The document discusses several key aspects of philosophy: 1) Philosophy aims to understand reality and ask questions from a holistic, universal perspective rather than focusing only on particulars, as science does. 2) Philosophical inquiry leads us to examine fundamental questions about humanity, the world, and the divine. For example, asking about human freedom inevitably leads to broader questions. 3) Philosophers use rational thinking and dialectical debate to evaluate different perspectives and arrive at a more comprehensive understanding. This process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis has developed since Socrates' time. 4) Wonder and curiosity have driven philosophy since its beginnings, as thinkers seek to understand the world and address what they do not yet

1. UNDERSTANDING REALITY IN
A BIGGER PICTURE
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Sources: L.G. Camiloza, E.B. Garnace, R.M. Mazo, E.D. Perez: Intro to Philosophy of the Human Person ©
2016
Prepared by: Wilfredo DJ P. Martin IV | SHS Set
A

2. TheUniversal
andthe
Particular
 To clarify the nature of philosophical questions, we
distinguish between the PARTICULAR and the
UNIVERSAL.
 Particular= refers to a part of a whole
 Universal= pertains to the whole
 To philosophize then is to look at life from a holistic
perspective, such is precisely what makes philosophy
different from science according to German
Philosopher Martin Heidegger. For him, a scientific
question is always confined to the Particular, whereas
a philosophical question “leads into the totality of
beings” and “inquiries to the whole”

3. ESSENCEOF
HUMAN
FREEDOM
 When we ask the essence of Human
Freedom, the problem is not limited to
man and freedom. Instead, we find that
we cannot avoid asking about the essence
of man, the essence of the world, and the
essence of God.
 When we ask philosophically about
freedom, we venture into an inquiry
about the whole. It is no longer a
particular problem, but a universal
problem.

4. Truthsand
Dialectics
 Philosophers rely on the human
faculty of reason as they philosophize.
Through this rational capacity, they
arrived at the technique to resolve
philosophical questions called
DIALECTICS.
 Through dialogues, dialectics is an
effective means of examining and
evaluating truth claim. Errors and
inconsistencies of a claim are
demonstrated using rational abilities.

5. THEFIRSTSTAGEINARATIONALSYNTHESIS:SOCRATES
• BORN IN ALOPEKE, belonging to the tribe
Antiochis
• Son of SOPHRONISCUS (a sculptor) and
Phaearete (a midwife)
• Trained as a stonemason and participated in
the Peloponnesian War (battles of
Amphipolis, Delium, and Potidaea)
• One of first persons who was a GADFLY
• Accused of corrupting the minds of the youth
because of his philosophy and was given the
penalty of death by poison.

6. THEFIRSTLESSONWHICH
SOCRATESSETOUTTOTEACH,
INOPPOSTIONTOTHE
SOPHISTS,WASTHATTHE
HUMANMINDCANBE
SATISFIEDBYNOTHINGLESS
THANUNCHANGING,
OBJECTIVETRUTH

7. SOCRATESHELDTHATIFYOU
COULDNOTMAKEGENERAL
STATEMENTSTHATWERE
REALLYFOUNDEDINTHE
FACTSOFREALITY,YOU
COULDNOTREASONATALL

8. Thesis,
Antithesis,
andSynthesis
 The Dialectics of the ancients later
developed in the modern era as Thesis,
Anthesis, and Synthesis.
 The exchange or confrontation
between differing positions (one as
thesis and the other as antithesis)
culminates to synthesis that is a
resolution of opposing views.
 Thus, the interplay of opposing views
is necessary for progress.
Confrontations of this kind must to be
avoided at all. People need this
exchange of ideas so they can grow.

9. WONDER, KNOWLEDGE, AND
IGNORANCE
AN INTRODUTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Sources: L.G. Camiloza, E.B. Garnace, R.M. Mazo, E.D. Perez: Intro to Philosophy of the Human Person ©
2016
Prepared by: Wilfredo DJ P. Martin IV | SHS Set
A

10.  Human Beings want to understand the
world and to know the truth for there are
so many things we have not yet figured
out.
 Plato, one of the first philosophers,
claimed that “philosophy begins in
wonder.” Wonder is the beginning for it
stimulates us to venture into philosophy
WONDER, KNOWLEDGE, AND
IGNORANCE

11. WISDOM
 For Aristotle, there are two kinds of
Wisdom:
 THEORETICAL
 PRACTICAL
To know necessary truths
and their logical
consequences
Deals with knowledge in
the realm of action
Desirable
Valuable

12. PHILOSOPHIC
ALTHOUGHTS
INTHREE
VIEWS
COSMOCENTRIC
THEOCENTRIC
ANTHROPOCENTRIC

13.  Ancient Philosophy (600 B.C.-600 A.D)
 The question that concerned them was the origin
of the universe– the arche (Greek for ‘starting
point’)
 They wanted to understand the world for they
found themselves ignorant about the workings of
the universe.
 They thought that SUBSTANCE is responsible
for the multiplicity of things.
MILESIANS
PYTHAGOREANS
ELESIANS
ATOMISTS

14.  Medieval Period (when the Church
sustained man’s intellect)
 Avicenna (980-1037) a Muslim
Philosopher, argued that the existence of
beings can be traced to another being
responsible for its existence (God)
 Religions were also curated/born out of
this philosophical period.

15.  Modern Period (1500-1900)
 Characterized by Subjectivity and
Individualism, hence, centered on man
(Anthropos)
 Result of both the rise of modern science
and the diminished authority of the
Church in the 17th Century.
RATIONALISM
EMPIRICISM

16. RATIONALISM
Committed to the view that
knowledge is acquired
through season independent
of sense experience.
Clear and distinct ideas
cannot be doubted unlike the
data of senses (DesCartes)

17. EMPIRICISM
Holds that all knowledge is
ultimately derived from
sense experience.
Tabula rasa (John Locke)