Introduction to the

Philosophy of the
Human Person
QUARTER 1
PHILOSOPHY
• The word philosophy originated from two
Greek words philo which means love and
sophia which means wisdom.
• Love of wisdom refers to the strong desire of
the human person to possess knowledge
and apply it correctly.
• Philosophizing traces its roots to when
people started asking “why” and tried looking
for answers.
PHILOSOPHY
• Today, we know philosophy as the study of
general and fundamental problems that has
something to do with our existence as
human beings, the foundations of our
knowledge, values that we hold on to,
reason, mind and language.
2 Types of Questions
1.) Non-philosophical questions – questions
that are easy to answer. Questions like, How
much is your allowance? What time do you go
to school?
2.) Philosophical questions – questions that
are difficult and almost impossible to answer.
Examples are: What is the origin of the
universe and everything that exist? Does God
exist? If God exists, why is there suffering?
What is the meaning and purpose of life?
PROMINENT PHILOSOPHERS
1.) Pythagoras – was the first to call
himself a philosopher, from the Greek
word philosophos which means “lover of
wisdom”. He did not claim that he was
wise but by calling himself a philosopher,
he was saying that he was a person who
valued and cherished wisdom. He was
also the proponent of the Pythagorean
Theorem in Mathematics.
PROMINENT PHILOSOPHERS
2.) Socrates – was the first major Greek
philosopher. He came up with the Socratic
method which was a way of studying
problems through a question and answer
technique. His thoughts focused on
morals, good and evil, and society. He did
not write a lot but Plato, his student
recorded all his thoughts.
PROMINENT PHILOSOPHERS
3.) Plato – wrote about his philosophy in
conversations called “dialogues”. This is
where he expressed his thought that of all
people a philosopher should be king. Plato
believed that one should not live in luxury,
but instead in simplicity. He founded his
own school, The Academy where Aristotle
became one of his students.
PROMINENT PHILOSOPHERS
4.) Aristotle – was a student of Plato but
didn’t always agree with his teacher. He
liked to focus more on Science as one of
the practical areas of Philosophy. He
founded his own school, The Lyceum. For
him, reason was the highest good and that
having self-control is very important.
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1.) Metaphysics – study of the physical
universe and the nature of ultimate reality. It is
an extension of fundamental drive in human
beings to know what is real.
Examples:
• What is the world like?
• What is the origin of the world?
• What is real?
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
2.) Epistemology – considers how people
come to learn what they know. This is the
branch of philosophy that studies the nature
and scope of knowledge.
Examples:
• What is knowledge?
• What are the sources of knowledge?
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
3.) Axiology – study of principles and values
(Ethics and Aesthetics)
Ethics – the branch of philosophy that studies
and evaluates human conduct.
Aesthetics – the branch of philosophy that
studies the nature of beauty.
Examples:
• What is goodness?
• What is beauty?
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
4.) Logic – differentiates between valid and
confusing ideas.
Examples:
• What is good reasoning?
• Not so good reasoning?
2
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5
The Elephant and the 6 Blind Men
By: James Baldwin
There were once six blind men who stood by
the roadside every day and begged from the
people who passed. They had often heard of
elephants, but they had never seen one; for,
being blind, how could they? It so happened
one morning that an elephant was driven down
the road where they stood. When they were
told that the great beast was before them, they
asked the driver to let him stop so that they
might see him. Of course, they could not see
him with their eyes; but they thought that by
touching him they could learn just what kind of
The Elephant and the 6 Blind Men
By: James Baldwin
animal he was. The first one happened to put
his hand on the elephant's side. "Well, well!" he
said, "now I know all about this beast. He is
exactly like a wall.“ The second felt only of the
elephant's tusk. "My brother," he said, "you are
mistaken. He is not at all like a wall. He is
round and smooth and sharp. He is more like a
spear than anything else.“ The third happened
to take hold of the elephant's trunk. "Both of
you are wrong," he said. "Anybody who knows
anything can see that this elephant is like a
snake."
The Elephant and the 6 Blind Men
By: James Baldwin
The fourth reached out his arms and grasped
one of the elephant's legs. "Oh, how blind you
are!" he said. "It is very plain to me that he is
round and tall like a tree”. The fifth was a very
tall man, and he chanced to take hold of the
elephant's ear. "The blindest man ought to
know that this beast is not like any of the things
that you name," he said. "He is exactly like a
huge fan”. The sixth was very blind indeed, and
it was some time before he could find the
elephant at all. At last he seized the animal's
tail.
The Elephant and the 6 Blind Men
By: James Baldwin
"O foolish fellows!“ he cried. "You surely have
lost your senses. This elephant is not like a
wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree; neither is
he like a fan. But any man with a particle of
sense can see that he is exactly like a rope.“
Then the elephant moved on, and the six blind
men sat by the roadside all day and quarreled
about him. Each believed that he knew just
how the animal looked; and each called the
others hard names because they did not agree
with him. People who have eyes sometimes
act as foolishly.
Activity 2:
Answer the Questions below
1.) What does this story tell you about the
different points of view?

2.) Do you agree that people who have eyes

sometimes act foolishly?

3.) What is the danger in thinking that what you

know is the truth?
 Meaning and Process of Doing
Philosophy
• Philosophical Reflection – the process by
which a person undergoes a reflective state
or evaluates his/her experiences first before
making any related action.
• Being able to think and reflect leads us to a
better understanding of ourselves and allows
us to have a deeper and wider perspectives
of the things around us.
 Meaning and Process of Doing
Philosophy
• Not only do we gain a better perspective but
a lot of human activities are brought by
reflection.
• Examples of activities includes making wise
choices out of different options or
alternatives, learning from past mistakes and
avoiding in committing the same mistakes
again and before making any conclusion or
action, getting all sides of the story and
gathering all relevant information.
 Meaning and Process of Doing
Philosophy
• When we are doing philosophical reflections
and we are engaged in finding ways or
methodologies to eliminate any practical
problem or abstract idea, we are already
“doing philosophy”.
• In the process of doing philosophy, having a
holistic point of view is very important. A
holistic point of view is looking at all aspects
of a situation first before making a
conclusion.
 Meaning and Process of Doing
Philosophy
• The skills involved in doing philosophy
include critical, logical and analytical
thinking, observation and communication
skills. Holistic perspective, or “holism”
also states that (1) the whole is usually
greater than the sum of its parts; (2) when
the whole is less than the sum of its parts,
it’s still greater in the sense that it brings us
closer to the truth.
 Remember the following:
HOLISTIC POINT OF PARTIAL POINT OF
VIEW VIEW
• Looks at all aspects of • Looks only at a limited
the given situation or number of aspects of
problem. the given problem or
• All aspects are given situation.
importance when • Conclusions are made
making conclusions. bases on considering
• All aspects are tied in some, but not all sides
together to form a of the problem or
general overview of the situation.
problem or situation.
 Examples
HOLISTIC POINT OF
VIEW
• Using different sources of •
information in doing your
research.
• Listening to both your • Listening only to your
teacher’s and parent’s
advice on what course to
take in college.
• Not judging people by what •
we see on social media,
but instead learning to
know them better.
PARTIAL POINT OF
VIEW
Using only one source of
information in doing your
research.
friend’s advice on what
course to take in college.
Judging the character of
people we know just by
merely looking at their
Facebook posts.