NOTE!!

Just CTRL + F if u need to find anything babe.

I. What Does It Mean To Philosophize?
Find key words if u need it. Love you good luck
sa studies mo <33
Introduction ‘ ._. ‘ - dik

            How the

individual and society see their problems and use their resources and
potentials depend so much on the philosophy of that individual and of that
society. How an individual understands his own nature and the world around him,
how he makes decision, and what actions he chooses to take are all influenced
by the philosophy he develops or adopts. (Venancio Ardales, Introduction Text to Philosophy)

A) The meaning of Philosophy.

            *Philosophy –
from Greek words “philia” (love) and
“Sophia” (wisdom) and it means “love
of wisdom”. It was coined by Pythagoras, an early Greek scholar.

                        *Love
involves an intellectual desire, a choice and a commitment to pursue that which
is loved. If Philosophy is a kind of love, it will ultimately demand choosing
wisdom as its beloved instead of surrendering to folly. Wisdom is a knowledge
which concerns man’s understanding of himself and the world.

                        *
Wisdom requires more than just knowledge (in Hiligaynon, knowledge is
“ihibalo”, while wisdom is “kaalam”). It is said that we can know many things
but we cannot always be wise. Wisdom involves understanding the implications of our knowledge and its
uses for oneself and others with some purpose or value in life.

                        * Philosophers are not

people who claim to possess wisdom already. They are only lovers who are still
in pursuit; they do not yet have wisdom.

A. The Importance of Philosophy

Philosophy makes man a full man - cultured, refined and well-rounded. It provides the student the ability
to synthesize, criticize, systematize, assimilate and evaluate a variety of knowledge. It helps man to think
of who he is and what is the meaning of living. It fulfills man’s basic calling to reflect and make himself a
full person. It will guide him to make the right decision from a broader perspective. With philosophy man
cannot be intimidated by dogmatic statements and is prepared to strive and challenge those who would
attempt to control his thoughts. Thus it becomes the bulwark against mental servitude. Philosophy widens
intellectual horizon and deepens understanding and sympathies. By setting thoughts free, it permits the
full functioning of life of the spirit. It makes man think about basic foundations of his outlook in life, his
knowledge and his beliefs.
It makes an individual inquire into the reasons for what he accepts and does and into the importance of
his ideas and ideals. The unexamined life is not worth living.

B. The Beginnings of Philosophy

We cannot really trace back when precisely philosophy began. We can assume that when man existed,
there philosophy began. The earliest philosophical writings that recorded the thoughts of earliest thinkers
are in Aristotle. Ancient Greek philosophy (Pre-Socratics, Plato and Aristotle) started the trend of thought
in the West. With the rise of Christianity, Christian thinkers arose with the likes of the St. Thomas Aquinas
and St. Augustine. Modern period saw great thinkers such as Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel and Marx.
With the coming of Heidegger, the trend of thought shifted to the “groundless” form of postmodern
thought. After Heidegger, thinkers went their own way, each on his or her own concerns. With the advent
of postmodern thought, philosophers are grappling again how to make it whole once more. To
summarize, some would say, all philosophy is based on Plato, Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas; the rest are
footnotes.

C. Basic Questions on Man

Ancient Philosophy was more concerned with the “basic stuff” of the world, of the cosmos. With modern
philosophy, the concern shifted on what can we know and how can we know. The coming of the
existential philosophy saw the much emphasis and study on man. No period in the history of thought that
made a lot of serious study on man than the contemporary period. Thus, they ask: what is man? Who is
man? What is his destiny, his end? What is his mission, his calling? Where did he come from? To where
is he going? Will he be forever? What is life? What is living? What is existing? Does man know? Is he
feeling? Can he transcend his situation? Is there something to hope for man? These are just some of the
questions we raise on the being man.

D. The Importance of Philosophy of Man

Heidegger says that Being is known only through dasein, man. Man is the locus of the intelligibility of
Being. If it is, then the study of man will reveal to us Being. We are man. The more we study man, the
more we know about ourselves, our world, our life, our relationship with each other, our meaning, our
destiny and end. Thus there is no other important subject in philosophy than the philosophy of man.
Metaphysics, as study of Being must take man into consideration because it is in man that Being
manifests itself more fully. It is man who is the place of the revelation of Being. Epistemology considers
man because it is man who knows and who apprehends the truth. Cosmology takes in man because it is
man who can contemplate the world; it is the world for man and of man. Ethics takes account of man
because it is man who acts rationally for the good. Aesthetics considers man too; man is a maker of
beauty and is himself the most beautiful of all creatures. Philosophy of language, religion, science, society
and politics take account of man because it is man who speaks, man who relates to God, man who
manipulates nature to serve his needs, man who relates to other men to live together for the common
good. Thus, man is center in all these philosophies. Without man there would be no philosophy. Whose
philosophy it would be if not of man? Philosophy is man’s perennial questionings about man.

