Philosophy 1st PT Reviewer

**Philosophy** **Defining Philosophy:** **NOMINAL DEFINITION:** philosophy is taken from two Greek words which were coined by Pythagoras. **Philo --** love, **Sophia --** Wisdom, "**love of wisdom"** **REAL DEFINITION:** "Philosophy is the science that investigates all things in their ultimate c...

**Philosophy** **Defining Philosophy:** **NOMINAL DEFINITION:** philosophy is taken from two Greek words which were coined by Pythagoras. **Philo --** love, **Sophia --** Wisdom, "**love of wisdom"** **REAL DEFINITION:** "Philosophy is the science that investigates all things in their ultimate causes, reasons, and principles through human reasons alone." (Babor, 2001) - Philosophy is a science means it is a body of knowledge that is organized, systematic, evidenced, and certain. - Philosophy is a science of being. Being refer to any reality that exists. - Philosophy is regarded as a universal science. It seeks to answer the fundamental questions about its object of study. - Philosophy is unlimited in its scope. **ARISTOTLE'S FOUR KINDS OF CAUSES** **Material --** material composition of a thing **Formal** -- essence or that which makes a thing in its fundamental actuality. **Efficient** -- something or a being that brings about a change and produces an object. **Final** - purpose of why such an action comes about **Cruz (1995)** -- "the only distinction is that philosophy sees reality in the domain of reasons alone while theology views reality in the domain of faith and reasons" **Corazon Cruz** -- "search for meaning" **"Zhe-Xue"**- Chinese people, Zhe -- wisdom, Xue -- study, "study of wisdom" **Darsana** -- Hindus, means seeing not only through the eyes but through the whole being of one who sees" (Babor, 2001) **PHILOSOPHY AS A STUDY** Philosophy is a universal science that studies any subject area. It is the mother of all science. **Branches of Philosophy** - **Theoretical philosophy** - **Metaphysics** -- study of reality - **Cosmology -** study of the "cosmos" or the universe. - **Epistemology** - study of the validity of human knowledge - **Theodicy** -- the philosophical study of God - **Practical Philosophy** - **Logic** -- science and art of correct thinking - **Ethics** -- science of the morality of human conduct - **Aesthetics** -- study of the nature of works of art and the aesthetic experience - **Semantics** - study of the relationship between words and meanings. - **Linguistic** -- deals with word and sentence meaning in existing languages - **Philosophy** -- abstract study of meaning in relation to language or symbolic logic systems. - **Axiology** -- study of value. **METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING** 1. **Idealism** -- believes that ideas are the only reality 2. **Realism --** anti-thesis of idealism. The universe exists whether the mind conceived it or not. 3. **Pragmatism --** teaches that practical consequences or real effects are the vital components of meaning and truth. 4. **Existentialism --** emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. 5. **Dogmatism --** believe that certain fundamental principles are self-evident and axiomatic. Do not need explanations or proofs. 6. **Empiricism --** claims that all knowledge has its origin from sensation 7. **Skepticism --** the extreme and consistent form of empiricism. Argue that the data provided by the senses are not reliable for one to consider something as knowledge. 8. **Criticism --** believes that true philosophical methods must be critical. 9. **Rationalism --** depend its claim for knowledge on reason. Claims that knowledge is a product of reasons interpreted by reasons 10. **Dialectical Method --** involves thesis, anti-thesis, and synthesis. **MODES OF PHILOSOPHY** 1. **Natural Reason --** the desire to know, understand, and determine the causes of things is aided by reason. 2. **Speculative method --** philosophy is both speculative and practical. It is theoretical since philosophy seek to know and understand. An approach that involves formulating theories or ideas about the fundamental nature of reality, existence, or other abstract without relying solely on empirical evidence or observable facts. 3. **Analytic --** clarifies the meaning of concepts in their contextual used. Gottlob Fredge is the father of analytic philosophy. 4. **Prescriptive --** prescribes what course of actions should be followed after it has been analyzed. 