INTRODUCTION TO THE

PHILOSOPHY
OF THE HUMAN PERSON

Prelim - MODULE 1 Introduction to Philosophy PPT11-Ia-1.1

VISION STATEMENT: MISSION STATEMENT:

Liceo de Luisiana is a Catholic institution of learning
which commits herself to prepare the Liceans as agents of
evangelization and social transformation through holistic
Christian formation in the promotion of quality of life.
We the Liceans commit ourselves to the attainment of
academic excellence, promotion of Christian values, and
improvement of quality of life for social transformation
through quality Catholic education and by being
MakaDiyos, Makatao, Makabayan and Makakalikasan.

PROGRAM GOAL:

This Learning Module is new tool created by the teachers of San Pablo Diocesan Catholic Schools System, to provide
the K to 12 Curriculum for our teachers and students to be used in this New Normal.

Subject Title: Prepared by: Checked by: Approved by:

PPT11 Mr. Bernardo R. Sitoy Mrs. Dolores C. Esperanza Ms. Mimosa L. Rondilla

SUBJECT SYLLABUS:
Prelims TOPICS
Weeks 1 & 2 1. Introduction
a. What is Philosophy?
b. Definition of Philosophy of Human Person
c. Major Branches of Philosophy
Weeks 3 & 4 2. Brief History of Philosophy
Midterms TOPICS
Weeks 1 & 2 1. Value and Methods of Philosophy
Weeks 3 & 4 2. Value of Truth
Semi-Finals TOPICS
Weeks 1 & 2 1. Who is the Human Person?
The Nature of Human Person as an Embodied Spirit
Weeks 3 & 4 2. Human Person and their Environment
Finals TOPIC
Weeks 1 & 2 1. What is the Meaning of Life
2. Is Death the End of Life

REFERENCES:
Atim, B. C. N. (2019). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person. Makati City: DIWA Learning Systems Inc.
Online Resources

SUBJECT REQUIREMENTS:
1. Read carefully the entire syllabus, making sure that all aspects are clear to you.
2. Written Reports. Be prepared in our online discussion of the topics. Write-up due as assigned. Submit your
assignment and output in due time.
3. Quizzes/Performance Outcome/Output/Assignment
4. Examination

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5. Active Participation during our online discussion.
Introduction to Philosophy
Self-Learning Module
Prelims
Date: _____________

Name of Students :_______________________________________________________________________

Grade and Section :_______________________________________________________________________
What to know – Objectives of the lesson
a. Introduce the course Philosophy (of the Human Person);
b. Understand the history and importance of the Philosophy of the human person; and
c. Express one’s philosophy in life.

What’s in it? – Motivation

Watch the video “What is Philosophy”. Please refer to your OTG or on our FB page.

What do I know? SAY SOMETHING

Before we start, kindly define Philosophy in not less than 20 words.

1. What is Philosophy? _______________________________________________________________________________________

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”Philosophy" comes from the two Greek words “philo” and

"sophia." Philo means love and Sophia means wisdom.
Literally, Philosophy is the Love of Wisdom.

Philosophy begins with a sense of wonder.

Human being wonders at God, the world, and his/her
very being. Among the ancient Greek thinkers,
philosophy was mainly a wonder at the cosmic realities
around them. However, in the medieval times, the
focus of philosophy was shifted to God. But with
Renaissance and Reformation that ushered in the next
phase of philosophical thinking, and more especially with the philosophy of Descartes,
the main object of philosophy became human being. This does not mean that early
philosophers were unaware of the importance of appreciating the human person. In fact,
we find Socrates and few other thinkers attempted at understanding human person.
With the rise of experimental sciences in the modern times, human person has become
the primary and exclusive object of many disciplines like psychology, psychoanalysis,
sociology, anthropology, political science, etc. Now-a-days even in theology, there is
an anthropological trend. However, the approach and object of Philosophy of Human
Person is quite different from these sciences as we shall discuss them at a later stage.

Philosophy of Human Person could be roughly understood as an attempt to unify

disparate ways of understanding behavior of humans as both creatures of their social
environments and creators of their own values. Although the majority of philosophers
throughout the history of philosophy can be said to have a distinctive ‘anthropology’
that undergirds their thought, Philosophy of Human Person itself, as a specific discipline
in philosophy, arose within the later modern period as an outgrowth from developing
methods in philosophy, such as phenomenology and existentialism. The former, which
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draws its energy from methodical reflection on human experience (first person
perspective) as from the philosopher's own personal experience, naturally aided the
emergence of philosophical explorations of human nature and the human condition. The
latter, with its major concern on interpersonal relationships and the ontology involved
during these relationships, also helped in the growth of Philosophy of Human Person.
Among these relationships, inter-subjectivity is a major theme, which studies how two
individuals, subjects, whose experiences and interpretations of the world are radically
different in understanding each other and relate to each other.

DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON

Philosophy of Human Person can be defined as the science of human beings which
interprets the data of experience in the light of metaphysical principles. It has two
sources, namely, the data of experience supplied mainly by everyday experience, which
is confirmed by experimental sciences and the metaphysical principles supplied by
ontology or by metaphysics. Thus, Philosophy of Human Person is a combination of
science and metaphysics.

Again, we can consider Philosophy of Human Person as that branch of philosophy

which concerns itself with trying to respond to those deepest and perennial questions
about human beings - questions that have plagued humans ever since history began.
Here, our attempt is to respond to these issues, and not answer them. For, the word
‘answer’ seems to imply more or less complete and thorough rejoinder to the matter, an
exhaustive conclusion ‘once-and-for-all.’ But we must remember that we are dealing
with human being who is a mystery to be understood more and more than a problem to
be solved once and for all. We cannot demand a conclusive, authoritative answer but
only a response.

