Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

1st Semester | 2nd Quarter (Finals)

Vince Cedric C. Resultay | STEM 11 – St. John

o We see science as the ideal model of a

valuable undertaking, which philosophy
allegedly fails to achieve or even
approximate.

SCIENCE VS. PHILOSOPHY

GUIDE QUESTIONS
• It is true that philosophy is indefinite in its answers
• What is the point and value of doing philosophy? to philosophical questions, but this is only because
• Why should we philosophize or study philosophy? of the kind of questions that philosophy deals with.
• What good will philosophizing do considering that we are • Scientific questions – questions that are already
living in a world where life is hard and largely dictated by known with some degree of certainty to be capable
scientific and technological advances? of being answered in a precise and definite way.
These are questions that already have a precise
and objective means of answering.
PT 1: THE CHARGE OF FUTILITY • Philosophical questions – questions in which it has
not been established yet whether there is a precise
INTRODUCTION and objective means of answering these questions.
• In this lesson, we intend to demonstrate the • Most scientific questions did not start out as
importance of philosophy in two ways. scientific questions. They started out as
o First is to show that the arguments philosophical questions, questions that were thought
supporting the view that philosophy is a to be indefinitely answerable.
useless of futile activity are mistaken. o One reason for this was the unavailability
o Second is to identify some of the major of the technology that could test
achievements of philosophy. hypotheses.
o Another reason was the imprecise
formulation of the questions.
RUSSELL’S “THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY” ESSAY
• When philosophy deals with unscientific questions
• We can gather from Russell’s discussion that there (indefinitely unanswerable ones), one primary goal
are two main reasons behind the charge that is precisely determine whether such questions can
“philosophy is a futile activity”. eventually become scientific; whether they could
• First reason is the indefiniteness of philosophy with eventually be answered in some definite way.
regard to the answers that it provides to • The moment that a philosophical question is proven
philosophical questions. to be answerable in some definite way, the question
o This means that philosophy does not becomes a scientific question and ceases to be a
provide final answers to the questions that philosophical one.
it deals with, for the answers it offers differ • In short, philosophy does the preliminary work for
from one philosopher to another. science in finding definite answers to certain
o There seems to be no objective way to questions.
determine whose answer is better.
o For this reason, it is thought that
philosophizing would just lead to nowhere, CHARGE ON PHILOSOPHY BEING IMPRACTICAL
and thus would just be a waste of time and • With regard to the charge of being an impractical
energy. activity, it is true that philosophy does not directly
• Second reason is the impracticality of philosophy. satisfy our material needs. But as Russell explains,
o This means that the activity of this is only because philosophy is focused on
philosophizing has no practical benefits in satisfying another kind of valuable human needs:
that it does not help us to satisfy our the needs of the mind.
material needs such as those related to the • Shown by the fact that once most or all of our
nourishment of our body. material needs have already been satisfied, we still
o Why waste our time then on something that have questions about how to further improve the
will not help us survive in this world? quality of our lives.
• These two characteristics attributed to philosophy • Such questions must surely then be about our non-
actually contrast with science. physical needs, the needs of our mind.
o Unlike philosophy, science provide definite • These non-physical needs may be varied, for they
answers to the questions that it deals with, may concern better human relationships, better
or an objective means of resolving issues spiritual life, and a better and deeper understanding
that it handles. of our place or purpose in the world we live in.
o Moreover, science, through its • In addition, some of the tools of philosophy such as
interventions and technologies, provides us logic and critical thinking can also be used to
with more efficient ways of satisfying our address questions directly related to the satisfaction
material and survival needs. of our material needs.
 SUMMARY DEVELOPMENT OF SOME AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE
• In sum, the charge that philosophy is an exercise in • Philosophy contributes to the development of some
futility because of its impracticality is mistaken in two disciplines or areas of knowledge.
following ways. • Ancient Period:
o First, it is simply wrong to limit what is o The Pre-Socratic philosophers (Greek
valuable in life to the satisfaction of our philosophers before Socrates) broke away
material or practical concerns. from mythological explanations of natural
o Second, it is also wrong to think that processes and started methods of
philosophy, though focused on addressing explaining these processes in terms of
our mental needs, cannot contribute to how observation and reasoning.
we can best satisfy our material needs. o This gave birth to what we now call the
Satisfying our material needs would also scientific method.
require adequate reasoning skills. • Medieval Period:
o Philosophy was regarded as the handmaid
PT 2: SOME MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS OF PHILOSOPHY of Christian theology.
o Prominent philosopher-theologians during
this period, such as St. Thomas Aquinas
A HOLISTIC VIEW OF LIFE and St. Augustine, used philosophy to
• To provide a holistic view of life, philosophy clarify, justify, and show consistency of
supplements what is lacking in scientific Christian doctrines and teachings.
explanations to come up with holistic explanations of • Modern Period:
things or events in the world. o Philosophers, such as Rene Descartes,
• Aristotle believes that there are material, formal, helped solidify the foundations of science,
final, and efficient types of causes. which was re-establishing itself after the
• 4 Kinds of Causes: long Medieval Period.
o Material Cause – refers to the composition o During the first half of the Contemporary
of something, what a thing is made up of. Period, some philosophers clarified and
o Formal Cause – refers to the design or justified certain features of the foundations
form of something that makes it what it is. of mathematics.
o Final Cause – refers to the purpose of o Still about the same period, the logician,
