philosophy comes from the two Greek words: philo (love) and sophia (wisdom).

The ancient Greek used this term

to refer to “love of wisdom”
Pythagoras – he was credited with formulating the Pythagorean Theorem.
2. Heraclitus – for him change is permanent aspect of the human condition as he was credited with the saying,
“There is nothing permanent except change”.
Democritus - he was among the first to propose that matter is composed of tiny particles called atoms.
4. Diogenes of Sinope - he was a known advocate of living a simple and virtuos life. several schools of philosophy
such as Cynicism and Stoicism.
Epicurus – he believed that philosophy could enable man to live a life of happiness. Epicurianism – a school of
philosophy which believes that wisdom and simple living will result in a life free of fear and pain.
Socrates – he was considered the foremost philosopher of the ancient times. Socratic Method – a means of
examining a topic by devising a series of questions that let the learner examine and analyze his knowledge and
views regarding the topic.
Plato- Theory of Forms, which proposes that everything that exists is based on an idea or template that can only
be perceived in the mind. dialectic – a method of inquiry where two opposing ideas are discussed in an attempt
to arrive at a new knowledge.
Aristotle – for him all ideas and views are based on perception and our reality ia based on what we can sense and
perceive. deductive reasoning – the process by which specific statement are analyze to reach a conclusion or
generalization.

Sense of Wonder (Plato)- Man’s overbounding curiosity drives him to ask questions, some of which have no
definite answers.
To Doubt (Rene Descartes)- His method of examining ideas and perspectives became the basis of critical thinking
and analysis in the sciences.
Experience (Karl Jaspers)- Jaspers believed that man is often confronted by experiences which challenge his ideas
and frameworks. (Limit situations) philosophy provides us a means to understand adverse or challenging
conditions, and to rise above them and gain new knowledge and perspectives.
Love of Wisdom (Socrates)- To love wisdom is to have insatiable desire for truth. Socrates is famous for having
said “I know...” “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Holistic thinking refers to a perspective that considers large-scale patterns in systems. looking at the “big picture”
when describing and analyzing a situation or problem.
Partial thinking focuses on more specific aspects of a situation.

PLATO’S DIVIDED LINE- The World Soul has immediate and direct contact with the world of Forms and Ideas. The
moment that the knowledge of good is achieved, one will attain virtue, hence becoming wise.
The Allegory of the Cave- where the prisoners started with the shadows inside of the cave to the realization that
the sun (representing the idea of the Good) is the source of whatever is true and good for all things.
noesis (using the intellect) and dianoia or (understanding using scientific, mathematical, or abstract hypotheses).

THE SOCRATIC METHOD (Socrates) – An Exercise in Dialectics- Dialectics consists of embracing and taking on the
hypothesis or view of your opponent as if you agree with it. After which, you will try to deduce contradictory
consequences of the same hypothesis to make it look illogical.
THE METHOD OF SYSTEMATIC DOUBT(Rene Descartes)- The systematic doubt consists in doubting everything that
can be doubted until you arrived at clear and distinct ideas which are non-sensical to doubt.
TWO GENERAL TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE:
➢ Formal Knowledge – corresponds to knowledge in the formal sciences whose main concern is the validation of
their knowledge claims within the formal system in their respective disciplines, like mathematics, logic, geometry,
trigonometry, and others.
➢ Empirical Knowledge – uses faculty of experience and sense perception to establish their knowledge claims.

Philosophy is concerned with determining truth since it lies at the heart of any inquiry
Facts are statements that are observed to be real or truthful.
Claims are statements that require further examination to determine their truthfulness.
Opinions are comprised with statements that provide views on a certain matter.
Opinions also are the bases for making arguments and convincing people that a certain claim is a fact.
A conclusion is a judgment based on certain facts
Beliefs are statements that express convictions that are not easily and clearly explained by facts.
Explanations are statements that assume the claim to be true.
Arguments, meanwhile, are series of statements that provide reasons to convince their reader or listener that a
claim or opinion is truthful.
Logic is the branch of philosophy that focuses on the analysis of arguments.

MAN – is generally and commonly used to refer to the entire human race.
HUMAN – refers to a man as a species (homo sapiens).
HUMAN BEING – used to distinguish man from other animals.
PERSON – refers to a human being granted with rights, protection, responsibilities, and dignity.
PERSONHOOD – refers to the state of being a person with unique, sacred, and ethical status within him/herself.
HUMAN NATURE – refers to the characteristics that distinguish humans from all other creatures.
SELF-AWARENESS – refers to the person having a clear perception of oneself, including his or her thoughts,
emotions, identity and actions.
Plato considers the world of ideas as the world of perfections. It is in the world of ideas where eternal truths
reside. The things in our physical world (the world of senses), on the other hand, are not real.
Plato’s concept of a human being is the soul’s division into three parts: reasoning, spiritedness, and appetites.
Aristotle considers things as composed of two co-principles which he calls matter and form. Form is the principle
which actualizes a thing and makes a thing what it is, while matter is viewed as the potentiality to receive the
form.
Aristotle claims that the form refers to the soul while matter refers to the body.
Aristotle divides the function of the soul into three dimensions: nutrition, sensation, and intellection.
Aristotle that to be a human being means to practice its highest function, and we therefore say that human
beings are rational animals.
DESCARTES - The French philosopher Rene Descartes widened the gap between the body and soul even more as
he sets out to prove that the only thing in this world which cannot be doubted is the existence of the thinking self.
For Descartes, the existence of the soul (i.e the thinking thing) is more distinct and clearer than the existence of
the body, leaving us with the idea that man is more certain of the existence of his soul than the existence of his
body.

The human person is an embodied spirit.

Environmental philosophy or environmental ethics is the discipline in the philosophy that studies the moral
relationship of human beings with the environment and its non- human contents.

Three Major views regarding the relationship between humanity and the environment:
Anthropocentrism – focuses on the significant role of humankind in the world and considers nature as means by
which humans are able to meet their needs and survive.
Biocentrism – believes that humans are not only significant species on the planet, and that all organisms have
inherent value and should be protected.
Ecocentrism – places great value on ecosystems and biological communities. This view believes that humankind is
part of a greater biological system or community and that we have a significant role as stewards or guardians of
nature.
ANAXIMANDER- Employed the term “boundless” to convey the further thought that Nature is interdeterminate –
boundless in the sense that no boundaries between the warm and cold.

PYTHAGORAS- Described the universe as living embodiment of nature’s order, harmony, and beauty. He sees our
relationship with the universe involving biophilia (love for other living things) and cosmophilia (love of other living
beings).
The Chinese cosmic conception, on the other hand, is based on the assumption that all that happens in the
universe is a continuous whole like a chain of natural consequences.
B. MODERN THINKERS IMMANUEL KANT- Critique of Judgment. Immanuel Kant expresses that beauty is
ultimately a symbol of morality (Kant 1997). According to Kant, we must ignore any practical motive, inclinations
that we have and instead contemplate the object without being distracted by our desires (Goldblatt & Brown
2010).