Philosophy of the Human Person

Enriquez, Cyvneil Gleine I.

1) Differentiate Philosophical Inquiry from scientific inquiry
Scientific inquiry or general inquiry is not something that comes from our questions, instead it
pertains to our own life experiences. Philosophical inquiry however comes from us questioning our own
experiences. Scientific inquiry is our response or attempt to integrate a certain conflict that occurred in
our life in order for us to achieve an unperturbed living. Philosophical inquiry attempts to integrate
multiple experiences in order to achieve coherence, without the integration of these experiences a
conflict would occur. Scientific inquiry happens when an experience causes tension in us, this conflict
however is only focused on a certain individual. Philosophical inquiry however, begins when we are
able to look at the experience as a whole and as the totality of life.

2) Explain why in Philosophy are questions more important than answers

Philosophy values questions more because Philosophy is all about the attitude of questioning
and/ or the attitude of curiosity. Questions are also more significant since there are a lot of questions
with no answers, unlike how all answers have their own questions. Answers also vary, there may be one
question with several different answers. In Philosophy, answers are not engaged on, instead Philosophy
is more concerned with posing the correct question. Some wrong answers exist because the question
asked is wrong. Questions are also very crucial in curing the inadequacy of answers, we do this by
asking more and more questions. The accuracy of answers also decays over time, which calls for
constant reevaluation.
3) Different approaches to the study of man
Cosmocentric Approach is primarily concerned with the cosmos, with what constituted the
universe. This approach is not focused on man; man is merely a part of a much larger universe in this
approach. The Cosmocentric approach is not about understanding man, it’s about understanding the
universe. In this approach, man is treated as a part of the cosmos, which means it is made up of Matter
and Form. One example of this is the way we look at our body; our body may seem real to us but it is
nothing more than an illusion. When looked at under a microscope, we see atoms and molecules, but
beyond that, nothing but empty space.
Theocentric Approach is primarily concerned with the higher being. Man is still viewed as a
part of nature but this time as God’s creation. This is the result of the world being Christianized. The
understanding of man was used to understand the very nature of God. This approach focuses more on
Theology and uses Philosophy as a means. In order to understand God, reasoning and philosophy are
used. In this approach, we must understand nature to understand man in order to then understand God.
John Wycliffe’s emphasis on scripture is an example of theocentric approach.
Anthropocentric Approach is primarily focused on man. Man is seen as superior in this
approach. This approach believes that everything we know is based on assumptions and theories. In this
approach by Rene Descartes, nothing is certain, the only thing certain is the doubt that is in his head.
Descartes attempts to find proper foundation for all our assumptions. Anthropocentrism can be seen
when man is tasked with taking care of nature and everything that is in it.