Doing Philosophy (Part 1)

with Ms. Alliah Mae Decena

Agenda
This module will contain the
following topics:

What is Philosophy
Branches of Philosophy

The Value of Philosophy

Holism
Philosophy
The Free Dictionary has defined
Philosophy as: “study of the
ultimate reality, causes, and
principles underlying being and
thinking."
Philosophy
At its simplest, philosophy
(from the Greek or phílosophía,
meaning ‘the love of wisdom’)
is the study of knowledge, or
"thinking about thinking"
The Meaning of Philosophy

SCIENCE
It is called science because the investigation is
systematic. It follows certain steps or it employs certain
procedures.

NATURAL LIGHT OF REASON

Since the use of supernatural revelation would turn
philosophy into religion, philosophy instead uses the
human mind's innate ability for thought, sometimes
known as "unaided reason," to explore phenomena.
The Meaning of Philosophy

STUDY OF ALL THINGS

Study about human beings, society, religion, language,
God, and plants, among other concerns.

FIRST CAUSE OF HIGHEST PRINCIPLE

A principle is that from which something proceeds in
any manner whatsoever. The first principles:
Principle Identity- whatever it is; and whatever is not
is not; everything is what it is.
The Meaning of Philosophy

FIRST CAUSE OF HIGHEST PRINCIPLE

Principle of Non-Contradiction- it is impossible for a
thing to be and not to be at the same time, and at the
same respect.
Principle of Excluded Middle- a thing is either is or is
not; everything must be either be or not be; between
being and not-being, there is no middle ground
possible.
Principle of Sufficient Reason- nothing exists without
a sufficient reason for its being and existence.
 Oral Research Presentation

1. Cite examples of how philosophy can be a

principle of sufficient reason or non-
contradiction.

2. Share your concepts about the importance

of philosophy. Give examples of these in
politics, sports, law and daily life.
Branches of
Philosophy
Branches of Philosophy
METAPHYSICS
A type of philosophy or study that uses broad
concepts to help define reality and our
understanding of it.
ETHICS
The discipline concerned with what is morally
good and bad and morally right and wrong.

EPISTEMOLOGY
The philosophical study of the nature, origin, and
limits of human knowledge.
Branches of Philosophy
LOGIC
The study of reasoning, or the study of the
principles and criteria of valid inference and
demonstration.

AESTHETICS
The branch of philosophy concerned with the
nature and appreciation of art, beauty and good
taste.
Value of Philosophy
By: Bertrand Russell
The aim of philosophy is the achievement of
knowledge through criticism, "which gives
unity and system to the body of sciences."
Philosophizing, on the other hand, allows us to
see even the most ordinary things in
unfamiliar light. Though such consideration
diminishes our faulty certainty about the
world, it suggests numerous possibilities
"which enlarge our thoughts and free them
from the tyranny of custom."
Value of Philosophy
By: Bertrand Russell
Though we lose a little of our confidence as to
what things are, we gain knowledge of what
they may be. Philosophy banishes "arrogant
dogmatism" and liberates "our sense of
wonder."
Philosophic thought also has a value by virtue
of the things it contemplates and the
distinctness of those things from "personal
aims" and "private interests." Philosophy lets
in the outside world and enlarges out interest.
Value of Philosophy
By: Bertrand Russell
Russell holds that the primary value of
philosophy is not in any kind of definite
answer, but exists in the questions themselves.
He concludes that, "through the greatness of
the universe which philosophy contemplates,
the mind also is rendered great."
Holism
In philosophy, the principle of
Holism (which comes from the
Greek "holos" meaning "all" or
"total") was concisely
summarized by Aristotle in his
"Metaphysics": "The whole is
more than the sum of its parts".
Holism
“Holism in general terms (whether
in science, sociology, economics,
linguistics or philosophy) is the idea
that all the properties of a given
system cannot be determined or
explained by its component parts
alone, but the system as a whole
determines in an important way
how the parts behave.
 Types of Holism
EPISTEMOLOGICAL HOLISM (OR CONFIRMATION
HOLISM)
Is the claim that a single scientific theory cannot be tested in isolation,
because a test of one theory always depends on other theories and
hypotheses.

