Philosophical Analysis

Logic: Nature and Limits of Reasoning

- We use reasoning to make any kinds of analysis

Now (21st century) is the Age of information, communication, and technology

- 20th century Age of space exploration
- 19th century Age of inventors

Grades
1. Midterm exam (first half of the semester)
2. End-of-term exam (second half of the semester)
3. Passing: 75%

Bonus Points
- Mathematical Logic
- Recitation (5 to 30 points addition)

Excuse =/= Mere justifications

- Justification acceptable to the university
- No-choice situation
- Make-up exam or DRP

Ancient civilizations
- Ask gods and deities for guidance when to plant and harvest
- Lives were strongly dependent on agriculture and rain
- They don’t have calendars (Pharaohs and Emperors have)
- The lives of men are in the hands of gods and deities

Filipinos
- Often look for god-chosen leaders
- Often accept things as God’s will
- Blessed = God’s chosen ones

Ancient Greeks
- Men can have control over their future independent on the gods and deities, dependent
only on their capacity to reason
- Expanded in Europe and became western civilization

Homework:
1. Read on
a. History of Ancient Greece
b. Democracy (who invented and when was it created)
 c. Philosophy (who invented and when was it created)
2. Check Appendix I for readings
a. In case readings are not provided, read about the topic on Encyclopedia
Britannica or Wikipedia

Ask Elijah for Course Content

The Establishment of Western Civilization by the Ancient Greeks

Ancient Civilization
- Pharaohs claim to be gods as they can predict the climate and tides and dictate the
activities that rely on the climate

Reasoning
- Matrix of rules
- Regular observations (D_1, D_2, …, D_n) → Rule (D_rule) → “Prediction/Inference”
(D_tomorrow)

Ancient Greece
- Greece has a lot of cliffs and plateau from the tectonic plates movement
- Europe tectonic plates up, Africa down
- Coraline (porous) becomes limestone and marble under high pressure that is made of
calcium carbonate that is soluble in water
- These include physical weathering from wind, rain, and temperature changes, as
well as chemical weathering from reactions with water and atmospheric gases.
- Karst Processes: calcium carbonate, which is susceptible to dissolution by water
containing carbon dioxide, forming karst landscapes. As rainwater percolates
through cracks and crevices in the coral limestone, it dissolves the rock,
enlarging existing cavities and creating new ones.
- When caves collapse, they become sinkholes
- PH > clay soil > holds water > water table > thick and deeply rooted roots
- Greece > not clay soil > water drains down the crevice > no water table > difficulty in
agriculture and growing plants, erosion > flatland or badlands (chatgpt) or floodplain (sir)
> scattered settlements develop in these areas > non-unified culture and martial society
“soldiers” and maritime society “sea-fairing”
- Only goats and sheeps can survive

1500-700 B.C.
- Nile river > Carthage empire sa left (sub-saharan area), Egyptian empire sa gitna,
persian empire sa right (mesapotamia)
- Sub-saharan area utilizes 300 trees to build one ship leading to the downfall of the
civilization
Island of Crete
- No natural resources but has a sophisticated civilization
- Traders from surrounding civilizations travel to Crete for shelter during rough weathers
and became a melting pot of civilizations

-
- Knossos Civilization
- Eruption of Thera volcano wiped out the Knossos civilization
- Source of religion, religion, economy, and political power of Greece vanished
- Centralized religion → civil religion (liberalised, non-denominational) kanya
kanyang paniniwala
- Different interpretation of religious stories and beliefs
- Open-minded ang people sa different interpretations
- Athens became the new haven for the sea-farers and traders
- Thin topsoil, low economy, low religious authority, and low political authority
- Wealthy traders dominated the local political authorities
- Solon
- Son of a trader born in Greece, decided to help Greece gain its stability by
making big businessmen involved in politics (draw lots on who would help)
- A family rigged the draw lots by conducting the draw lots by themselves
- Cleisthenes
- Started a people power revolution and birthed democracy
- Senate composed of 500 representatives of the different villages
- Makes the law, becomes judge, and becomes General
- One senator = one vote, majority wins
- Uses debate to resolve conflicts
- Competitive economy and highly innovative

Civil war in Persia

- Son wishing to takeover his father emperor hired Martian Maritime Mercenaries (Greek
Mercenaries) as soldiers (good navigation in the bodies of water)
- Emperor recognized the danger imposed by the capacities of Greeks and decided to
invade Greece
- 500,000 (100,000) Persian men were employed
- Greece united to fought off the invaders
 -
- 25,000 men (Spartans) and treasury/funds should be placed in a land with
transparency and no dictator (Athens)
- 70 years war
- Economy and technology in Athens flourished and many other countries tried to
emulate it
- Democracy was hailed as it bought peace and prosperity in the land and spread
to other areas
- Persian boats are for rivers while Greek boats are for sea
- Rizal wrote an unpublished book about the Ancient Greece civilization and the attempted
invasion of the Persians
- Told the stories to revolutionary leaders in a house in Quiapo during the formation
of La Liga Filipina

Democracy
- The advent of democracy (senators debating during conflicts) highlighted reasoning
- Brought liberalization
- Highlighted reasoning
- Birthed Philosophy → Natural philosophy → Science

Mathematics
- Chosen people (emperors, kings, and pharaohs) use mathematics and calendars
- Greeks challenge this idea
- Magical and gift of the gods → product of reasoning and shared this with
everyone
- To be voted in the Senate you need to share your resources: wealth or knowledge
- Tools founded on human’s capacity to reason that allows us to predict the future
 - Might there be other tools founded on reasoning that we can use to predict
the future independent of the gods and deities, dependent on the capacity
to reason?
- Philosophy, Logic, Physics, Biology, Geometry, Medicine

Western Civilization
- Created by the Greeks
- Used Democracy + Philosophy as foundation
- Men can have control over their future independent of the gods and deities,
dependent only on their capacity to reason.
- 600 B.C to 600 A.D. is the spread of Western Civilization in Europe
- Some Greeks migrated to Rome, Italy → Expansion of Roman Empire → Spread of
philosophy