Methods of Philoso[hizing

1. Lesson 7:
Methods of
Philosophizing
Methods of
Philosophizing (Part 3)
Mr. Edward B. Noda Jr.

2. Methods of
Philosophizing

3. 1. The Dialectic Method
● This method of philosophizing was formulated by the
Greek philosopher Socrates, one of the great
philosophers of the ancient world.
● The method starts with eliciting the definition of a certain
word from a person who appears to be familiar (or
“pretends” to be familiar) with its meaning. Socrates then
points out the imperfections of the understanding of the
person through a series of questions. What Socrates
desires is for the person to realize his ignorance and
contradictions, and thereby correcting his own mistakes
and arriving at a complete knowledge of the true
meaning of the word.

4. ● The method, however, does not sit well
with the ruling elites of Athens (the city
where Socrates lived).
● They accused him of not worshiping the
Greek gods and corrupting the youth.
● His defense (which was dramatically
recorded in Plato’s dialogue the Apology)
was a model of “forceful argument” but it
fell on deaf ears.

5. ● Socrates forced to drink poison. He was the first philosopher to
die fighting for truth.

6. 1. The Dialectic Method
● The Socratic Method was modernized and treated in
a different way by George Wilhelm Hegel, a German
philosopher.
● An individual’s mind is influenced by means of a
common language, customs of one’s society, and the
cultural institutions that one belongs to.
● People are social beings and could be completely
influenced by other people’s ideas.
● Hegel refers this to “Spirit” as the collective
consciousness of a society which is responsible for
honing one’s consciousness and ideas.

7. 1. The Dialectic Method
● Hegel also believed that the Spirit is
constantly changing and evolving.
● According to Hegel, the spirit changes
through dialectic. First, there is an idea about
the world (much like a thesis), which has a
natural characteristic of having errors which
give rise to the antithesis. The thesis and
antithesis can be eventually resolved by
creating a synthesis which is a new idea
comprised of the essentials of both the thesis
and the antithesis

8. 2. The Pragmatic Method
● Pragmatism was popularized by William James and
institutionalized in American culture by John Dewey.
● Pragmatists seek to make philosophy relevant by
solving real life problems.
● Pragmatism aims is to test the view of science, religion
and philosophy by determining their practical results.
● The pragmatic test is: if I practice this belief, will it
bring success or failure? Will I solve problems or create
problems? Successful experience is the verification
process of truth for the pragmatists

9. 3. The Phenomenological Method
● The phenomenological method was conceived by
Edmund Husserl, one of the greatest intellects of the
19th century.
● This experience is the world as it appears to us or the
phenomenal world - hence, the term phenomenology.
● Husserl’s main purpose was to build a philosophy free
from any biases or preconceived ideas. One can only
do this if one returns to immediate experience.

10. 4. The Primary and Secondary reflections
● According to Gabriel Marcel, reflection arise when
there is a disruption from your normal routine and
when something valuable is at stake.
● Marcel identified two levels of reflection: primary
reflection and secondary reflection. Marcel applied
these two levels of reflection to the most fundamental
question: “Who am I?”

11. Example of Primary Reflection
● When we try to fill up a form given by our
school for example. The form asked us to
write our name, age, gender, address,
name of parents, etc. To answer this, of
course we have to think to distinguish who
we are (the self) against other things (the
non-self or objects). This is the primary
reflection.

12. Example of Secondary Reflection
● We view that our self is bigger and more expansive
than what is there on the form. Thus, we are not
merely thinking but we are thinking about thinking
and about the process we perform in answering the
form. This is the secondary reflection.
● The result of secondary reflection is a more
expansive view of the self until it embraces the
world. Thus, the separation of the self and the world
brought about by primary reflection were united by
the secondary reflection.

13. 5. The Analytic Method
● The Analytic Method was initiated by philosophers at Cambridge
University (England): George Edward Moore (1873-1958),
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) and Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-
1951).
● The task of analytic method is to clarify how philosophers used
words through an analysis of language.
● Wittgenstein said that ‘the object of philosophy is the logical
clarification of thought’

14. 5. The Analytic Method
● For example, the usage of words like
“demand”, “supply”, “money”, “price” in
the context of economics differ from its
usage in everyday life. These are technical
words and they follow certain rules (i.e. the
language game) within that discipline that
affects the way these words are used.

15. REMEMBER
Methods of Philosophizing:
1. Dialectic- two opposing sides (thesis and
antithesis which will lead to synthesis)
2. Pragmatic- practical application
3. Analytic- context of language
4. Phenomenological- experiences
5. Primary Reflection- distinguish who we are
(the self) against other things (the non-self
or objects).
6. Secondary Reflection- a more expansive
view of the self