E. Application of Philosophy in Life

Philosophy and life cannot be separated. Philosophy is life itself lived deeply and meaningfully.
Philosophy is about life. It is a living and lived thought. Philosophy is as alive as man, living even beyond
its author. Thoughts once written will live even after the death of its “parents.” But they are thoughts about
life. Thus, philosophy and life are inseparable “co-principles.” No life, no thoughts. Philosophy is more of
living what we thought about, than thinking what we lived.

Basic Themes in the Philosophy of Man and Education

1. Man as Embodied Subjectivity (Tawo bilang Lawasnon nga Alibutod)
- man as rational animal is inadequate
- dualistic (animality/rationality; matter/spirit)
- “rational” as qualifier
- two separate worlds: temporal and spiritual
- subjectivity – unique core or center, source, depth, well-spring of initiative and meaning
- human body is a subject-body (a meaning-giving existence)
- embodiment is making incarnate a meaning
- language as embodied thought or thinking
- language is the way of thinking of the people itself speaking that language
- relevance – communicate in the language of the people

2. Man as Being-in-the-world (Tawo bilang Ara-sa-kalibutan)

- human body as the link of man with the world
- environment – for animals
- world – for man (as network of meanings)
- to speak of man is to speak of his world
- intentionality of consciousness
- consciousness is consciousness of something other than consciousness
- wala “kalibutan”(world) kung “wala-kalibutan”(consciousness)
- emphasize man’s situatedness
- no genuine social change is effected without an internal change in meaning
- no internal meaning can last without an external structure to reinforce it
- need to humanize the world we live in by work

3. Man as Being-with (Tawo bilang Ara-Upod)

- world of man is a world of fellowman
- interpersonal (neighbor) and social (socius)
- I-thou and not I-it
- relationship of dialogue and not monologue
- from seeming to communication
- other is subject (not object)
- unfolding and not imposition
- in teaching – the dialogical method, not banking method
- teacher teaches by learning from students, students learn by teaching
- liberates rather than fossilizes
- the social is within each man – man does not only live in society, society lives in man
- language attests to the social nature of man (Descartes’ cogito, private language?)
- contemplation is a social act
- society is not static, it is dynamic
- historicity of man
- his past, present and future is shared with a fellowman
- cultural being
- universal truths exists in particular (problem of universals)

4. Man as Person and his crowning activity is love which presupposes justice (Tawo bilang Persona kag
ang iya kapupun-an amo ang paghigugma nga may hustisya)
- to become as person
- “mahapos mangin tawo, pero mabudlay magpakatawo”
- person is the task of becoming oneself
- integration, becoming whole
- man gains himself by giving himself to others
- I become a person by committing myself to other persons
- commitment to love presupposes justice
- giving to the other his due, his basic dignity as persons
- love is the maximum of justice, justice is the minimum of love
- importance of truth as a value
- (Scheler) values are objects of intentional feelings
- values are reasons of the heart (not mind)
- imparted by meeting of persons (by models or exemplars), not by a communication of minds
- self-realization is not apart from socialization
- educate the heart (not only the mind) by being exemplars
- the bearer of moral values is the person himself
- personal salvation is itself primarily a social act (doing it to the least…do it unto me)
-
(to think for your own self)

Duke Hwan of Khi, first in his dynasty, sat under a canopy, reading his philosophy; and Phien the
wheelwright was out in the yard making a wheel. Phien laid aside hammer and chisel, climbed the steps,
and said to Duke Hwan: “May I ask you Lord, what is this you are reading?” the Duke said: “the experts,
the authorities.” And Phien asked: “alive or dead?” “Dead along time.” “Then,” said the wheelwright, “You
are only reading the dirt they left behind.” Then the Duke replied: “What do you know about it? You are
only a wheelwright, you had better give me a good explanation or else you must die.” The wheelwright
said: “Let us look at the affair from my point of view. When I make wheels, if I go easy they fall apart, if I
am too rough, they do not fit. If I am neither too easy nor too violent they come out right. The work is what
I want it to be. You cannot put this into words: you just have to know how it is. I cannot even tell my own
son exactly how it is done, and my own son cannot learn it from me. So here I am seventy years old, still
making wheels! The men of old took all they really knew with them to the grave. And so Lord, what you
are reading there is only dirt they left behind.”

