”
The attributes of a critical thinker include;
Looks for evidence to support assumption and beliefs
Adjusts opinion
Looks for proof
Examines the problem
Rejects irrelevant and innocent information

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 Lesson
Evaluate Truth from Opinions in Different
2.3 Situations Using the Methods of Philosophizing

A method of philosophizing is a process of determining the truth or drawing conclusions

from a statement using various philosophical methods, such as: Socratic, dialectic, scientific, and
historical.
When you evaluate information, it is very important to distinguish between fact and
opinion. How do we know if something is true? Philosophers emphasize the importance of belief
as a basis for determining truth. It is said that there are instances when we have to unlearn
something so that we may learn anew.
Philosophers questioned what they knew and even analyzed their methods of knowing in
order to understand themselves and the world much better.
The discussion on truth is part of philosophical studies on knowledge where philosophers
explore the nature of knowledge and the ways of knowing.

What’s New

Direction: Complete the table below. Apply systematic doubt in analyzing the statement. Write
your answer on the box provided.

I am alive
I have a body
I can breathe

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 What is It

Both the Socratic and dialectic method are based on a discussion between two or more
people who may carry differing views but wish to pursue the truth by seeking an agreement with
one another. Meanwhile, the scientific method is a process of determining truth or knowledge
through experimentation, inductive and deductive reasoning, and hypothesis or theory testing.
The scientific method, also called empirical method, is a process of determining truth or
knowledge through experimentation, inductive and deductive reasoning, and hypothesis or theory
testing.
Logic is the truth based on reasoning and critical thinking. It includes analysis and
construction of arguments. It serves as path to freedom from half-truths and deception.

Deductive Reasoning
In this type of reasoning, conclusion comes first, followed by main points, and the last will
be the supporting data, facts, examples, and evidences. General idea comes first before the
specific or particular idea.

Inductive Reasoning

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 In this type of reasoning, supporting data, facts, examples, and evidences come first
followed by the main points and conclusion will be the last part. This is the vice versa of the
deductive reasoning because particular idea comes first before the general idea.

What’s More

Direction: Read the conversation below and answer the following question. Write your answer on
the space provided.
Lover’s Quarrel
Shanon: Did you hear about what happened between Angel and her boyfriend?
Vanvan: What happened?
Shanon: They got a huge fight last night. Angel called me up. She was crying and she said that Mike
hit her.
Dean: Wait, what? That’s not right? Mike came by my place last night and he was pretty shaken
up. He had scratch marks on his arms and a bite on his left hand. He said Angel just attacked her
and was accusing him of seeing another girl.
Shanon: No! Angel said it was Mike who started to hit her and she had to defend herself!

Question 1: As friend of Angel and Mike, how will you react to the statements given?
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 What I Have Learned

Direction. Fill in the blanks. Choose your answer from the box and write your answer on the space
provided.

Doubt Truth Senses

Consensus Bias Opinion

- Philosophy is concerned with determining the concept of _________________. Truth lies

at the heart of any inquiry.
- In philosophy, systematic __________________ is employed to help determine the truth.
This means that every statement, claim, evidence, and experience is scrutinized and
analyzed.
- There are various philosophical views regarding truth. One perspective is that a belief is
true if it can be justified or proven through the use of one’s_______________________, a
belief or statement is true if it is based on facts. Another way of determining what is true is
getting a _______________________or having people agree on a common belief.
Philosophers also believe that claims and belief should also be subjected to tests to
determine truth.
- Opinions are statements which not only give facts but also provide conclusions or
perspective regarding certain situations.
- Arguments often take the form of statements that are either claims of facts and are
phrased in such a way that they seem reasonable. Hence, some arguments may contain
fallacies which means they are products of faulty reasoning.
- __________________ or the personal views of the person presenting it affect the way he
or she sees reality.

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 What I Can Do

Direction. Select one issue from the current issues in our society today. How do you apply
methods of philosophizing in determining the truth. Write your answer on the space provided.
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 Assessment

After our lesson, let us now check what you have learned.
Direction. Identify the following statement. Choose your answer form the box. Write your answer
on the space provided.

Facts Cultural of Bias Truth Framing Knowledge

Appeal to Fallacies Opinion Ad Hominem Conflict of Interest
Tradition

_______________ 1. It is the clear awareness and understanding of something.

_______________ 2. These are statements which are observed to be real or truthful.

_______________ 3. These are comprised of statements that provide views on a certain matter.

_______________ 4. These are arguments based on faulty reasoning.

_______________ 5. It is most often used to mean being in .accord with fact or reality, or fidelity to an
original

or standard.

_______________ 6. A fallacy which is attacking the person presenting the argument instead of the
argument

itself

_______________ 7. A fallacy which the idea is acceptable because it has been true for a long time.

_______________ 8. A kind of biases which is focusing on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring
other

aspects.

_______________ 9. A kind of biases which a person or group is connected to or has a vested interest in
the

issue being discussed.

_______________ 10. Is by analyzing an event or issue based on one’s cultural stand.

Congratulations! You have completed your journey in this module. You did a great job, it’s now
time to go on to the next adventure…Good luck!

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Answer Key

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REFERENCES
Roberto D. Abella, M.Div., D.Min. (2016). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person.
Philosophical_methodology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_methodology
Truth-philosophy-and-logic https://www.britannica.com/topic/truth-philosophy-and-logic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Truth Bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Bias Methods-of-philosophy https://www.powtoon.com/online-
presentation/fBoYdDSqWuT/realize-the-methods-of- philosophy-that-lead-to-wis/?mode=movie
Opinion https://www.the-philosophy.com/opinion-philosophical-definitions
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/opinion-examples.html
https://study.com/academy/lesson/facts-vs-opinions-examples-games-activities.html
http://www.ufh.ac.za/library/InfoLit/fact.html https://study.com/academy/lesson/facts-vs-
opinions-examples-games-activities.html https://hickslibrary.weebly.com/librarians-blog/facts-vs-
opinions https://gillemanalo.wordpress.com
http://images.slideplayer.com/28/9351128/slides/slide_2.jpg
https://www.slideshare.net/arielgilbuena7/ https://www.teachstarter.com/au/teaching-resource-
collection/fact-and-opinion/ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/prek-12-subject-
area/test-preparation/Type- of-Resource/Rubrics Short story author: Lovella D. Tompong

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