5. **Historical --** traces back the development of a particular study. It tries to give considerations to the significant period of historical events. **ETHICAL PRINCIPLE** - Human acts - An act is good when the intention of the doer of the action is good. - An act becomes evil when the intention of the doer of the action is evil - **Evil** is the absence of good. **The Principle of Double Effect** - The evil effect must not precede the good effect - There must be a reason sufficiently grave calling for the act in its good effect - The intention of the agent must be honest that is the agent must directly intend the good effect and merely permit the evil effect as a regrettable incident or side issue. **Holistic thinking** - Logical, valid, and sound decisions - Wider scope of knowledge - Fair judgment - Look at the things fully - A person that is objective. **Partial thinking** - Wrong decisions or erroneous decisions - A specific and limited knowledge - Thinks in a biased judgment (one-sided) - Looks at the things partially - A person that is selective **Truth** -- a statement or belief that is consistent with reality or facts that are verifiable or provable **Opinion** -- a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on certainty or proof. It varies from person to person. **Empiricism** -- truth is based on sensory experience and evidence. **Rationalism** - truth is based on reason and logical deduction **Relativism** -- truth can be subjective and varies based on cultural or individual perspectives. **Objectivism** -- truth is independent of individual beliefs and perspectives. **Correspondence Theory** -- states that a statement or proposition is true if it corresponds to the facts or state of affairs in the world. It accurately reflects reality. **Aristotle.** -- correspondence theory - Saying something is true involves asserting that one is how things are **Illusion** -- presumed truth **Bertrand Russel** -- a belief is true if it accurately describes the facts of the world. **Proposition** -- a statement or claim that can be true or false. empirical observation, logical reasoning. **Context principle** -- the meaning of a word or phrase cannot be fully understood in isolation but must be interpreted within the context of statement or proposition. **Gottlob Fredge** -- proponent of context principle **Knowledge** -- a justified true belief A belief may be justified through the senses or using reasoning **1. Correspondence Theory** -- something is true if it corresponds to the reality. if there is a direct relationship between the idea and reality and the statement can be taken as "fact" **2. Coherence Theory** -- some things are true if it makes sense when placed in a certain situation/context. **Relativism** -- a philosophical concept which contends that there are no absolute truths. **3. Constructive Theory** -- knowledge is shaped by social forces influenced by culture and history. Knowledge and truth can change depending on historical developments and social struggles. **4, Consensus Theory** -- knowledge is based on agreement. Something is true if almost everyone agrees it is true. **5. Pragmatic Theory** -- something is true if we can put it into practice or is useful in real life. **Verificationism** -- ideas must be verified using the senses. **FIVE CRITERIA OF TRUTH** (Rafael Ferber) **1. Coherence** -- consistent and is not contradictory. **2. Evidence** -- has empirical data; is proven through observation and experimentation. **3. Consensus** -- a proposition is true if participants agree with it. **4. Pragmatic Theory of Truth** **- utility** -- it the theory is useful, then it is true. **5. Research-based evidence** -- researchers agree and suggest and uses consensus as the criterion for truth. **FALLACIES AND BIASES** Arguments are either claim or facts. Some arguments may be faulty. **Fallacies** -- faulty arguments **Common fallacies** 1. **Ad Hominem** -- attacking the person instead of the agreement 2. **Appeal to force** -- using threats or force to advocate an argument 3. **Appeal to the popular (bandwagon)** -- the idea is acceptable because a lot of people accept it. 4. **Appeal to tradition** -- idea is acceptable because it's true for a long time. 5. **Cause-and-effect** -- assuming a "cause and effect" relationship between unrelated events. 6. **Fallacy of composition** -- assuming that what is true of a part is also true for the whole. 7. **Fallacy of division** - assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its parts. **BIASES** - Tendencies or influences that affect our view - Recognize our biases and being open but critical towards views that do not agree with our own. 1. **Correspondence bias/attribution effect** -- tendency to judge a person's personality by their actions without regard for external factors or influences. 2. **Confirmation bias** - tendency to readily accept information that fits their own beliefs and rejects those that go against it. 3. **Framing** -- focusing on a certain aspect while ignoring other aspects. 4. **Cultural bias** -- analyzing an event or issue based on one's cultural standards. 5. **Hindsight** -- tendency to see past events as predictable, or to ascribe a pattern to historical events. 6. **Conflict on interest** -- a person or group is connected to or has a vested interest in the issue being discussed. **THE HUMAM PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT** **Man** is made up of body and soul, of corporeal and spiritual substance. **Body** -- visible and tangible aspect of man. - Activities of the body can be easily identified **Soul** -- not visible and tangible which makes the activities of the soul hard to identify. **Thomas Aquinas** -- identifies the soul as the "principle of life" 1\. Man is presented in our mind or rationality where we make man an object of our thoughts and understanding. 