A4) Epistemology – examines the origin, nature, extent, and validity of human knowledge.
                  -from Greek words Episteme (knowledge) and Logos (study of).
                  - it asks fundamental questions about knowledge in all its forms and applications, how it is
formulated, expressed and communicated, and whether there are limits to knowing. It also asks about the
role sense experience and reason play in acquiring knowledge.
                  *Theories on the Nature of knowledge
                              1. Subjective Theory – states that our knowledge of the object, its qualities, and the
existing relations                                                 between the object and its knower is relative to the mind,
and to the condition of our sense organs as                               well as the circumstances surrounding the
object.
                              
                              2. Objective Theory – states that there is a world outside of our selves which exists,
that is, it is out there                                                         regardless of whether or not someone thinks
about it, perceives it, or has understanding of it.
                       *Sources of knowledge
                              1. Sense perception – what we know is provided by our senses.
                  
                              2. Reason – knowledge is to be attained through reasoning.
                  
                  *Hindrance to attaining knowledge:
                              1. Prejudice – hostile or unfavorable opinion formed without just grounds or before
sufficient                                                                     knowledge on the issue is obtained.
                              2. Susceptibility to propaganda – deliberate and systematic widespread indoctrination
meant to                                                       influence or control opinion.
                              3. “Blind” appeal to authority – without critical examination, it could become an
unscientific and                                                            unphilosophical way of attaining knowledge.

A5) Theodicy – inquires into the nature, being, goodness and justice of God;  relationship between God
and man.
                              - from Greek words Theos (God) and Dike (justice or right).
                              - sometimes referred to as “rational Theology” because it uses reason to attain its
objectives.

Approaches to Knowing God:

 
1. Natural – nature itself offers evidences about the existence as well as the nature of God.
                  - It is “natural” in the sense that by the power of human reasoning alone it is possible attain
knowledge about God.
 
2. Revelation - mystical experience. A private individual experience which is difficult to communicate,
much more explain.
 
Arguments to prove God’s existence:
 
1. Teleological (Argument from Design).
                  - Points to the order, patterns and regularity of events, and progress in the Universe proofs of
the existence of a Divine Being whose intelligence and unlimited power caused the design and reality
of such a complex system. Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientists of all time, could not believe that
natural laws are mere products of accidents.                        
 
2. Ontological Argument (A Priori)
                  - Asserts that the existence of God is necessitated by His very nature. Since God is conceived
as most perfect and most real, He must therefore exist, otherwise He would be neither perfect nor real.     
                              
                  *St. Anselm – conceived God as “than that which nothing greater can be conceived”.
 
3. Cosmological Argument (A Priori & A Posteriori)
            - Argues that everything that exists or every event that happens has a cause, and this cause in
turn has a cause, and so on, in series which ends up in an ultimate or final cause which we call God.
 
- 5 ways/proofs of God’s existence (St. Thomas Aquinas)
                                    1. Contingency (there must be a necessary being)
                                    2. Cause/causation (Uncaused Cause)
                                    3. Motion (Unmoved Mover)
                                    4. Design
                                    5. Gradation of perfection
                        4. Moral Argument
                                                - presupposes that there are objective ethical principles which
define                                                                 and determine the goodness of the human act.
 
B) Practical Fields.
                                    - study, not only to obtain knowledge and wisdom, but also to use those knowledge
and wisdom for practical purposes.

                        B1) Semantics – studies the meaning of words and linguistic forms, their functions as
symbols, and the role they play in relation to human thoughts and behavior.
                                                - a critical examination of language could result in fuller analysis of the
functions of symbols, signs, and signals in helping to create both experienced objects and the
experiencing mind.

                        
                        B2) Aesthetics – deals with the study of beauty of nature and the value of the works of art.
                                    *Beauty and Art are sometimes confused to be synonymous; they are distinct:
                                                            *Beauty refers to the quality attributed to whatever pleases the
beholder such as form, color, and behavior.
                                                            *Art refers to man’s creativeness and skill in making
or                                                                               doing things that have form and beauty.

