Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person PDF

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON (Reviewer) WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?  from GREEK word, Philo – Love; Sophia – Wisdom. LOVE OF WISDOM  Philosophy is also defined as the science that by natural light of reason studies the first causes or highe...

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON (Reviewer) WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?  from GREEK word, Philo – Love; Sophia – Wisdom. LOVE OF WISDOM  Philosophy is also defined as the science that by natural light of reason studies the first causes or highest principles of things. o FIRST CAUSE AND HIGHEST PRINCIPLES  Principle of Identity – whatever is, is; and whatever is not, is not; everything is what it is.  Principle of Non-contradiction – it is impossible for a thing to be and no to be at the same time and at the same respect.  Principle of Excluded Middle – a thing is either or is not; everything must be either be or not be; between being and not-being, there is no middle ground possible.  Principle of Sufficient Reason – nothing exist without a sufficient reason for its being and existence.  PHILOSOPHIZING is expressing oneself in a philosophical manner guided by critical thinking.  TWO PROBLEMATIC POSITION in PHILOSOPHY o Ignorant Certainty - is the belief that there are definite, correct answers to all questions – all you have to do is find the right source. o Naïve Relativism - is the belief that there is no truth and all arguments are equal.  THREE STEPS/FEATURES OF PHILOSOPHIZING o 1st: Argumentation: supporting your ideas with reasons from other ideas, principles, and observations to establish your analysis. o 2nd: Analysis: this means understanding an idea by distinguishing and clarifying its various components. o 3rd: Synthesis: gathering together different ideas into a single, unified vision in order to form a more complete view or system. MAN and HIS ENVIRONMENT  Cosmocentrism: philosophy revolves around understanding the elements that governs the natural order of the universe and the environment. MILESIAN SCHOOL THALES OF MILETUS WATER ANAXIMANDER APEIRON/BOUNDLESS ANAXIMENES AIR THE NON-MILESIAN SCHOOL PYTHAGORAS NUMBERS HERACLITUS FIRE/CHANGE PARMENIDES BEING/ THE PLURALISTS EMPEDOCLES FOUR ROOTS/LOVE AND STRIFE ANAXAGORAS INFINITE SEEDS/NOUS DEMOCRITUS ATOMON SOCRATES, SOPHISTS AND MAN’S TRANCENDENCE SOPHISTS – WISE GUYS PROTAGORAS Homo Mensura (Man is the measure of all things) CALLICLES Power matters most than Justice CRITIAS Rulers should utilize people’s “fear of gods”  RELATIVISM: a way of thinking that what’s good or bad, right or wrong, or true or false, can be different for different people; MODERN DAY SOPHISTS SUBJECTIVISM: a thinking which claims that all *SOPHISTS – like modern-day influencers who supposed statements of truth are really just statements would do anything for fame and power. about individual subjective experience. SOCRATES  “Know Thyself” and “An Unexamined Life is not worth Living”  The TEACHER of PLATO  He died because of drinking HEMLOCK  SOCRATIC METHOD/SYLOGISM – it is a philosophical method that continuously asks questions instead of immediate answers. It is best represented by the term ‘midwife’. o Two Processes  Ironic Process  Maieutic Process  TRANSCENDENCE: focus on the human self: who we are, who we should be, and who we will become. PLATO AND MAN’S CALL FOR TRANSCENDENCE  Allegory of the Cave o Philosophical Story about overcoming ignorance  SYMBOLISM  Prisoners – people who no longer identify cyber world from reality  Puppeteers – people who manipulates us from knowing reality.  Man out of the Cave – person who knows cyber world and reality  ESSENCE (World of Forms)  It what makes a thing what it is.  BEING – that which exists both in the mind and in reality.  SIMILE OF THE LINE – Simple explanation to understand the Allegory of the Cave ARISTOTLE AND ETHICS  ETHICS is a branch of Philosophy that studies the system of moral principles. o Greek word: ethos means character.  EUDAIMONIA: happiness, well-balanced and good-spirited life  GOLDEN MEAN: This means that, in order to find happiness, people should always strive for a balance between two extremes. Emotions are important to guide us towards understanding Golden Mean. o Example:  A person is neither too much of a coward, nor too reckless. Instead, he is courageous.  Generosity lies between Stinginess and Extravagance  ETHICS AND MORALITY o ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES  Ethical Objectivism is the belief that universal or objectives moral principles exists (Rich, 2013) and that these are valid to all people, regardless of their culture or beliefs.  example: CORRUPTION IS EVIL  Ethical Subjectivism is the belief that individual creates their own morality; there is no objective moral truth – only individual opinions (Brannigan & Boss, 2001)  example: Sleeping early is good for the brain  Cultural Relativism is the belief that morality is rooted in and cannot be separated from experience, beliefs, and behaviors of a particular culture.  example: Eating dogs as a tradition GOD BLESS TO ALL!