2\. Man is presented to us in our lived experience that is in the way we experience our human life. **Ancient Period** **Plato** -- man is a soul because it is his essence. **Aristotle** -- regard man as a unified body and soul. **Medieval Period** **Thomas Aquinas** and **Augustine of Hippo** -- asserts that the higher importance of the soul like the charioteer and the horse where the charioteer is not one without a horse. **Modern Period** **Rene Descartes** -- highlights the distinction between the body and the soul by declaring man as a thinking being (res cogitans) and the extended being (res extensa). **Gabriel Marcel** -- speak of man neither as a body alone nor a spirit alone. **Physical science** -- present a man as a biological body that is made up of different parts. **social science --** body is a part of the social system occupying a particular status and performing specific function. **THE HUMAN SOUL** **Socrates** -- the most important task in life is to care for one's soul. - The soul was the true self and the body was merely thought to be its accompaniment. **Gregory Vlastos** -- the soul is as worth caring for as if it were to last just twenty-four more hours, as if it were to outlast eternity. **Plotinus** - The power of the one is to provide foundation (arkhe) and location (topus) for all existence. - Foundation is the intelligence, and the location is the soul **DUALITY OF BODY AND SOUL** **Dualism** claims that the body is separate and distinct from the soul. - The position that mental phenomena are non-physical or that the mind and body are not identical. **Plato** -- theorized that human soul exist prior to the body and even after the body is long gone. **Cartesian Dualism** -- Descartes. - The immaterial mind and the material body causally interact - A theory of mind that emerges as a byproduct from Descartes. Epistemology **Rene Descartes** "Dubito ergo cogito, cogito ergo sum" I doubt therefore I think, I think therefore I am. **UNITY OF BODY AND SOUL** **Monism** -- believes that the soul and body make one entity. - Aristotle's notion of form and matter. - Form -- soul - Matter -- body - St. Thomas Aquinas, just like Aristotle, believed that body and soul are not two separate antities. **HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS AND EXISTENCE** **John Locke'**s notion of inner sense or also called as reflection/introspection - He advanced the theory of the self as tabula rasa (blank state. **HUMAN FACULTY OF REASON** Human being possesses a faculty that enables him/her to survive and endure life. **Sacredness of the Environment** Environment as part of creation process an affirmation of a creator - the **uncaused cause** Each of the created things shares in the perfection of the creator **Sacredness** reflects the goodness and divinity of the creator **The Spirit of Stewardship** As part of creation, human beings' choice and action influences and affects the unfolding of phenomena in the environment. What the human beings does to the environment has a great influence and effect on his or her existence. **Human Beings as the Summit of Creation** **Saint Augustine** - human beings bear and reveals the divine image of the creation. He or she is the crowning glory of the creator. Being a rational being and image of creator, she must protect and care for the environment. **The Spirit of Non-Coexistence** **Non-coexistence between human and the environment** - happens when humans treat the environment as an object and when human focus more on the development and progress at the expense of the environment **The Spirit of Coexistence** **Coexistence** - realized when human recognizes his or her dependence in the environment. The love and care that human beings give to the environment is beneficial for his or her survival. **Transcendence** - involves surpassing ordinary limits to achieve higher states of existence, understanding or being **Existentialism** - individual freedom, self-overcoming. Existence precedes essence. Transcendence through defining oneself via action. **Phenomenology** - consciousness and perception. Moving beyond immediate experience to grasp broader structures of experience. **Transcendental philosophy** - conditions that make knowledge possible. Cognitive structures shape our perception of reality. **Eastern philosophical traditions** **Hinduism** --moksha (liberation from samsara) **Buddhism** -- Nirvana (cessation of suffering **Taoism** - Living in harmony with the Tao. **Post modern view** - skepticism of grand narratives. Navigating fragmented, context-dependent understandings of existence **Humanistic philosophy** - personal growth, self-actualization. If you want to