Chapter 2: The Reflective Life PDF

Reflective life chapter 2 “WHENEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF ON THE SIDE OF THE MAJORITY. IT IS TIME TO PAUSE AND REFLECT.” - MARK TWAIN 2 2  CHAPTER 2 REFLECTIVE LIFE LESSON 3: THE VALUE OF PHIOSOPHICAL REFLECTION A. SO...

Reflective life chapter 2 “WHENEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF ON THE SIDE OF THE MAJORITY. IT IS TIME TO PAUSE AND REFLECT.” - MARK TWAIN 2 2  CHAPTER 2 REFLECTIVE LIFE LESSON 3: THE VALUE OF PHIOSOPHICAL REFLECTION A. SOCRATIC METHOD B. “PILOSOPO” AS SOCIAL CRITIC 3 “when ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace” - DALAI LAMA 2 A. SOCRATIC LEGACY Socrates professed that philosophical reflection is necessary in the life of every person. His pronouncements of "know thyself" and "the unexamined life is not worth living" are to be understood this way. Socrates philosophized where people usually gathered (agora in Greek) and complelled those he conversed with to THINK, to DEFEND their views, to ACCOUNT for what they know and do not know. He did this by asking individuals a SERIES OF QUESTIONS. You can imagine how people were annoyed! It is not common for people to welcome a discussion that reveals how little they know. 4 WHAT IS SOCRATIC METHOD? SOCRATIC METHOD The series of questioning and answering that Socrates employed in engaging in philosophical reflection came to be known as SOCRATIC METHOD. It is an effective method of education that is valued even to this time. 6 SOCRATIC METHOD 5 SOCRATIC METHOD So why engage in Socratic Method or in philosophical reflection? RECEIVE because we are responsible for our thoughts what we believe to be true becomes TRUTH the basis for our actions if we know something, we need to learn from others who know aim of this method was to get to the truth of how a person could live a good, moral life 7 SOCRATIC METHOD 6 TYPES OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONS SOCRATIC METHOD A life worth living is a life that examines what one thinks. An examination of beliefs or thought provides us with opportunity TO KNOW OURSELVES BETTER. We need to know ourselves because WE MAKE CHOICES DAILY. The choices we make, in turn, create WHO WE ARE. PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION IS indispensible because we do not realize what we truly believe in until we are CHALLENGED TO DEFEND THEM. 8 SOCRATES Was an excellent teacher although he did not even look at himself as one ( Socrates - Plato - Aristotle ). Was very good in asking questions Was effective in making his students think for themselves Has the role of gadfy ( annoys those who do not bother to find the truth) Awakened those who were asleep by engaging them in a cross- examination of their views 9  “VIRTUE IS KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND BAD.” 2 A. SOCRATIC LEGACY Q: Why is virtue knowledge? A: Because to truly know what is ____ necessarily leads to actual doing of what is good. Q: And so, can u still further explain why? A: Furthermore, when what we say and what we do are not in sync with each other, what we claim to know is doubtful. Q: Can you summarize your point? A: In other words, a person who truly understands what is good chooses to do what is good. One who pretends to know what is good does not choose what is good. His/her ignorance is revealed in his/her actions. 10 A. SOCRATIC LEGACY Q: Why must every person confront the question "Who Am I?" A: Because knowledge of oneself is crucial in life where we make ______ daily Q: And so, is it okay to commit wrong choices? It's because I still don’t know myself! A: No, If we do not know ourselves, we are bound to make __________. We would pursue things that are not suitable to us and would NOT truly make us happy. We will have many regrets. 10 B. “PILOSOPO” AS S SOCIAL CRITIC PILOSOPO KA! In Philippine society, we have a term close to the notion of a philosopher- that of "PILOSOPO" "PILOSOPO" OR FILOSOPO is not an original Filipino word. It has come down to us through the Spanish "Filosofo", which has Latin and Greek roots. So our locally adopted word for philosophy finds its affinity to its Greek etymology. It is an acceptable word as our equivalent Filipino word for philosophy. It is unfortunate however, that the term pilosopo has come to be understood as having a negative meaning. Contrary to a lover of wisdom, “pilosopo” refers to someone who reasons poorly. 11 B. “PILOSOPO” AS S SOCIAL CRITIC The pilosopo’s poor reasoning, however, is not condemned by society. Oftentimes, the pilosopo’s faulty reasoning is even found entertaining. He/She is the sort of person who would answer the philosophical question why am I here with “because I am not there.” A pilosopo in this sense is one with skills in evading arguments by pretending to address them just like the Sophists during the time of Socrates who taught rhetorics to their students. This erroneous kind of reasoning is called FALLACY and is studied in logic. The pilosopo in this sense is indeed a danger to philosophy. 11 FALLACY There are many ways to mislead people into accepting something as true. It is easiest to persuade those who lack training in analytical and critical thought. Faulty reasoning or fallacious arguments maybe employed undetected through language or through irrelevant issues. For example, one kind of fallacy of language is equivocation. Equivocation – a kind of faulty reasoning that can be deceiving because of using a word in two different ways within an argument. EX: A “pilosopo” in the sense we earlier defined is the sort of person who would easily confuse the word “father” as a male parent with the “father” we use to refer to priests within an argument This maybe illustrated through such a fallacious reasoning as “priests who eventually have their own family remain faithful to their ministry because 11 they remain as fathers.” FALLACY Fallacy of Relevance – a kind of fallacy that can be deceiving by attacking a person instead of his/her argument. This is called or attack against a person. To argue, for example , that we should not accept an argument about the sanctity of life given by an ex-priest is to commit an argumentum ad hominem. When you analyze it, the arguer is attacked instead of the argument. Something irrelevant to an issue is used to undermine an argument altogether. 