Read the article attached.

     I was once talking with a seminarian when a question
popped up in my head and I asked him, “How does a mute person tell the seller
that he wants to buy a soccer ball?” He answered, “He makes a sign language”.
How about a crippled person?” It took him some seconds to think and shrugged
his shoulders. Ambot Der a, his answer. I said, “hambalon nya e, piang sya,
indi apa”.

     Language, as many of

us know, is the envelop of meaning. Every word in a spoken language contains a
meaning, a referential object which could be a person, an event, a place, an
object, etc. Language does not just picture reality; it helps create reality’s
meaning.

     Aristotle had it said

that what differentiate man from the rest of beings are laughter and language.
Laughter, because it takes reason to see the point of the joke; and language,
both sign and spoken or verbal that points to a meaning. So to maintain your
humanity, do not forget to laugh and to talk. But be careful because too much
laughter could already be an indication of losing one’s sanity; or talking too
much could lead one to trouble. Many of us know the Spanish proverb, “Boca
cerrada, no entra la mosca”. A fly cannot enter a closed mouth.

     Communication is
essential to man. Communication implies the use of reason which is proper to
man; and man uses language to communicate something to someone. Language, in
the words of the late Prof. Ramon Reyes of Ateneo de Manila, is “one man saying to another something
with
regard to something”. That “something” that is being communicated is
“meaning”; and meaning is the realization of how something fits or does not fit
in the totality. When man communicates, he tells the other something which is
in his consciousness. Meaning, then, is a matter of consciousness.

     Language is, and will

always be, communal. We did not come to the world having with us our own and
personal language, nor did we invent our own language. We learned our spoken
languages and dialects from others, from people who tended us while were
growing and learning. They, in their turn, learned them from others. Here we
see that language is communal. In fact, it was used to refute Descartes’ Doubt
on the existence of the other. The use of language is a sign that the other
exists because the “I” (Ego) learns the language from the other. Just imagine
if everybody speaks a different language; it would be chaos. Remember the story
of the tower of Babel. God confused them by making them speak different
languages which led them to abandon their ambition of building a tall tower.
Although they meant the same thing, they spoke of it in different languages,
foreign to each other, which confused them all. Common language leads to order
and understanding, while different languages lead to confusion, chaos.

     Language is based on

the community. The meaning of the words spoken does not come from the speaker
but from the established meaning of a community or communities. When a stranger
mingles with other members of a certain community and speaks a different
language, chances are either he is misunderstood or he will be suspected of
having lost his mind. Yes, we express the truth using different languages but
it is important that there is a common language we all understand so as to
communicate effectively the “meaning” we want to relay to others. That is why, semantics
(words with established meaning) and syntactic (rules of combining the
words) are important in and to the community. The community shares the semantic
and the syntactic in order to communicate orderly the meaning or the truth
about something. In so, in order to have a common understanding of something,
it is important that a community has also a common expression of the meaning.
Here, consensus plays an important role. When I say, “Por favor, Pongganse de
pie” nobody obeys me because you don’t understand it. But if say, “please
stand” you would surely understand me because we all understand what I mean. If
we expand and apply it to our everyday lives, we will realize the importance of
speaking a common language which we commonly know and speak so as to
communicate a common understanding of things. We also realize the importance of
learning the meaning of signs and words spoken so as to be in communion with
other members of the community; communion which is the common understanding of
things or meanings. In the Philippine context, although we speak different
dialects, we have our “pambansang salita” which facilitates our effective
communication. It’s a pity to note, however, that some of our countrymen refuse
to learn and to speak the Filipino language because of a strong regionalism
mentality which could be interpreted as a refusal to enter into a consensus
and, ultimately, to a communal understanding. Internationally, the English
language may be considered as the effective, if not the most effective,
language to communicate to others. Those who travel abroad know it. So, this calls
us to maintain an open mind and the willingness to learn our own dialect, our
own national language, and other languages, so as to be an effective
communicator of the meaning of things, of the truth that every word or sign
envelops.
                        * Philosophy is a search for meaning, a search
which is more than just “looking for something”. It is a sort of a quest;
it is engaged in the search for the meaning
of life (importance, significance, value, and relevance). It is a
comprehensive study of the truth about life, the universe and everything
therein.

                        *Fr. Norris Clarke,

“Philosophy may not tell us how to make a living; but it shows us that life is
worth living”.