achieve full potential and higher purpose through self-improvement. **Environmental ethics** - the philosophical discipline that considers the moral and ethical relationship of human beings to the environment **Aristotle** - the human as a rational being interacting with nature **St. Thomas Aquinas** - harmony in creation and the ethical use of resources **Deep ecology** - the idea that humans are part of a larger ecosystem and must live in a way that maintains natural balance **Existentialism** - the responsibilities of humans to create meaning through their actions, including environmental stewardship. NDCC - National Disaster Coordinating Council APSEMO - Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office PDMO - Provincial Disaster Management Office PDOC - Provincial Disaster Operating Center DCC -- Disaster Coordinating Center LGU -- Local Government Unit DOC -- Disaster Operation Center **APSEMO** Activities of disaster preparedness - Disaster preparedness - Hazard assessment - research and planning for crisis administration - educational and training or drill in LGUs - safety and technical assistance to LGU **Anthropocentrism** - humans are the central focus and have dominion over nature **Biocentrism** - all life forms have inherent value, and humans are just one part of the broader ecological system **Ecocentrism** -- ecosystems, as a whole, deserve moral consideration and the well-being of nature is as important as human interests. Individual responsibility **Immanuel Kant** - the idea of duty and moral law (Kant's categorical imperative can be applied to human responsibility to care for the planet as a universal duty) **Aldo Leopold** - introduce the "Land Ethic" where humans are seen as part of a community that includes soils, waters, plants and animals **Deep ecology** - philosophers like **Arne Naess** emphasize the intrinsic value of all living beings and called for a fundamental shift in human consciousness. **Government responsibility** **John Locke** - social contract theory emphasizes that governments are established to protect the rights of individuals, which could extend to ensuring a healthy environment **John Stuart Mill** -- utilitarianism can be applied to policies aimed at maximizing happiness, potentially justifying environmental protection as necessary for long term well-being. **Modern Philosophers** - **Peter Singer** argues that it is the moral duty of governments to act for the greater good, which include the environmental protection Philippine Clean Air Act of 199 (Republic Act no. 8749) Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act no. 9275) Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act no. 9003) National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008 (Republic Act no. 9512) Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (Republic Act no. 9147) Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree no. 705) National Land Use Act Environmental Impact Statement (ELS) System (Presidential Decree no. 1586) Climate Change Act of 2009 (Republic Act no. 9729) Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (Republic Act no. 1006) Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) Regulation **Prudence and Frugality towards the Environment** **Intellectual virtue** - the virtue that inheres to the intellect **Frugality** - the state and character of man being careful when using resources **Motivation** - the reason that drives man to do action **Prudence** - the ability to govern and discipline oneself using reason **Temperance** - a moral virtue that sets order to passion in oneself **Virtue** - a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good **Aristotle** - a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy who made important contributions to logic, ethics, politics, biology and other fields of study - Virtue is a good habit bearing on activity. It is the excellence of the soul and of the body. - It can be destroyed by deficiency as well as by the excess of it. thus, virtue lies in the middle. **Virtue is a habit** - virtues are not done in moderation but in a continuous or repetitive act (habit) until it becomes natural for man to act consistently in each situation example habit -- the repetitive act of giving away sweet potatoes or malunggay leaves for those who ask in the province manifest a habit **Prudence is a Virtue** **Prudence** - the intellectual virtue that perfects reasoning regarding decision making in the realm of human action. - Plays an important role to find the middle ground between two extremes and to decide for the best solution in a particular situation. **Antonio Argadoña** -- a Spanish economist and an ethics professor emeritus who exposes the concept of frugality through the lens of Aristotle. **Argadoña on liberality** **1.** liberality requires the interplay of prudence and temperance **2.** liberty, as a virtue, requires effectiveness, efficiency and consistency. **3.** acts of liberality affects both man and the nature.