Some of the typical questions that Philosophy of Human Person raises are: What
do humans have in common with the rest of the material world? What are the
implications of this common bond between humans and the rest of the material world?
Which are those aspects of human that set him/her apart from the rest of the animal
world? How significant are these differences? Is there some explanation that gets to the
root of human’s uniqueness? Is this explanation defensible in the forum of reason? What
is the origin of human life? What is its goal? The bulk of Philosophy Human Person is
basically an exploration into the above mentioned questions and into the ramification of
the answers generated by them. Thus the key issues that this course will tackle are life
and evolution, knowledge, language, will, freedom, life, inter-subjectivity, person, death
and immortality and self-transcendence.
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Major Branches of Philosophy

Philosophy covers a wide range of subjects. The following are the major branches
of philosophy.
Ethics
Ethics, which is derived from the Greek term ethos meaning
“custom,” is concerned about human conduct. As a normative
study, it deals with norms or standards of right and wrong
applicable to human behavior. It is considered as prescriptive as it
prescribes what people ought to do rather than describes what
people do. A philosopher engaged in ethics is concerned in
finding out what norms or standards of human behavior lead to ends or goals that are
desirable or undesirable. His or her evaluation and analysis are directed toward
knowing whether there are higher human ends that may be considered as the chief end
of man. What constitutes this end is analyzed through the nature of a human being and
his or her moral and social virtues in relation with others.

Aesthetics
Aesthetics comes from the Greek word
aisthetikos, which means “sensitive” or
“perceptive.” In this branch of philosophy, the
philosopher is concerned with the analysis of
aesthetic experience and the idea of what is
beautiful. The analysis is directed toward the
nature of aesthetic judgment, standards of
beauty, and the objectivity of these standards in response to the questions raised about
the meaning of aesthetic experience.
In aesthetics, philosophers analyze whether beauty is based on utility, experience,
form, pleasure, or expression. For example, if you look at a painting or any kind of
artwork, what are your bases of judgment to say that it is beautiful? How does a panel
of judges decide who wins a beauty pageant? How are paintings priced?

Epistemology
Epistemology comes from the
Greek word epistēmē, which
means “knowledge.” This
branch of philosophy deals with
various problems concerning
knowledge. Among the major
concerns in epistemology are the
origin of knowledge—whether
empiricism (given by
experience) or rationalism
(given by the mind prior to
experience)—and the
verification or confirmation of
knowledge. Other highly specialized problems in this branch of philosophy include the
distinction between belief and knowledge, the nature of truth, the problems of
perception, the external world, and meaning and other minds.
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 Logic
Logic is the branch of philosophy that
looks into whether there are rules or
principles that govern reasoning. As a
study of reasoning, logic incorporates
the analysis of the methods of
deduction and induction to provide the
rules on how people ought to think
logically. Knowing the rules of logic gives a person the techniques to create sound
arguments and avoid fallacious reasoning. Logic also increases one’s ability to reason
correctly and distinguish irrational reasoning.

Metaphysics
Metaphysics literally means “beyond physical.”
Early Greek philosophers claimed that it is the
study of the nature of reality. This branch of
philosophy analyzes whether everything is
material, and if life, energy, and mind are their different manifestations. Metaphysicians
reflect on the subject of appearances (how something looks by how it appears) and
reality (that which actually is). Some examples of specific questions that metaphysicians
reflect upon are the following:
• What is the meaning of life?
• What is the purpose of life?
• Does God exist?

Enrichment Activity

Activity 1 - Write T if the statement is correct. If otherwise, write F and the correct replacement
for the underlined word to make the statement right.

______________ 1. Epistemology is a study about the nature of reality.

______________ 2. The questions like “How do we acquire knowledge?” or “How do we know

what we know?” are questions in logic.

______________ 3. Ethics deals with problems concerning human action or behavior.

______________ 4. Metaphysics literally means “beyond physical.”

______________ 5. An example of an aesthetics question is “Is my action good or bad?”

______________ 6. Logic deals with the principles and rules that govern reasoning.

______________ 7. “Philosophy" comes from the two Hebrew words “philo” and "sophia."

______________ 8. The Greek word aisthetikai means “sensitive.”

______________ 9. The painting The Scream of Nature by Edvard Munch is expressive and
beautiful. This is an example of an aesthetic statement.

______________ 10. “Philo” means love and “Sophia” means beauty.

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 Activity 2 – Philosopher’s Word

For online learners, search for any quotation of any Philosopher

and make a virtual poster that bears his/her philosophy. You
may use any available picture to support his/her philosophical
statement. You may also use any editor to make your poster.
Submit your poster by posting on our Genyo Shared Blog and
use the hashtag #MyPhilosopher.

For offline learners, search for any quotation of any Philosopher

and make a poster that bears the philosophy in a bond paper.

Activity 3 – My Philosophy in Life

For online learners, make a virtual

poster that bears your philosophy in
life (favorite quotation). You may use
any available picture to support
your statement. You may also use
any editor to make your poster.
Submit your poster by posting on
our Genyo Shared Blog and use the
hashtag #MyPhilosophyInLife.

For offline learners, make a poster

that bears your philosophy in life
(favorite quotation) in a bond paper.

Activity 4 – Write in 3 2 1 (Keywords, Phrases, or Sentences will suffice no further explanation needed.)

Write 3 things you have learned/discovered

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Write 2 things you found interesting/worth sharing

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Write 1 thing you are still confused about (unresolved)

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Activity 5 – What philosophical concept have you acquired for this week? Answer in not less than
30 words.

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