Module 2:

Search of Wisdom
and Truth
Take note of the following:
1. Truth
2. Facts
3. Knowledge
4. Opinion
5. Explanation
6. Conclusion
Objectives:
Define truth and opinion; and
Distinguish truthful and
opinionated statements
The Pursuit of Wisdom
Philosophers generally see
philosophy as the pursuit of wisdom.
Wisdom is general knowledge of
what does and does not produce
human happiness.
Wisdom and Knowledge
 Wisdom requires knowing the difference between
right and wrong combined with the desire and
ability to act in basic accord with that knowledge.
 Unlike forms of knowledge based primarily on
education and intelligence, wisdom involves an
accumulation of experiences beyond the
intellectual or theoretical variety.
What is TRUTH?
 Philosophers often grapple with the concept
of truth. Truth lies at the heart of any
inquiry. Knowledge must be truthful to gain
validity and acceptance. However, the
concept of truth remains a highly debated
and much discussed topic among
philosophers.
 Philosophers considered truth as a kind of quality or
value.
 For example, when we answer a “True or False”
test, we judge if the statements we read are true or
false. This means that statements may have truth or
may not have truth. Statements about the world or
reality are called propositions and these
propositions may or may not carry truth.
Propositions are usually stated as short statements
or sentences.

 EX. I am handsome.
 What is truth and why is it important?
 Before we discuss truth, it is important to clarify
knowledge, since it is through knowing that we are
able to determine what truth is.
 Knowledge is the clear awareness and
understanding of something. It is a product of
question that allow for clear answers provided by
facts. Our knowledge is comprised of ideas and
beliefs that we know to be true.
Knowledge is sometimes tricky.
For example:
All birds fly.
 Knowledge must be based on evident ideas that we
consider as a fact.
 For example, we say that “I know that fish live in
the water” because fish do live in water.
Propositions or statements which are observed to
be real or truthful are considered facts.
 A fact is a knowledge that is truthful.
How to know if it is true?
 There are statements, however, that are not
evidently or immediately known to be true. For
example, we can say that “I know that my
school is the best school in the city.” This
statement however, cannot be taken as true
since it is simply not immediately evident. This
statement is a claim, and further examination is
required to establish whether it is true or false.
Truthful statements, therefore, can be
considered as based on facts. Science
considers truth as something observable
and empirical. This means that any claim
can be proven by verification and
experimentation
Philosophy has various views which can
help us tackle the concepts of knowing
the truth.
 There are several views regarding truth.
Philosophers emphasize the importance of
belief as a basis for determining the truth.
But what kind of belief is truthful?
How do we know what we believe is true?
 A belief is true if it can be justified or proven
through the use of one’s senses.
 A belief or statement is true if it is based on facts.
 Getting a consensus or having people agree on a
common belief.
Provided with the various views from the
slides before, we need also to examine
whether a knowledge can be proven
through actions. Propositions, therefore,
are only true if they can be applied in real
life.
Ex. I can do a double flip tumbling.
 Let us analyze the following
statements:
 Ittakes me 30 minutes to walk from my home to school.
 Living near the school is better because we don’t have to
spend much for transportation.
 My sister ate the last piece of pizza pie.
 My sister is a selfish person because she ate the last piece
of pizza pie.
 The policeman firmly pushed the suspect to his knees and
placed him in handcuffs.
 The aggressive manner by which the policeman arrested
the suspect is an example of the brutality that
characterizes our police force.
1. It takes me 30 minutes to walk 1. Living near the school is better
from my home to school.
2. My sister ate the last piece of
pizza pie.
3. The policeman firmly pushed the
suspect to his knees and placed
him in handcuffs.
 
because we don’t have to spend
much for transportation.
2. My sister is a selfish person
because she ate the last piece of
pizza pie.
3. The aggressive manner by which
the policeman arrested the
suspect is an example of the
brutality that characterizes our
police force.

Verifying the number of minutes it takes for one to walk from

home to school is possible. The second and third statements
speak of actions that can be verified by recalling an experience
providing evidences such as an eyewitness accounts.
The second column, on the other hand, has
statements that could be considered
opinions. These statements go beyond
providing facts.
 They also provide conclusions or
perspective regarding certain situations.
Some of the statements even advance a
belief advance a certain thing or person.
Opinions are also the bases for making
arguments and convincing people that a
certain claim is a fact.
A conclusion is a judgement based on
certain facts. The facts that form the bases
of a conclusion may not be disputed but the
conclusion itself could be contested or
questioned. Meanwhile, beliefs are
statements that express convictions that are
not easily and clearly explained by facts. To
judge the truthfulness of belief, we must also
consider things such as a person’s experience
and views.
We should also be aware when statements
go beyond the facts and provide additional
ideas and information. For instance,
statement 4 provides details or explanation
in order to support the idea “my sister is
selfish”. Explanations are statements that
assume the claim to be true and provide
reasons why the statement is true.