QUESTIONS WE ASK

 Why am I here?
 Why was I born?
 What am I here for?
 what is the purpose of my
existence?
QUESTIONS WE ASK
 Why is love complicated?
 Why love when you only
get hurt?
 Why do people say that
“forever” is not real in love
and relationships?
QUESTIONS WE ASK
 Why do people have to die?
 What if there is no life after
death?
 Why does man have to work
at the expense of health?
 Why can’t my parents
understand me?
Philosophical questions:
 Are open to examination, further
questioning and enquiry
 Can't be answered by appealing
only to scientific investigation or
sense experience
 Are questions about meaning,
truth, value, knowledge and
reality
PHILOSOPHICAL
QUESTION
 A philosophical question
always contains a bigger
problem.

 They are personally

significant and all-
encompassing
 PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS

 they are the kind of questions that

endure, and asked every now and
then.
 These questions are significant and
matter to us for they reflect our
desire to understand or at least
make sense of our experiences.
 The answers we find directly affect
the way we go through life.
PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION

When we ponder on philosophical

questions, we are engaged in a
PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION.

Example: Why am I here ? (the person

is actually concerned with the bigger
universal problem of human existence;
and expresses a search for meaning.
 PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION

 is the activity of utilizing the tools

that philosophy provides us to
examine our lives, and our most basic
beliefs about life.
 The end goal is to achieve a higher
level of understanding which results
in rebalancing or changing your life in
positive ways
 i.e. rejecting unimportant things or
activities in life in favor of the things
which are truly important.
ACTIVITY #2:
 What philosophical
questions/ have you asked
in the past or is asking right
now?
 What makes your
question/s personally
significant?
 Holistic perspective
 Holistic Perspective- means using your
very own point of view wholely.

 This kind of approach allows the

researcher to examine the importance
of various relationships within a
particular system

 For example, to understand why

Filipinos celebrate fiesta, the
researcher has to consider the history
of the Filipino people, religion, tradition,
aesthetics, and even the political
aspect of it.
 Partial point of view
 Partial point of view - a perspective
that is based on one of the
component parts of a whole.

 For example, when one researcher

conducts an inquiry on the reason
why Filipinos celebrate fiesta based
on the religious aspect of it, the
point of view is partial since it only
considered one causal factor and
did not include other possible
factors like sociological, political
and historical.
TO PHILOSOPHIZE IS TO LOOK AT LIFE
FROM A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE
Summary:
 Hence, a partial point of view is a
perspective that looks at reality based
on a single or partial component of a
system whereas the holistic
perspective tries to broaden the
understanding of reality by taking
considerations of other possible
causal agents or factors be it
biological, theological or any other
factors that may contribute in
understanding a certain phenomenon.
Accg to: MARTIN HEIDEGGER:

 A scientific question is always confined to

the particular;

 A philosophical question “ leads to the

totality of beings and inquires into the whole”

 Example: The essence of human freedom

-the problem is not limited to man and freedom
-it includes the essence of the world and the
essence of God
-when we ask philosophically about freedom,
we venture into an inquiry about the whole.;
not only as particular but universal problem.
 Philosopher in focus:
Martin Heidegger (1889-
1976)
 -born in Germany
 -published articles in Catholic journals as a
result of his education in the seminary.
 -“Being and Time” is his most influential
book
 -responsible for the term “ hermeneutics of
facticity( means people interpret things as
they encounter them in different ways)
 *Every person engaged in a
philosophical reflection must
recognize that possible answers
to philosophical questions require
adequate justification or rational
basis.
 *Philosophical questions do not
have ready or definite answers
Accg. To PLATO :
 There are things that deceive,
confuse or mislead in this world.
 To know what is real requires
much intellectual effort and
rational ability.
 A person is responsible for the
answers he/she holds on to.
 *God gave us intellect or mind ( faculty of
reason) to figure things out on our own
and pursue our question so we can come
nearer to the truth.
Philosopher in focus:
 PLATO ( 427-347 BCE)
 -one of the most famous philosopher ever
lived
 -student of Socrates; teacher of Aristotle
 -founded a school in Athens known as the
Academy- (served as model for
universities)
 -wrote numerous dialogues ( Socrates as
the main character )
 -famous works:
APOLOGY ( account of Socrate’s trial) and
REPUBLIC ( presents Theory of Forms)
TRUTH AND DIALECTICS
*Philosophers rely on the human faculty
of reason as they philosophize;

- It is used to arrive at a technique to

resolve philosophical questions.

Dialectics -a technique to resolve

philosophical questions .
- It is an art of refutation
(disproof, negation, contradiction)
TRUTH AND DIALECTICS

 *Dialogues- illustrate how

dialectics is an effective means
of examining and evaluating truth
claims.

 Philosophical discovery is a
result of collaboration with
partners in dialogue or
conversation.
Philosopher in focus:
SOCRATES( 469- 399 BCE)
- noteworthy in the use of dialectics
-left no writings but conversed with people
from all walks of life using question and
answer as a concrete living out of his famous
advice- “know thyself”
-he was condemned to death because of his
commitment to philosophy.
-his method of question and answer illustrate
how views need to be defended with
consistency and clarity.
-the series of questioning and answering was
effective in drawing out underlying
assumptions.
Summary:
*One has to give good reason as basis
for any claim and the claim must be
able to withstand further scrutiny and
examination.

*When we probe into the core of what

we claim, we learn more about our
position or view ( what it assumes,
what it truly means and what it entails)

*when we articulate, our mind is

sharpened and learn more about
ourselves.
DIALECTICS OF THE ANCIENT -------
DEVELOPED IN MODERN ERA--- THESIS,
ANTITHESIS, SYNTHESIS

* THESIS, ANTITHESIS – the exchange or

confrontation between differing positions
* SYNTHESIS – a result of thesis and
antithesis; a resolution of opposing views.

*The interplay of opposing views is necessary

for progress; exchange of ideas is needed in
order to grow

*Dialectics is indispensible since it leads us

closer to the truth.
DIALECTICS OF THE ANCIENT
 DEVELOPED IN MODERN ERA---
Into THESIS, ANTITHESIS, SYNTHESIS

* THESIS, ANTITHESIS – the exchange or

confrontation between differing positions
* SYNTHESIS – a result of thesis and
antithesis; a resolution of opposing views.

*The interplay of opposing views is necessary

for progress; exchange of ideas is needed in
order to grow
*Dialectics is indispensible since it leads us
closer to the truth.

*Philosophy teaches us to be open and strive

DIALECTICS OF THE ANCIENT
 DEVELOPED IN MODERN ERA---
Into THESIS, ANTITHESIS, SYNTHESIS

* THESIS, ANTITHESIS – the exchange or

confrontation between differing positions
* SYNTHESIS – a result of thesis and
antithesis; a resolution of opposing views.

*The interplay of opposing views is necessary

for progress; exchange of ideas is needed in
order to grow

*Dialectics is indispensible since it leads us

closer to the truth.
 Importance:
*Philosophy teaches us to be
open and strive to know better.

• This rational activity teaches

us to hold on only to those
beliefs we can defend, and
• to remain open so we can
revise our views through time
and in collaboration with
others.