1 Philosophy Study Guide (Monthly Test) PDF

Study Guide 1 Philosophy What is It *DEFINITION - Philosophy, particularly Western philosophy, comes from the two Latin words philia, which means "love" and sophia, "wisdom". Thus, etymologically speaking, philosophy means the love of wisdom. - Philos...

Study Guide 1 Philosophy What is It *DEFINITION - Philosophy, particularly Western philosophy, comes from the two Latin words philia, which means "love" and sophia, "wisdom". Thus, etymologically speaking, philosophy means the love of wisdom. - Philosophy refers to the strong desire of the human person to possess knowledge and apply it correctly. - In philosophy, questions more important than answers because answers themselves will in turn becomes questions. Philosophy begins in wonder. *BRANCHES Metaphysics means the study of things beyond the physical, that is, concepts or things that cannot be experienced, such as the concepts of God, freedom, and soul. 2 Sub-branches of Metaphysics: General Metaphysics or Ontology Special Metaphysics Cosmology - studies the world (or universe), including its origin, dynamics, and characteristics, as well as the laws that govern its order. Psychology is the study of the nature and dynamics of the human person as a whole, with emphasis on the way the person's mind functions and the way she behaves Theodicy - is concerned with the justification of the goodness of God in the face of the existence of evil in the world. Epistemology – study of the nature and scope of knowledge Ethics - originally means custom or habit Logic - science of correct thinking or the study of the principles and criteria of a valid argument *TYPES OF REFLECTION Primary Reflection – used when a person examines the object, he/she sees by abstraction Secondary Reflection - reunites the fragmented and compartmentalized experience into a logical whole. Meaning of Philosophy: Early philosophers on the Greek coast of Asia Minor concentrated on the material cause: they sought the basic ingredients of the world. Thales and his successors posed the following question: At a fundamental level is the world made out of water, or air, or fire, or earth, or a combination of some or all of these? (Kenny, 2006, p. 25). Thales, along with his followers, tried to give philosophical accounts of the world and humanity. These philosophical accounts had to be verified or questioned based on the ‘Homeric and Hesiodic mythologies’ of their time. This questioning has continued to the present time, in various forms (Pannone, 2017, p.2). Most thinkers adhere to the claim that Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are the greatest Philosophers of all time. While Socrates, one of the Greek philosophers, is named as the Father of Western Philosophy. Plato, on the other hand, is being considered the pre-eminent Greek philosopher, known for his Dialogues and for founding his Academy north of Athens, traditionally considered the first university in the western world. Aristotle, the founder of the systematic, scientific examination in literally every area of human knowledge, and was known, in his time, as "the man who knew everything" (Mark, 2009. p.1). Aristotle (Kenny, 2006) was the first philosopher who systematically studied, recorded, and criticized previous philosophers’ work. He mentioned that Socrates, on one hand, focuses on ethics rather than study the world of nature. On the other hand, Plato concentrated on his philosophical theory combined the approaches of the schools of both Thales and Pythagoras (p.24-25). Etymologically, the word “philosophy” comes from the two classical Greek words: “Philos” means “love” and “Sophia” means "wisdom.” Therefore, Philosophy is defined as “love of wisdom” (Blacburn, 1996, p.286). However, Philosophy, as a term, has no fixed meaning or definition. For the fact that once a word or term is being defined, it creates limitation and boundary. Questions are more important than answers because having the answer stops the process of doing philosophy while having the question leads us to wonder.  However, questioning skill is necessary in order to organize one’s thoughts and ideas. As mentioned by Paul and Elder (2006, p. 91) “there is a need to have Socratic questioning abilities. Socratic questioning is a disciplined, systematic form of questioning.” It is coined after Socrates, a Greek Philosopher, who taught the youth of Athens by asking questions. He intends to expose contradictions in the students’ minds and ideas to lead them to a factual, sound, and valid arguments. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary (1986), “Socratic questioning is called dialectic method of teaching or discussion. It is used by Socrates, involving a series of easily answered questions that inevitably lead the answerer to a logical conclusion foreseen by the questioner. It is also called dialectic, which is the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer, to determine their validity.” The Socratic method, as a process of philosophizing, is a tool to make learning possible through the use of critical thinking, reasoning, and logic. This technique involves finding holes in their own theories and then patching them up. Process of Doing Philosophy: A. The Process of Doing Philosophy begins in wonder. Plato’s concept of the “examined life” reminds us of preparation before one can start the process of doing Philosophy, which is looking back and reflect on the events that “Reflection is never exercised on happened in the past. It is because this is things that are not worth the trouble the only way in which one become ready to of reflecting about.” Gabriel Marcel face the present events without bias and prejudice. Doing Philosophy or philosophical inquiry means confronting the present events with wonder. In the first book of Metaphysics, Aristotle posits that through “wonder that one begins to philosophize” (Ross, 2005, p.7). “Wonder, as echoed by Pannone (2017), is the root from which philosophy arises. And philosophical inquiry is possible even in ordinary or simple wondering especially when people look at the world around them and inquire about its origins and nature, and their place and functioning therein (p.2). Wonder, in short, realizes that our ordinary understanding and sense of the world does not capture the totality of the reality of the world. Wonder realizes that material wealth, physical beauty and status in this world do not define life’s true meaning. Through wonder, a person questions the things around. However, It eliminates one’s doubt of the world and the things around. (Pannone, 2017, p.2). Philosophers are supposedly lovers of wisdom. They love to ask questions especially the origin and purpose of everything. Their fulfilment is not by having the answers, yet through the reason that makes an answer