11 PILOSOPO TASYO Now, let us look at another meaning of the term “pilosopo”. In Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, we find the character PILOSOPO TASYO. PILOSOPO TASYO - The pilosopo in this sense, is a social critic. He is similar to Socrates being a social gadfy. Like Socrates, Pilosopo Tasyo walked around public places conversing politics and society. He expressed views that are deep and consequently difficult to understand or take seriously. This is why Pilosopo Tasyo was viewed by others as a fool. People like Socrates and Pilosopo Tasyo are uncommon in society. Because of their wisdom, they proclaim thoughts that are unsettling and radical. They seek WISDOM. 11 PILOSOPO TASYO The philosopher or pilosopo: Observes Thinks Sees clearly Speaks the truth The common run of people are not in search of truth because they are content with what they think they know and looking for the truth and help in making necessary reforms so we can all have a better future. We need the pilosopo to engage others to find the truth and to live by it. 11  CHAPTER 2 REFLECTIVE LIFE LESSON 4: AN EXERCISE OF TRUTH -MAKING A. REALITY AS PHENOMENON B. SEEING THE WORLD IN THE NEW PERSPECTIVE REALITY AS PHENOMENON Q UES TIO N: What happen when we philosophize? ANS WER: When we philosophize, we are thinking about something. That something we think about is REALITY. Q UES TIO N: What makes up REALITY? ANS WER: What makes up reality are the things that appear to us in this world. They are the objects we try to figure out. They could be physical or things that are non-physical. Q UES TIO N: What is PHENOMENON? ANS WER: A phenomenon is an observable fact or event REALITY AS PHENOMENON Philosophical reflection always investigates phenomenon; the world is constituted as lived, experienced, thought of, understood and investigated as phenomenon. By way of example, to know what is true love, (knowing in philosophical sense) our investigation involves the phenomenon of love. Love is a non- physical phenomenon with physical manifestations. You can also investigate the meaning of space in which case such investigation involves space bound up with physical components. For example, a graffiti in a wall catches our attention, it is a phenomenon of space that is physical, with non physical manifestations as they leave us with a message that remains in our mind and keep us thinking. REALITY AS BOTH SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE PHENOMENON WORLD. THE DIFFERENCE IS HOW THEY PROCEED TO TREAT PHENOMENON. SCIENCE PHILOSOPHY OBSERVATION THROUGH EXPERIMENTS USES PHENOMENON OR RAW EXPERIENCE AND CALCULATIONS ARE THE DATA USED TO TO FORM THE BASIS FOR TRUTH. ARRIVE AT CONCLUSION. THE SPECIFIC The phenomenon is studied, not by isolating PHENOMENON TO BE UNDERSTOOD IS it from others, but by examining the ISOLATED TO YIELD VALUABLE relations it has with other phenomena. INFORMATION. Philosophy broadens its analysis to arrive at Science narrows its analysis in order to wisdom and truth know something. REALITY AS PHENOMENON The difference cited above accounts for the fact that Science can NEVER fully explain the phenomenon of love. It can always objectively reduce love to a biological explanation, but you know that the phenomenon of love can never fully be tackled unless it is explored from the standpoint of philosophy. A kiss is a manifestation of love. WE see it in real life and in movies. We also know that a kiss cannot make sense to human beings who are deeply in love by describing it as the ‘physiological event of mutual and interlocking voluntary muscular contractions of the mouth’ based on data observed. Science, of course, can observe these data of muscles contracting. Philosophy can ‘see’ a mutual surrender of the human will for the other person. There are many aspects of human experience that connect to what we call love and most of them are not seen by the eyes. All those are taken into account in philosophy as part of what comprises reality. REALITY AS PHENOMENON The situations we find ourselves in and the perceptions we acquire as we go through life become the very bases and the stimuli to philosophize. Going back to the example, the way we conceive of love is founded on our personal experiences of love from childhood until the moment that precedes a philosophical reflection on love. The books we have read and even movies we have watched that had something to say about love are one of those things that influence our own views. This is “truth-ing” at work. REALITY AS PHENOMENON When we speak of reality, we are in no way claiming that our view is the only correct view. As we are not of supreme intelligence to know things as they really are, we can never claim that the reality we talked about is the way things really are. Immanuel Kant pointed this out when he synthesized empiricism and rationalism. He claimed that the data we get from sensory experience (empiricism) are not things-in- themselves or things as they really are but are instead things-as-they-appear to us. Our mind then uses its categories (rationalism) to understand phenomena. REALITY AS PHENOMENON It is always in our nature to find truth and meaning. We may be finite beings, but we are special and unique because we are drawn toward those that are beyond us. We are intrigued by perfection, beauty, immortality among others. We seek to surpass our limits because we have the power to do so through our intellect or reason. Our humanity then becomes our great endeavor. That is why our life is best directed to knowing ourselves better and understanding our humanity.  