Week 1 (Day 1) Philosophy is the study of humans and the world by thinking and

The Meaning and Method of Doing Philosophy asking questions. It is a science and an art. Philosophy tries to answer
The study of this subject is a beginning to an activity and process of important questions by coming up with answers about real things and
philosophical reflection as a search for a short or brief vision of life. At asking "why?"
the end of the course, you should be able to reflect on your daily
experiences from a holistic point of view, gain critical and analytical WHAT’S NEW?
thinking skills and should be able to apply this critical and analytical Do you know of some Greek Philosophers?
thinking skills to the affairs of daily life and become truthful, Philosophers- are people who engage in philosophy.
environment-friendly and service-oriented.
Survey Answers: “What comes to mind when you hear the word
philosophy?”
1. Mind understanding
2. Critical thinking
3. “Paniniwala sa buhay”
4. Pilosopo or sarcastic
5. Logic
6. Study of human
7. History The most notable ancient Greek philosophers are:
8. Science Pythagoras (570 BCE to 495 BCE)- A mathematician and scientist, he
9. Pilosopo or maalam was credited with formulating the Pythagorean
10. Your answer: ____________________________________________ theorem.
Heraclitus (535 BCE to 475 BCE)- He proposed that everything that
WHAT’S IN?
exists is based on a higher order or plan which he called
The word philosophy comes from two Greek words: philos (love) and
logos.
sophia (wisdom). The ancient Greeks used this term to refer to “love
Democritus (460 BCE to 370 BCE)- He devoted himself to the study of
of wisdom” and they soon applied it to the study or discipline that
the causes of natural phenomena.
uses human reason to investigate the ultimate causes, reasons, and
Diogenes of Sinope (412 BCE to 323 BCE)- He was a known believer of
principles which govern all things.
living a simple and honorable life.
Epicurus (341 BCE to 270 BCE)- He believed that philosophy could
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental questions about
enable man to live a life of happiness.
existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.
Socrates (470 BCE to 399 BCE)- He was considered the foremost
philosophers of ancient times. He was credited with
Philosophy in simple words is a way of thinking about the world, the
formulating the Socratic method- means of examining a
universe, and society. It works by asking very basic questions about
topic by devising a series of questions that let the
the nature of human thought, the nature of the universe, and the
connections between them. The ideas in philosophy are often general learner examine and analyze his knowledge and views
and abstract. regarding the topic.
Plato (427 BCE to 347 BCE)- A student of Socrates, he wrote down his Week 1 (Day 2)
mentor’s teaching and incorporated some of his own UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY BY DOING IT
ideas into them. Plato’s most significant ideas included INTRODUCTION
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 was his founding
of the Academy, an institution of higher 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 Filipino philosopher, Roque Ferriols, SJ, offers a simple way for us to
process by which specific statements are analysed to understand what philosophy is. "Like all activities, philosophizing is
reach a conclusion or generalization.
something which is easier to do than to define. After you have begun to
Day 1: Activity: engage in this activity, you might want to try to define it yourself." (Ferriols,
2001). Of course, we can still begin with a definition of what philosophy is,
Direction: Answer the following questions. Write your output in a clean something that we can draw out from a dictionary or from quotes circulated
paper. in the net. Doing so, however, would only make us understand philosophy
1. Which notable ancient Greek philosopher mentioned above interest from the perspective of an outsider, no different from a student learning
you? Please explain. about the life of a lion in the Sahara through a TV show while comfortably
2. In your own opinion, what effect does the study of philosophy have couched in the living room. In other words, if we use the dictionary
in our society? approach to understanding what philosophy is, chances are we will only
3. What benefits can you gain in learning about the life of these learn about it from outside. To truly understand what philosophy is, we
Philosophers? What impact can that have on you? must immerse ourselves in it (Heidegger, 1958). That is, we must allow
ourselves to experience it. If I want a foreigner to understand what a mango
tastes like, it is not enough for me to simply describe the taste in words. I
will let him taste it. This same is true for philosophy. To introduce you to this
experience, we begin this Chapter with an exercise on developing a holistic
perspective. You will then be guided to distinguishing everyday questions
from philosophical ones. In the process, you will learn what a philosopher is,
and the value of the act of philosophizing in our daily lives.
Day 2: Exercises
1. According to what you’re read, what is the best way of The Third approach'd the animal,
understanding Philosophy? And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
2. Elaborate what Roque Ferrios said in your own words.
Thus boldly up and spake:
3. How do you think Philosophy impacts our society today? "I see," -quote he- "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE: THE PHILOSOPHER'S WAY
The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
"When someone is seeking, it happens quite easily that he only sees the And felt about the knee:
thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to _find anything, unable to "What most this wondrous beast is like
absorb anything, because he is only thinking (if the thing he is seeking, Is mighty plain," -quote he,-
because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means "'Tis clear enough the Elephant
to have a goal; but finding means to be free, to be receptive, to have no Is very like a tree!"
goal, 'You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in miring towards
your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose," The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear
-Siddhartha Herman Hesse Said- "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Day 2: Activity: Read the poem. By: John Godfrey Saxe Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
It was six men of Indostan, Is very like a fan!"
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant The Sixth no sooner had begun
(Though all of them were blind), About the beast to grope,
That each by observation Then, seizing on the swinging tail
Might satisfy his mind. That fell within his scope,
"I see," -quote he,- "the Elephant
The First approach'd the Elephant, Is very like a rope!"
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side, And so these men of Indostan
At once began to bawl: Disputed loud and long,
"God bless me! But the Elephant Each in his own opinion
Is very like a wall!" Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
The Second, feeling of the tusk, And all were in the wrong!
Cried, -"Ho! What have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
 Week 1 (Day 3)