correct and appropriate. Philosophy, as a primary science, is embedded in the human system whose its main purpose is to provide practical solutions to every problem that human person encounters and also to find his/her essence and existence in this crowded world. (Rescher, 2010, p. 14). B. The Process of Doing Philosophy engages in reflection or thinking. The process of doing philosophy or philosophical inquiry entails reflection or thinking. In the book, The Mystery of Being, Volume I: Reflection and Mystery, Marcel (1950) clearly outlines reflection as primary and secondary. He defines the occurrence of reflection when life coming up a particular obstacle, or again, being checked by a certain break in the continuity of experience. It becomes necessary to pass from one level to another, and recover on this higher plane the unity which had been lost on the lower one” (p.83). As a brief introduction, Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) was a philosopher, drama critic, playwright, and musician. He converted to Catholicism in 1929, and his philosophy was later described as “Christian Existentialism” (Treanor, 2016, p.1). Marcel (1950) calls these two kinds of thinking “primary” and “secondary” reflection (p.83). On one hand, “primary reflection” examines its object by abstraction, by analytically breaking it down into its constituent parts. It is concerned with definitions, essences and technical solutions to problems (Treanor, 2016, p.1). It is a fragmented and compartmentalized thinking because it treats the subject as object which can be possessed as personal thing. According to Marcel, “reflection will bring before to us the existence of a kind of dialectic of internality. To have can certainly mean, and even chiefly mean, to have for oneself, to keep for oneself, to hide” (Farrer 2007, p. 160). Primary reflection utilizes its object as a tool or instrument. “Having as such seems to have a tendency to destroy and lose itself in the very thing it began by possessing, but which now absorbs the master who thought he controlled it. It seems that it is of the very nature of my body, or my instruments in so far as I treat them as possessions, that they should tend to blot me out, although it is I who possess them” (Farrer, 2007, p 161). Primary reflection capitalizes the “means-end thinking.” It treats its object as a means to an end. It considers its object as ‘sacrificial lamb’ inferior to its perceived superior goal. The object, including a human person, has an inferior existence ready to be sacrificed in favor of its perceived higher goal or end. Admittedly, it is normal that any person may use the other person in so far as with consent. One necessarily needs the other to exist. Marcel (1950), as a musician, believes that everybody can be a subject of piece of art. His or her role in a piece of art completes the whole story. But, as a subject is used, it should not diminish his or her identity as a human person. Instead, he or she finds his or her true essence (p. 95). On the other hand, secondary reflection treats the primary reflection as a ‘fulcrum,” or its springboard is just that massive, indistinct sense of one’s total existence. It restores the unity of the fragmented and compartmentalized experience into a logical whole. However, the process of reflection is still the task of the primary reflection. (Marcel, 1950, p.93). As it unifies rather than divides, it brings one’s experience into a coherent whole. Whereby, philosophical reflection is consummated in the secondary reflection. A philosophical reflection is a tool for doing Philosophy. It deepens our understanding of ourselves as well as our role and place in this world. Primary and secondary reflections, therefore, becomes necessary in the philosophical endeavor. As Marcel further claims, the encounter of primary and secondary reflection plays out in terms of presence and participation rather than assimilation (Treanor, 2016, p. 2). Both (primary) “I have” and (secondary) “I am” are necessary philosophical processes to confront or face any worldly situation. Yet, misinterpretation of Marcel’s concept of the primary “I have” and secondary “I am” reflections may lead to misuse of one’s ability and even abuse of one’s body. In summary, the primary reflection “I have” tries to compartmentalize the union of human experience. However, the function of secondary reflection “I am” is basically to unite and bring into the whole what has been destroyed. C. The Process of Doing Philosophy entails the formulation and evaluation of argument. One of the benefits of the primary reflection as purported by Gabriel Marcel is that it trains the mind to have a logical thinking. “Reflection, in general, is a personal act, and an act that nobody else would have been able to undertake in my place, or on my behalf. However, the act of reflection is interconnected with the whole system, i.e. bone is linked with bone in the human body, with personal experience; and it is important to understand the nature of this interconnectedness. Thus, the idea of reflection (both the primary and secondary) belongs to the philosophical realm. (Marcel, 1950, p. 78-79).  As mentioned above, the process of philosophical inquiry or doing philosophy favors more on questions than answers. Does it mean philosophers don’t find an answer to their queries? According to Pannone (2017), thinkers found the answers. Yet, the answers need to be critiqued, reformulated, and challenged and so forth. It has been the scenario for two-and-a-half millennia, and continues to this day (p.2). The process of philosophical inquiry or doing philosophy requires a wondering and self-critiquing skill or ability. As a child, doing philosophy is recollection of a true identity of a human person who has a wondering or questioning mind. And as a thinking being, a human person can reflect (primary and secondary reflections), formulate an argument, and evaluate its soundness and validity. DEDUCTIVE REASONING ( General to specific) Example: Premise 1: All human beings are mortal Premise 2: But the President of the Philippines is a human being Conclusion: Therefore, the President of the Philippines is mortal. Here we are taught to arrive at a certain truth or knowledge in a logical process. In contrast, Inductive reasoning begins with a particular to universal argument. Example: Premise: Student A, B, C, D, E, F…. are wearing School ID. Conclusion: Therefore, all students are wearing ID The above examples show the logical process wherein by reasoning one arrives at a certain truth or knowledge. Logic starts with the origin of ideas, terms, propositions or premises, syllogism, etc. These terms are the basic structure of argument. Unfortunately, this branch of philosophy is equivalent to one-subject requirement in any course in the tertiary level.