INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE

HUMAN PERSON
PHILOSOPHY  Aesthetics- explores the nature
and appreciation of art, beauty
 PHILOS- “Love”, Sophia- and taste.
“Wisdom”
 Philosopher- “Lover of wisdom” HISTORY OF
 “Philosophy is the knowledge of PHILOSOPHY
all things through their ultimate
causes, acquired through the use  Pythagoras
of reason”/  Ionian Greek
 Philosopher
PHILOSOPHY  First person to
 Material Object of name himself a
Philosophy: “philosophy philosopher or
studies all things”; thus all lover of wisdom.
aspects of reality can be the  Known for his
object of a philosophical study. Pythagorean
 Formal object of Philosophy: Theorem in
“through their ultimate causes”, geometry.
seeking the deepest explanations  Thales of Miletus
regarding the existence and  First person to
nature beings. explain the world
 Natural Scope of Philosophy: and universe
“acquired through the use of outside
reason : seeking the ultimate mythological
explanations that can be arrived concepts.
at the applying reasoning to  He explained that
facts supplied by experience. the world was
made up of
BRANCHES OF “water’.
PHILOSOPHY  Teacher of
Pythagoras
 Epistemology- studies the
 Heraclitus
nature of knowledge and he
rationally of belief; the means of  He believed that
production of knowledge. the world
 Metaphysics- studies and asks originated from the
questions about the essence and fire element.
existence of a being.  Socrates
 Logic- concerned with  First moral
“reasoning” or truth. philosopher
 Ethics/Axiology- concerns the
matter of “value/morality”.
  Known for his with Platonic
Socratic Method ideology.
(elenchus)  Believed that
 Teacher of Plato everything is
 “Stresses that man connected with
must take good God.
care of its soul”  Saint Thomas
 “All human beings Aquinas
desire the good”.  “Believed that
 Plato truth is to be
 Student of Socrates accepted no matter
and Teacher of where it is found”.
Aristotle.  Followed
 Founder of Aristotelian
Academy of philosophy.
Athens.  Reaffirmed the
 “The soul is three types of soul
immortal, even the (first written by
physical ceased to Aristotle).
exist”.  Ibn an-Nafis
 Existence of  First to describe
abstract objects. the pulmonary
 “Virtue is circulation of the
knowledge” circulatory.
 The soul is the  Believed that the
principle which soul is found
explains all life. throughout the
 Aristotle entirety of the
 Student of Plato bode, not just one
and Teacher of of its organs.
Alexander the  Rene Descartes
Great.  Father of Modern
 On his treatise, Western
Peri Psyche, the Philosophy.
soul is divided into  Father of
three types and Analytical
each according to Geometry.
each living being.  Cogito ergo sum (“
 Saint Augustine of I think therefore I
Hippo am”).
 Bishop of Hippus  Believed that the
region of North mind and body is
Africa. distinct but closely
 Combined join.
Christian doctrine
  Baruch Spinoza
 One of the
pioneers of the
Dutch Golden
Age.
 Opposed
Descartes’ mind-
body dualism.
 No one is
intrinsically good
or evil.

NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
 Human being possesses a keen
desire to know, and that leads
him to seek the causes of events
or happenings.
 His search for knowledge is
induced theoretical
considerations, as well as
practical reasons.
 He needs to find the answer to
many questions about things
existing around him.