SEMANTIC HOLISM

Is a theory in the philosophy of language to the effect that a certain part of

language, be it a term or a complete sentence, can only be understood
through its relations to a (previously understood) larger segment of
language.
 Types of Holism
CONFIRMATION HOLISM AND SEMANTIC HOLISM

Semantic Holism- is the view that statements or beliefs do not have

meaning in isolation, but only in the context of a whole system of beliefs or
statements and finally the context of our system of knowledge as a whole.
Confirmation Holism- also called epistemological holism, is the view that
no individual statement can be confirmed or disconfirmed by an empirical
test, but rather that only a set of statements (a whole theory) can be so.

MODERATE HOLISM (OR SEMANTIC MOLECULARISM)

Is a compromise position, which holds that the meanings of words depend

on some subset of the language (not the entire language).
Doing Philosophy (Part 2)
with Ms. Alliah Mae Decena
Agenda
This module will contain the
following topics:

Reflective Practice

Models of Reflective
Practice
Reflective Practice
Reflective activity is simply defined as
“the ability to think about or reflect
on what you do.” Its aim is to engage
in a process of continuous learning.
Gillie said that it involves “paying
critical attention to the practical
values and theories which inform
everyday actions, by examining
practice reflectively and reflexively.
This leads to developmental insight.”
Reflective Practice
Someone who reflects does not
simply look back on the past actions
and events in his or her life. It is
through conscious looking at
emotional experiences, actions, and
responses and using this information
to add to his or her existing
knowledge could make a person
reach a higher level of understanding.
Reflective Practice
David Boud, an adult education
professor explained that reflection is
an essential human activity in which
people recapture their experience,
explore it and evaluate it. It is said
that when a person is experiencing
something, he or she may be
implicitly learning.
Models of Reflective Practice

BORTON (1970)
Reach, Touch and Teach was published in 1970 by an
American school teacher, Terry Borton. Within this
book he developed a What, So What, Now What
sequence of reflective education that also acts as a
framework for reflective practice.
Borton describes this model as a fluid process where
no part of it can exclude another – it is a “continuous
integrated flow”with no beginning or end.
Models of Reflective Practice

KOLB AND FRY (1975)

Kolb's reflective model highlights the concept of
experiential learning and is centered on the
transformation of information into knowledge. This
takes place after a situation has occurred, and entails
a practitioner reflecting on the experience, gaining a
general understanding of the concepts encountered
during the experience, and then testing these
general understandings in a new situation.
Models of Reflective Practice

ARGYRIS AND SCHÖN 1978

Argyris and Schon (1974) assert that people hold
maps in their heads about how to plan, implement
and review their actions. They further assert that few
people are aware that the maps they use to take
action are not the theories they explicitly espouse.
Argyris and Schon suggest that there is a theory
consistent with what people say and a theory
consistent with what they do.
Models of Reflective Practice

ARGYRIS AND SCHÖN 1978

Therefore the distinction is not between "theory and action but
between two different "theories of action" (Argyris, Putnam &
McLain Smith, 1985, p.82). Hence the concepts Espoused theory
and Theory-in-use:
1. Espoused theory
The world view and values people believe their behaviour is
based on.
2. Theory-in-use
The world view and values implied by their behaviour, or the
maps they use to take action
Models of Reflective Practice

GIBBS 1988
Learning researcher Graham Gibbs discussed the use
of structured debriefing to facilitate the reflection
involved in Kolb's experiential learning cycle.
Gibbs' suggestions are often cited as "Gibbs' reflective
cycle" or "Gibbs' model of reflection", and simplified
into the following six distinct stages to assist in
structuring reflection on learning experiences (Finlay,
2008):  Description  Feelings  Evaluation  Analysis
 Conclusions  Action plan
Models of Reflective Practice

JOHNS 1995
Johns highlights the importance of experienced
knowledge and the ability of a practitioner to access,
understand and put into practice information that
has been acquired through empirical means
Reflection occurs though "looking in" on one's
thoughts and emotions and "looking out" at the
situation experienced.
Models of Reflective Practice

BROOKFIELD 1998
Adult education scholar Stephen Brookfield proposed
that critically reflective practitioners constantly
research their assumptions by seeing practice
through four complementary lenses:
1. Lens 1: Our autobiography as a learner.
2. Lens 2: Our learners' eyes.
3. Lens 3: Our colleagues' experiences.
4. Lens 4: Theoretical literature.
Thank You!

SEE YOU NEXT MEETING!