Introduction to Philosophy PDF

Introduction to Philosophy What is Philosophy? Why Study Philosophy? Thinking Philosophically. Why Study Philosophy? Reading: Andresito Acuna In the reading, you were able to know: 1. The context of Philosophy 1 in UP Diliman 2. The importance of philosophy and why it is tau...

Introduction to Philosophy What is Philosophy? Why Study Philosophy? Thinking Philosophically. Why Study Philosophy? Reading: Andresito Acuna In the reading, you were able to know: 1. The context of Philosophy 1 in UP Diliman 2. The importance of philosophy and why it is taught to UP students 3. What it means to think critically “[Philosophy 1] was my solution to the problem of making philosophy relevant not only to the price of eggs in the market but also to the rest of the natural lives of students. “Thus, Philosophy 1 does not only offer an exhaustive study of natural arguments; but it also provides the students with a decision making procedure for resolving any cognitive-moral dilemmas one is likely to encounter in the business of living.” What is critical thinking? 1. “...thinking appropriately moved by reason” 2. “...rational reflective thinking concerned with what to do or what to believe.” 3. “...is disciplined, self-directed thinking which exemplifies the perfection of thinking appropriate to a particular mode or domain of thinking… “...critical thinking is the art of thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better, more clear, more accurate, more fair.” 4. “...is thinking that is self-corrective, sensitive to context, and relies upon criteria for the formation of judgments…” Theory of Critical Thinking 1. Self-consciousness as the origin of critical thinking. a. “A caveman reflecting on his hunting tactics and judging it as ineffective invents a new and effective tactic of cooperative hunting” 2. Metacognition and Critical Thinking a. Metacognition - Refers to the self-conscious act of evaluating, judging, and criticizing the worth or value of one’s action, belief, behavior, or one’s intellectual and rational product. b. Critical thinking - Refers to the conscious act of evaluating, judging, and criticizing the worth or value of another person’s… Philosophy 1 aims at developing both metacognition and critical thinking Holistic Development of Critical Thinking 1. When students are able to internalize analyzing concepts 2. When students are able to internalize analyzing knowledge claims 3. When students are able to internalize analyzing deductive arguments 4. When students are able to internalize the meta-cognitive ability of evaluating one’s own arguments and composing counter-arguments 5. When students are able to internalize all these skills in resolving cognitive-moral dilemmas What is Philosophy? The Three Concepts of Philosophy By: Armando F. Bonifacio 1. The commonsensical notion of “philosophy” - The general belief that each person has a personal philosophy of their own - The jeepney driver, the farmer, the factory hand, the sidewalk vendor, the teacher, the politician, etc. - They would indeed have a personal philosophy that affects their mode of relating or dealing with their environment. “However, if I were to ask a jeepney driver or a farmer what his personal philosophy is, he would most likely regard me in puzzlement for he would not know what it is I am asking.” “...in truth each of us has internalized through time some fundamental values, some rules of life, some basic assumptions about things, persons, institutions, etc., and all of these form, as it were, an entire set of presuppositions that influences our decisions, beliefs, actions or what not. Consider values, or more specifically, our ideas of good and bad, right and wrong, including our concept of the good life.”  “Apart from values, we also have some very basic metaphysical and epistemological notions… Concerning epistemological notions, when a farmer teaches his son how to use the plow, the farmer has certain ideas on how best to transmit knowledge. He also has certain beliefs about the value of this knowledge.” 1. The commonsensical notion of “philosophy” -All these underlying notions make up what we may call an individual’s personal philosophy. -It does not have to be consciously done. Just that, regardless, it still shapes and directs the person’s beliefs, actions, and expectations. 2. The activity of reflection as a kind of philosophy -This kind of reflection focuses on objectification and analysis. -An ordinary man engages in it on a piecemeal fashion; philosophers might engage it more systematically “...to objectify and analyze the foundation of our values, including the roots of our metaphysical and epistemological belief is to engage in philosophy.” 3. Beyond analysis, making an effort in reconstruction -These philosophers looked for more viable foundations for ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. -Going beyond just a single discipline, but a truly comprehensive philosophy -Aims at a reconstructed belief or value system, which for some, should show a universal and comprehensive character  “If we assume that all our knowledge rest upon some common foundations, then a reflection on these and the related effort at reconstruction would amount to some form of comprehensive philosophy, or at least a reconstructed philosophy that would serve as the unifying frame of all our knowledge, beliefs, and actions.“ Thinking Philosophically Philosophical Questions Reading: John Hospers 1. Philosophical Questions - At what point do we draw the line from philosophical and non-philosophical questions? - When is “what is the meaning of life?” a philosophical question? - The multiplicity of meanings - Meaning as definition, intention, implication, purpose, etc. - Getting caught up in its multiplicity without clarification brings you further away from philosophy. - To begin asking philosophically, we need to “cut through the fog” 2. What is Philosophy? - What are philosophical questions not? - It is not something that can be answered empirically, therefore, the answers are something that is: - Not ordinary perceptions - Not the sciences - Not things that happened in the past - Not mathematical 2. What is Philosophy? - What are philosophical questions? - They aim to answer things related to: - The study of reality not exactly empirical nor mathematical - The study of justifications - The analysis of various concepts such as causes, beauty, knowing “So many of these questions lead into each other that we won’t try to distinguish them further here” 2. What is Philosophy? - Branches and Areas of Philosophy 1. Logic, the study of correct reasoning 2. Epistemology, the study of knowledge 3. Metaphysics, the study of reality a. Questions with regard to substance, being, attributes, properties 4. Axiology, the study of values a. What is good? In terms of ethics and beauty 3. Verbal Issues - Sometimes, philosophical problems turn out to just be verbal issues or linguistic confusion. - “Once we are clear about the meaning of the words we are using, there is nothing left to dispute.” - We should be careful about mistaking verbal disputes with genuine philosophizing. FIRST REFLECTION PAPER Reflection: What had been my philosophical thoughts? Guide Questions: 1. Before this lesson, what kind of philosophical questions have you been asking yourself? (At least 2) 2. How did you deal with these questions? Were you aware that they were philosophical questions? (You can focus on just 1) Deadline: March 1 Format: TNR, 12, double-space Word Count (entire essay): minimum 400 words; maximum 600 words Reflection: What had been my philosophical thoughts? Rubrics for grading: A. 8 points - How well the guide questions were answered. a. 8 - fully answered; 6 - mostly answered; 4 - somewhat answered; 2 - barely answered; 0 - unrelated answer B. 2 points - Organization of thought/clarity of writing a. 2 - writing is clear, concise, coherent, and has little to none grammatical errors Total: 10 points