a topic in Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

1. The Nature and
Functions of Philosophy

2. DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY
Traditionally philosophy is defined as love of wisdom
because it came from two Greek words philos (love)
and Sophia (wisdom).

3. ORIGIN OF PHILOSOPHY
Greece is the birthplace of philosophy in the
West. To be more precise it is the ancient Greek
city of Miletus in the Western coast of what is
now Turkey that gave birth to philosophy.
It is in this city that the first philosopher in the
West, Thales, lived. Thales is the Father of
Philosophy in the Western civilization.

4. ORIGIN OF PHILOSOPHY
What made Thales a philosopher is his desire to
know the ultimate stuff that makes up the different
things we perceived.
Thales believed that despite the different things we
encounter there is one underlying stuff or substance
in which everything is composed. He believes that
there is One in the Many.

5. PHILOSOPHICAL ACTIVITY
Philosophy involves widest generalizations –
◦philosophers concern themselves with big issues
pertaining to the truth, , the good, the just, the
beautiful, and the existence of practically all things.
◦Philosophers concern themselves with the nature of
knowledge as such

6. PHILOSOPHICAL ACTIVITY
philosophy is all about fundamentals
◦ A fundamental is the root cause that explains almost everything in
a given context.
◦ If somehow philosophical ideas like consciousness and existence
disappear then knowledge of any kind will not make any sense
because there will be nothing to know (existence) and no one to
know (consciousness).
Philosophy is driven by the desire to integrate things in to a
one coherent whole.

7. BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
Metaphysics
Ontology
Philosophical
Anthropology
Epistemology Ethics Politics Aesthetics

8. METAPHYSICS
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy responsible for the
study of existence. It is the foundation of a worldview. It
answers the question "What is?" It encompasses everything
that exists, as well as the nature of existence itself. It says
whether the world is real, or merely an illusion. It is a
fundamental view of the world around us.

9. EPISTEMOLOGY
Epistemology is the study of our method of acquiring
knowledge. It answers the question, "How do we know?" It
encompasses the nature of concepts, the constructing of
concepts, the validity of the senses, logical reasoning, as
well as thoughts, ideas, memories, emotions, and all things
mental.
It is concerned with how our minds are related to reality,
and whether these relationships are valid or invalid.

10. ETHICS
Ethics is the branch of study dealing with what is the proper course
of action for man. It answers the question, "What do I do?" It is the
study of right and wrong in human endeavors. At a more
fundamental level, it is the method by which we categorize our
values and pursue them.
Do we pursue our own happiness, or do we sacrifice ourselves to a
greater cause? Is that foundation of ethics based on the Bible, or on
the very nature of man himself, or neither?

11. POLITICS
Politics is ethics applied to a group of people.
Politics tells you how a society must be set up and how one should
act within a society. Except for hermits, this comes up a lot.
What is a rational Politics?
The requirement for a political system is that the individuals within
that system are allowed to fully function according to their nature. If
that's not the case, they will either rebel, as in Czarist Russia, or the
system will eventually collapse, as in Communist Russia.

12. ESTHETICS
Esthetics is the study of art. It includes what art consists of, as well as
the purpose behind it. Does art consist of music, literature, and
painting? Or does it include a good engineering solution, or a
beautiful sunset?
These are the questions that aimed at in esthetics. It also studies
methods of evaluating art, and allows judgments of the art.
Is art in the eye of the beholder? Does anything that appeals to you
fit under the umbrella of art? Or does it have a specific nature? Does
it accomplish a goal?

13. Philosophical Tools and Processes
1. Philosophical Questions. Philosophy was born
because of ignorance. If one is ignorant, he asks
questions and if he keeps on questioning the more
knowledge he acquires. Once a person stops
questioning, he cease to become a philosopher.
In our daily struggles, one needs to ask questions
simple, serious and deep questions that we have to
grapple with. A philosopher is like a child who has an
inquisitive mind who never stops asking questions and
finding answers.

14. Philosophical Tools and Processes
2. Logical Reasoning. In philosophy reasoning is the
process of thinking about something in a logical way
in order to form a conclusion or judgement. It has
been the method institutionalized by the triumvirate
Greek philosophers specially Aristotle. Philosophy is
about answering questions. Reasoning is the method
we use in doing philosophy.

15. Philosophical Reflection
Reflection is an activity that requires a person to
examine his or her thoughts, feelings and
actions and learn from experience. (Abella,
2016). . Philosophers always search for the
essence of things and the ultimate reasons for
our existence.

16. Philosophical Reflection
Primary Reflection- which is the ability to think logically. The ability
of the mind to construct and evaluate arguments. It examines its
object by abstraction, by analytically breaking it down into its
constituent parts. It is concerned with definitions, essences and
technical solutions to problems.
Secondary reflection. According to Marcel this type of reflection
enables us to look deeper into our experiences and see the bigger
picture of reality. It integrates the fragmented and
compartmentalized experience into a whole.

17. Philosophical Reflection
In order to reflect philosophically we need to use a
framework. A framework is a conceptual map consisting of
our views and beliefs which affects the way we view the
world (Abella 2016).
The framework were going to used is called AQAL. It is an
acronym that stands for All Quadrants All Levels first
formulated by an American philosopher/psychologist Ken
Wilber. Wilber first introduced AQAL to the world in his
book Sex, Ecology, Spirituality.

18. Philosophical Reflection
The interior (or “loob” in Filipino) if applied to human
beings, includes one’s values, dreams, ideas, emotions,
beliefs. It basically consists of one’s inner life. It cannot be
seen or measured but can be experienced directly.
The exterior side of everything are the things that we can
see, measure and touch. They include the physical objects
around us including our own bodies.

19. Philosophical Reflection
Another basic distinction was introduced by
Ken Wilber using a horizontal line that divides
space into above and below:
Above the line represents what is singular,
individual, one. The space below represents
what is plural, collective, many. For example
you are an individual but you belong in a
family, community, class (all instances of the
collective).