PHILOSOPHY Lesson 1: Holistic Perspective vs. Partial Point of View PDF

Lesson 1: Holistic Perspective vs. Partial Point of View The original meaning of philosophy based on it’s etymologically is love of wisdom. The term “philosophy is an English translation of the Greek word “Philosophia” which is the combination of the two Greek words namely, “philo” which means love...

Lesson 1: Holistic Perspective vs. Partial Point of View The original meaning of philosophy based on it’s etymologically is love of wisdom. The term “philosophy is an English translation of the Greek word “Philosophia” which is the combination of the two Greek words namely, “philo” which means love, and “sophia” which means wisdom. Where Love is the strong desire of a particular object and wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. Can you identify the following Greek philosophers below? The most notable ancient Greek philosophers are:  Pythagoras (570 BCE to 495 BCE)- A mathematician and scientist, he was credited with formulating the Pythagorean theorem.  Heraclitus (535 BCe to 475 BCE)- He proposed that everything that exists is based on a higher order or plan which he called logos.  Democritus (460 BCE to 370 BCE)- He devoted himself to the study of the causes of natural phenomena.  Diogenesof Sinope (412 BCE to 323 BCE)- He was a known advocate of living a simple and virtuous life.  Epicurus (341 BCE to 270 BCE)- He believed that philosophy could enable man to live a life of happiness.  Socrates (470 BCE to 399 BCE)- He was considered the foremost philosophers of ancient times. He was credited with formulating the Socratic method- means of examining a topic by devising a series of questions that let the learner examine and analyze his knowledge and views regarding the topic.  Plato (427 BCE to 347 BCE)- A student of Socrates, he wrote down his mentor’s teaching and incorporated some of his own ideas into them. Plato’s most significant ideas included his Theory of Forms, which proposes that everything that exist is based on an idea or template than can only be perceived in the mind. Plato is also known for his dialectic- a method of inquiry where two opposing ideas are discussed in an attempt to arrive at new knowledge. Plato’s lasting contribution to learning  Aristotle (384 BCE to 322 BCE)- He attended the Academy, and was the prominent student of Plato. For him, all ideas and views are based on perception and our reality is based on what we can sense and perceive. His studies in logic led to the formulation of a formal process of analyzing reasoning which give rise to deductive reasoning-the process by which specific statements are analysed to reach a conclusion or generalization. Common meaning of Philosophy  a. Philosophy is called science because the investigation is systematic and it follows certain steps or it employs certain procedures. In other words, it is an organized body of knowledge just like any other sciences. It is a science where reason and logic are used to understand reality and answer questions of knowledge. Overall Philosophy is a science that studies beings in their ultimate caused, reasons, through the aid reason alone. Beings, in philosophy means that all things that exists material or immaterial. Example of material stones, tress, cars, plants and immaterial is the notion of soul spirit and God.  b. Philosophy as a Natural Light of Reason because it investigates things, not by using any other laboratory instrument or investigative tools, neither on the basis of super natural revelation, otherwise it becomes theology; instead the philosopher uses his natural capacity to think or simply human reason alone or so called unaided reason.  c. Philosophy as a Study of all things. The reason is that philosophy is not one dimensional or partial. In short a philosopher does not limit himself to a particular object of inquiry. He questions almost anything, if not everything. It is multidimensional or holistic.  d. Philosophy as a First Cause or highest Principle. 1. Principle of Identity- whatever is is; and whatever is not is not; everything is what it is. Everything is its own being, and not being is not being. It means that each thing is identical with itself. Ex: "a = a" or "For all x: x = x", 2. Principle of Non-Contradiction- it is impossible for a thing to be and not be at the same time, and at the same respect. The law of non-contradiction is a rule of logic. It states that if something is true, then the opposite of it is false. For example, if an animal is a cat, the same animal cannot be a cat.  3. Principle of Excluded Middle- a thing is either is or is not; everything must be either be or nor be; between being and not being, there is no middle ground possible. Example “The world is flat” you should answer True or False. If you believe the world is flat, then you should answer True if not you should answer False. Principle of Sufficient Reason- nothing exists without a sufficient reason for its being and existence.  e.Philosophy as a BODY of KNOWLEDGE because it provides methodologies and insights on how societal questions, such as moral dilemmas of euthanasia or same sex marriage, can be answered.  f.Philosophy as an INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY is an analytic procedure of addressing individual thought process such as resolving conflict and confusion, testing positions, and analyzing beliefts.in all instances, doing philosophy is prescribed by logic, reason and ethics leading to wisdom. Branches of Philosophy A. Metaphysics -Came from the Greek words meta and physika, where meta is beyond off after and physika means physical and nature. -deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space -Abstract theory or talk with no basis in reality  Subdivided into 2  1. General Metaphysics/Ontology Onto means being Logos means knowledge or study  Ontology   Studies beings in their ultimate causes, reason and principles through the aid of reason alone.  