CHAPTER 2 REFLECTIVE LIFE LESSON 4: AN EXERCISE OF TRUTH -MAKING A. REALITY AS PHENOMENON B. SEEING THE WORLD IN THE NEW PERSPECTIVE SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE INTERNET is one of the most outstanding human achievements. Due to the development of internet in the late 20th century, mankind is enjoying easy and unlimited access to information than all the libraries combined on earth. You can search anything in the internet and it will instantaneously give back search results. There is no excuse for IGNORANCE now. Information has become available literally in the palm of our hands. QUESTION: Still we must ask, with the Internet, can we say that we are BETTER OFF now than before the Internet existed? This philosophical question looks beyond the obvious and makes us ponder deeply about phenomena. SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE When you really think about it, we notice the irony that despite the vastness of the information we can readily have, we do NOT automatically BECOME KNOWLEADGABLE OR EVEN WISE. It is not enough to have information if WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF THAT INFORMATION. On the other hand, too much information can also be a bad thing. When you have information overload, it can get in the way of making good decisions. That is why getting RELEVANT information is one of the basics in knowledge or learning. SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE There is always a gap to be filled by the human mind as perceived data. The gap may be filled by science, by the arts, by the religion, by society or by philosophy. Altogether these make up our ________. They are the reasons why information in itself cannot have value. For instance, we may have new discoveries in science or find solace in religion but neither science nor religion have intrinsic value without a purposeful framework of ________. ________ that is explored and deepened in philosophy is the only thing capable of seeing, for example, the evils of human experimentation and of torturing people for conversion. In the same way, art in the ancient period is never rightly viewed if we deny the role of slavery in the production of artworks we highly value even to this time. SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE The democratization of information is a very good thing. However, it has also brought some very bad things. Many students nowadays mistake downloading as research and every information from the web as factual or true. Many still need to be reminded that some information are correct, some are incorrect, some are accurate, some are inaccurate, some are reliable, an some others unreliable. It is difficult to find truth and wisdom if we are NOT skilled in getting the right, if not the essential, information. Some people will do whatever it takes to withhold information for selfish reasons. When LIES and TRUTH are readily available, it is difficult to become knowledgeable and to BE WISE would even be more challenging. SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE Advances in technology such as that of the Internet have influenced our habits. Because we are used to getting instant information, writing as a way of taking down notes is rapidly diminishing among students. The truth is, taking photos cannot replace taking notes because writing is one of the ways we learn and remember. The photo of a lecture given by your teacher (provided you remember to retrieve it) is extremely difficult to review. Learning does not work that way at all. In order to learn, one has TO BE MORE INVOLVED AND MORE STIMULATED. WE learn best by DOING SOMETHING CORRECTLY. It would require much effort in our part but the result pays off. SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE Another phenomenon brought about by the Internet is the “selfie” generation. Due to our fascination to social media, apps for sharing photos and sharing our thoughts have become commonplace. Photos and status updates are shared many times a day by millions of people. Status updates can be as trivial as what food a person is about to have. That information is readily available to as many people. WE voluntarily surrender our privacy without noticing it. Our notions of keeping in touch has changed both in terms of quantity (or frequency) and quality. It takes a wise person to realize that social media is not going to amount to deepening relationships. SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE It takes philosophical reflection to enable us to see through the things that we do and see the persons that we become because of what we do. That is the only way we gain insight. From such realization, we can consciously decide whether we would like to continue with our present path. There will always be things we are better off without. What is popular is not always good for us. If we know ourselves better, we will make better choices and be happier as an outcome. But we can know ourselves only when we philosophize. SEEING THE WORLD IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE The persons that we are is ever changing, who we are is never fixed. We create who we become through the d_ _ _ _ _ _ _s or c_ _ _ _ _s we make. The world presents us with many things., but it is up to us to decide what to do with those things. We need W _ _ _ _ _ to guide us in life. Searching for T _ _ _ _ _ S about ourselves is meant to be a lifetime endeavor. Philosophical Reflection is not an occasional activity. Only by engaging in it can we arrive at truths that are useful in our lives. CHAPTER 2- REFLECTIVE LIFE THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!