ANALYSIS
Philosophy and its Holistic Approach

A philosopher's way of thinking can be described as "abstractive" or

complex. This means that it rises from the level of everyday life to a higher
level that gives a bird's eye view of the whole. Try to recall an experience in
which you were able to climb a tower, reach the peak of a high mountain, or
view things from the window of an airplane. The view is certainly different
from up there than from the ground. When you are on the ground, you see
roads, buildings, and all that make up the busy everyday life, one at a time.
When you are up there, you not only see the same roads and buildings from
a different perspective, but you see them all at the same time. Moreover,
you also see how they are connected to each other. This is what we mean
Write your answers to the following questions: by seeing things from a holistic perspective. Like the elephant, the different
parts may be seen as separate and different from each other. Only when the
1. Did anyone among the blind men give the correct answer? Why or why blind men learn to perceive the elephant as a whole would they appreciate
not? how each part makes up one thing. Not one of the blind men was able to
2. In the context of the elephant story, what do you think is a holistic give a correct answer. Each answer was far from what was true. We come
perspective? What is a partial point of view? closer to the truth about a thing or someone when we look at that thing or
person from various perspectives. The first philosophers noted in history
3. What is the importance of a holistic perspective as pointed out by the
hail from the ancient Greek civilization. What makes this civilization so
poet John Godfrey Saxe? special for philosophy? If today we have airplanes, satellites, or spaceships
4. In the last stanza, John Godfrey Saxe related the legend to the religious that would allow us to see the world from a holistic point of view, these
wars during his time. What do you think is John Godfrey Saxe trying to great thinkers in the past used their minds "to see the whole." They had
say in this poem? insight. Insight means "seeing with the mind" (Ferriols, 2001). The ancient
Greek philosophers asked the question, "What makes us all connected to
each other? What makes us one? What underlies everything that exists?"
The first noted philosopher in western history is Thales (c. 624-545 B.C.). He
was a thinker who loved to gaze at the star. By sensing the harmony in the
movements of the heavenly bodies, he deduced the relationship of things in
the universe. He said that everything is related to each other because
everything that exists contains water.

Today, Thales' answer to the question "What makes us one?" would be

regarded as silly or outdated. But it is not our purpose here to defend the
answer of the first philosopher. Our aim is to understand how a
philosophical mind moves. From the previous paragraphs, we learned that
having a philosophical insight means being able to see with the mind. This
means that to be able to think philosophically, you must learn to look 0.85% potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine and magnesium and 0.15 %
beyond what is immediately before you. Moreover, you must learn to and are more than a dozen trace elements. In anthropology, a human person
see how a thing is related to everything else. This is the mark of a holistic is a "member of the primate genus Homo, especially a member of the
perspective. The movement from everyday experience towards a more species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other apes by a large brain and
holistic point of view is a salient characteristic of philosophical thinking. In the capacity for speech", etc. Given a holistic perspective of reality.
the next two sections, we will begin to appreciate that this way of thinking is Which is the correct definition of a human person? Justify your answer.
not totally foreign to us. We will recognize certain moments in our lives in 4. How does a teacher help the class arrive at a holistic view of an issue? Is
which we have been, or have already begun philosophizing. involving the students by interacting with them helpful in arriving at a
holistic view of things?
SUMMARY 5. Research on the principles of holistic medicine. Is holistic medicine in
To understand philosophy is to engage in it. This entails opening ourselves keeping with the philosopher's holistic perspective?
up to the experience of questioning our own established beliefs, of looking 6. How does this quote relate to the Chapter?
with the mind beyond what we "see" with our senses. If philosophy has a "My philosophy comes from a worldview that looks at the world as one.
"basic requirement" before one can engage in it, which would be courage to It's a holistic view that sees the world as interconnected and
break open our partial perspective in order to have a glimpse of a broader interdependent and integrated in so many different ways..." - Dennis
truth. Doing philosophy entails a holistic rather than a partial perspective. Kucinich
With a holistic perspective, we are able to see the connectedness of parts to
see a meaningful whole. Having a glimpse of the whole allows us to see the Day 4: A Week Coverage Review
meaning of the activities that we do every day - from rising to working to Using a whole sheet paper, answer the following.
sleeping.
1. Why is it important for us to learn Philosophy?
Day 3: Activity: 2. When Thales said that everything that exists contains water, what does
Write your answer in a whole sheet of paper. he mean?
3. Differentiate Holistic Point of View to Partial Point of View.
1. The story of the elephant and the blind men can be an analogy of
everyday experiences. Recall an experience where you had CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
disagreements with friends or family over something. Was the Doing philosophy is looking at reality from a holistic perspective and not
disagreement 'resolved? If yes, how? If not, how can a more holistic from a partial point of view. Distinguish holistic perspective from a partial
perspective help in the resolution? point of view. Give a concrete example.
2. Based on what you learned on the holistic approach of philosophy, why
is a panel of discussants or presenters usually invited to share their REFLECTION
views on a burning issue? Is it not enough to listen to just one Write a journal entry about your experience of getting to a high point such
discussant or presenter? What is the wisdom behind panel discussions? as the peak of a mountain, the top of a house, or the view from an airplane
3. Each of your subjects - biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, above high seas. Try to recall how you felt in that moment. Did the view
anthropology, economics, and math - has a concept of who a human below give you a sense of relief and freedom? Now shift your focus to a
person is. For example, in biology, a human person is a living being personal conflict that is bothering you at the moment. Imagine yourself
composed of cells, tissues, organs and systems. In chemistry a human looking at that conflict from the high point that you described above. What
person is 99% oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and do you see? Do you see things differently? Do you understand better? How
phosphorus; did this exercise make you feel? Does having broader, more holistic
perspective give you a sense of relief? Write this down in your journal.