2. Special Metaphysics Cosmology came from the Greek word kosmos and logos, means world and study Cosmology means it studies the world or universe including its origin, dynamics, and characteristics, as well as the laws that govern its order. Psychology -came from the Greek word psyche and Logos means soul and mind and study. Study of the nature and dynamics of the person as a whole with emphasis on the way the persons mind functions and the way she behaves.  Theodicy Came from the Greek word Theos means God. Study of God, it is the justification of the Good ness of God in the face of the existence of evil.  B. ETHICS- Came from the Greek Ethos means custom or habit. It is the morality of human actions. It concerns on how human persons ought to act and the search for definition of a right conduct and good life.  C. EPISTEMOLOGY Came from the Greek word Episteme and Logos meaning knowledge and study. Study the nature of knowledge and justified beliefs. Specifically, it analyzes the nature of knowledge and how to relate into a similar such as truth, deals with the nature, sources, limitation, and validity of knowledge. It explains the following:  How we know what we claim to know  How can we find out what we wish to know  How can we differentiate truth from falsehood How do we acquire reliable knowledge?  1. INDUCTION - On one hand, he sees, hears, and touches; on the other hand, he organizes mind what he learners through the senses. What one sees, hear and touch is more important. Philosophers believe that general ideas are formed from the examination of particular facts. Empiricism the view that knowledge can be attained only through sense experience. Knowledge is based on what our sight, hearing, smell, and other senses tell us is really out there, not what people make up in their heads.  2. DEDUCTION – it is more important to find a general law according to which particular facts can be understood or judged. Its advocates are called rationalist (Rene Descartes) Real knowledge is based on Logic, the laws, and the methods that reason develops. The best example of knowledge according to them is Mathematics, a realm of knowledge that is obtained entirely by reason that we use to understand the universe  3. PRAGMATISM – (William James and John Dewey) believed that the value in use is the real of truth and meaning. The meaning and truth of an idea are tested by its practical consequence  E. Logic – comes from the Greek word “ logike” – means a treatise on matters pertaining to human thought. The concern is the truth or the validity of our arguments regarding such objects. It is based on claims about propositional structure and the body of argumentative techniques has a variety of meanings including word, thought, idea, argument, account, reason or principle; is the study of reasoning, or the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration.  F. Aesthetics – is the science of the beautiful in its various manifestation including the sublime, comic, tragic, pathetic and ugly. To experience aesthetics, therefore, means whatever experience has relevance to art, whether the experience be that of the creative artist or of appreciation. Importance of Aesthetics of which learners need to consider:  It vitalizes knowledge makes our knowledge of the world alive and useful. It helps one to realize a part of a play, a poem, or a story to give one a new insight, to help one see new relationship between the separated items in one’s memory  It helps us to live more deeply and richly. A work of art- whether a book, a piece of music, painting, or a television/movie show helps us to rise from a purely physical existence into the realm of intellect and the spirit. As a being of body and soul, a human being needs nourishment for his higher life as well as his lower  It brings us in touch with our culture. Things about us change so rapidly today that we forget how much we owe to the past. Hans-Georg Gadamer, a German philosopher, argues that our tastes and judgments regarding beauty, work in connection with one’s own personal experience and culture. He believes that our culture consists of the values and beliefs of our time and society. That is why a “dialogue’ or conversation is important in interpreting works of Art. Meaning and Process of Doing Philosophy Doing philosophy means engaging oneself in matters of utility and methodologies to eliminate any practical problem or abstract idea. Before engaging in philosophical inquiry, one must be able to distinguish between a holistic and partial point of view. This is critical for anyone doing philosophy because it sets a limit in coming up with conclusions about a given situation. Characteristics of Partial Point of View 1. Looks at only a limited number of aspects of the given problem or situation 2. Conclusions are made based on considering some, but not all, sides the problem or situation  Characteristics of Holistic Points of view 1. Looks at all the aspects of the given problem or situation 2. All aspects are given importance when making conclusion. 3. All aspects are tied in together to form a general overview of the problem or situation. Looking at the characteristics of holistic and partial points of view, it can be concluded that using a holistic perspective is more reliable in doing philosophy than using a partial perspective. Partial points of view only promote limited knowledge on the situation. This leads to wrong conclusions. Philosophy requires learning to look into all available perspectives and work on their relationship to come up with sound, logical, and valid conclusion. In the process, doing philosophy helps one to develop the skill of broadly looking at the situation first before concluding anything. Activity 1: Throw back Direction: Give a brief answer to the following question. Write your answer on a separate paper. 1. Give at least 5 situations where you are adopted a holistic view in looking at a problem or situation.