Qué, Cómo, Para qué?

April Anne D. Balanon-Bocato

Saint Louis University

August 19, 2017

Running Head: BALANON-BOCATO QUE COMO PARA QUE
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Qué, Cómo, Para qué?

Philosophy is one of the most, if not THE most, distinctive form of all human activities.

(Pecorino, 2000) It is a type of thinking done primarily through reflection as it seeks to understand

and discover the nature of truth and knowledge, and to find what is of basic value and importance

in life. The world today is what it is as a result of past philosophical inquiry. (Pecorino 2000) If

man therefore, is made to cognize that survival in the world is the only end or purpose,

Philosophy’s role is to ask-survival for what?. This question and how 3 of Philosophy’s pillars link

and converge become the central foci of this paper.

Beginning with the proposition that everything has a purpose, Aristotle argues that the

ultimate purpose for humans will be something that is desired for the sake of itself and never for

the sake of anything else. Aristotle also goes on to explain that everything, including man, has a

function, and that is to embark on a journey towards evolving and becoming. As purpose and value

may be presented in numerous ways, to paraphrase Pecorino, these concepts are comprehended

philosophically. (Pecorino 2000) To further understand purpose and value, man first has to begin

asking about the simple things-this is ontology. Being the fundamental component of Philosophy,

ontology or metaphysics is said to determine epistemology and axiology. Ontology allows man to

ask what, and through this, knowledge and truth are attained. Epistemology answers the questions

why, to help man discover how things really are. (as cited by Skolimowski,H. 1992) Finally,

axiology permits man to realize goodness or value in the widest sense of these terms. It answers

the question “what for?” and enables the quest for knowledge and truth to come full circle.

At the close, the way reality is explained through these 3 cornerstones of Philosophy will

ultimately determine how knowledge, truth, and value are perceived. After all, there is truth to the

saying that people are who they chose to be, and what they believe is who they are.
Running Head: BALANON-BOCATO QUE COMO PARA QUE

Reference

Aristotles Purpose of Life. (2013, June 20). Retrieved from

https://orwell1627.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/aristotles-purpose-of-life/

Pecorino, P.A. (2000). What is philosophy. Retrieved from

http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/ppecorino/INTRO_TEXT/Chapter12Conclusion/

What_is_Philosopy.htm

Skolimowski, H. (1992). Living philosophy: Eco-philosophy as a tree of life. Retrieved from

https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/cesphd/entry