MICHEL JOY L.

DE GUZMAN
11- AYALA
SOC SCI 2
PHILOSOPHY
QUARTER 3 – WEEK 1 & 2
ASSESSMENT

1. Which branch of philosophy deals with arguments?

• LOGIC
2. Which branch of philosophy evaluates human actions?
• ETHICS
3. What Filipino value puts one in touch with one’s fellow beings and is essentially interpersonal?
• LOOB or KALOOBAN
4. Etymologically, what does philosopher mean?
• Etymologically, the word “philosophy comes from two Greek words, Philla, meaning “love”
and Sophia, meaning “wisdom”. Philosophy originally means “love of wisdom”, and in a
broad sense, wisdom is still the goal of philosophy.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

WRITTEN WORK

Some blind men heard that an odd animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but
none of them were aware of its form and shape. Out of curiosity, they thus agreed that they should
examine and know it by touch, of which they were capable. For the first person, whose hand landed on
the trunk, the elephant seemed like a thick snake. In the case of the second whose hand reached its ear,
the animal appeared like a kind of fan. As for the third blind, whose hand was upon its leg, expressed,
the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The fourth blind man who placed his hand upon its side assumed
that elephant is a wall. The fifth who felt its tail claimed that it as a rope. The sixth felt its tusk,
describing the elephant as that which is hard, smooth, and like a spear. They even argued and thought
that each of them is lying. As stated in the poem, even though each were partly right, they were still
wrong. Thus, no one among the six blind men was able to give the correct answer.
The famous parable of the six blind men and their first encounter with an elephant explains the
difference between a holistic perspective and a partial point of view. A holistic perspective looks at each
component part and how it is connected with one another to create a cohesive whole. It focuses on the
bigger picture, the totality, rather than finer details or some aspects only. On the other hand, a partial
perspective centers on just some aspects of the whole in such a way that the whole is overlooked or
discounted. Also, it tends to consider the perceiving subject the basis of truth. A partial point of view is
founded on the component part or parts of a whole, thus, an incomplete perspective.
Moreover, philosophy helps in obtaining a broad perspective on life. As pointed out by the poet
John Godfrey Saxe, there are five realizations of doing philosophy. First, doing philosophy improves
one’s problem-solving capacities by contributing to his capacity to organize ideas and concepts and to
extricate what is fundamental from large amounts of information, thereby widening his view. Second,
doing philosophy helps a person appreciate various perspectives so they can be synthesized into a
unified whole. Philosophy helps an individual distinguish between various viewpoints and discern
common ground among them. Third, philosophy’s lessons on the judicious evaluation of evidence,
logical problem-solving, and inferring the vital elements from complex bodies of information help a
person acquire the skill to think in a holistic or non-partial manner. Fourth, doing philosophy enriches a
person’s self-knowledge, foresight, and sense of direction in life. It thus leads to self-discovery, the
development of consciousness, and self-renewal. And lastly, doing philosophy brings a person into
contact with the most profound and fundamental human questions. It thus helps people live a more fully
human life by demanding that they deal with these questions.

PERFORMANCE TASK