something. mathematician, and philosopher Alan
o Efficient Cause – refers to the one that Turing laid the foundations for the
initiates the change in an object. discipline presently known as computer
• Example 1: Suppose there is a wooden table in front science.
of us and we want to explain why. o In the course of answering a foundational
o The table is there because there is wood. question about mathematics, Turing
(material cause) conceived of a theoretical computing
o The table is there because there is wood machine (also known as Turing machine)
that has the form or shape of a table. which became the blueprint or general
(formal cause) design for the construction of modern
o The table is there because someone needs digital computers.
it there, presumably to put his/her things
on. (final cause) ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY
o There is a table because someone, a
• Philosophy, through its investigations in the area of
carpenter, made it. (the carpenter is the
ethics, provides ethical guidelines for the use of
efficient cause)
modern technology.
• Now, what science usually investigates about the
• There are also technological advancements in the
world are its material, formal, and efficient causes.
area of computing, which have given rise to new
The final cause is usually not its concern.
ethical issues such as piracy, cyberbullying,
• Example: The existence of a human being.
hacking, and pornography.
o Composition of the human body (material
• Other ethical issues arising from the development of
causes)
technology include:
o Functions of the different parts of the
o possibility of human cloning
human body (formal causes)
o stem-cell research
o Biological actions of the parents that led to
o use of humans and animals in scientific
the birth of the human being (efficient
experimentation for medical and business
causes)
purposes.
o However, it will not explain human
• These new ethical issues require new and updated
existence in terms of its purpose (final
approaches, which philosophy supplies through the
cause)
different areas of applied or practical ethics.
• It is in this light that philosophy can supplement the
investigations of science to come up with holistic
explanations of things.
• Moreover, while religion relies on faith, philosophy
relies solely on the power of human reason.
 SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION BEARERS OF TRUTH
• Philosophy, through its investigations in the area of • There are usually 3 candidates for the bearers of
social and political philosophy, has significantly truth: beliefs, statements, and sentences.
contributed to social transformation. • We shall only consider beliefs and statements as
• There were political revolutions inspired by the the bearers of truth. The reason is that not all
works of political philosophers like John Locke and sentences can be either true or false. Sentences
Karl Marx. have different kinds.
• In addition, our present concept of democracy, o When we say sentence can be true, what
which includes the separation of powers (executive, we have in mind are the declarative
judicial, and legislative branches) was largely the sentences only.
product of the ideas of some philosophers like o We do not say of a question, an
Locke and Montesquieu. exclamation, or an imperative that it is
either true or false. But declarative
EXPLORING WHAT IS BEYOND sentences can also be used outside of their
ordinary use of describing facts or events
• Philosophy continues to explore what is possible in the world.
and consequently expand the boundaries of
knowledge or of what we can know.
• We further noted that one objective of philosophy STATEMENTS AND BELIEFS
here is to determine whether such questions can • Statement (or proposition) – refers to a linguistic
become scientific questions. expression whose function is to advance a certain
• According to Russell (1980), even if it so happens claim.
that some of these questions do not become o This claim may be about a possible
scientific ones, philosophy will continue to deal with situation in the world or a possible relation
these questions for the following reasons: among ideas.
1. for us to get insights about the human o As this claim may be realized or not, the
condition in terms of the limits of what we statement is either true of false.
can know about ourselves and the world o Statements are truth-bearers because they
around us. make claims, either in terms of describing
2. and, to keep our sense of wonder, or our the world or asserting relations of ideas.
amazement with the world, alive. • Statements are linguistic expressions; therefore,
they are the linguistic expressions of our claims.
• We can also make the same claims mentally
through our beliefs.
• Belief – the mental expressions of our claims.
o The only difference between the statement
“Two and two are four” and the belief that
“Two and two are four” is that the
statement is expressed linguistically while
GUIDE QUESTIONS
the belief is made in the mind.
• What is truth? • Sometimes it is said that statements are
• What are the things that can properly be said to be true? expressions of beliefs, which makes beliefs as more
basic than statements. But we can determine the
truth of a statement without associating it with a
INTRODUCTION belief.
• The essential traits of a wise person is that he/she is
aware of his/her ignorance.
TRUTH VS. FACT
• This means that he/she knows and when he/she
does not know. • One possible confusion is between truth and fact.
• Being wise, therefore, is knowing when we know the • Fact – something that occurs in the world, and it is
truth and when we do not know it. what makes a certain statement true.
• This explains why philosophy, being love of wisdom, • Example: “There is a cow in the rice field”.
is also sometimes described as searching for truth. o What makes this statement true is the fact
that there is a cow in the rice field.
o We can also meaningfully say, “It is true
UNDERSTANDING TRUTH that there is a cow in the rice field”. When
• It is a kind of property whose opposite is falsity. we say this, we are using the word “true” to
• Something that is said to be true, which we express mean a “fact”.
as “the truth” or “a truth” is said to have property of o For what is true here is the statement
truth of for being true. because there is the fact that there is a
• The things can be properly said to be true, or to cow in the rice field.
which we can properly say attribute the property of
truth, are referred to by philosophers as the ‘bearers CONCLUSION
of truth”.
• We, thus, consider only statements and beliefs as
the bearers of truth. We have shown that sentences
are bearers of truth only when they function as
statements; and statements and beliefs can be
treated independently when determining their truth.
 • Contingent Truth – not true in all possible situations.
Empirical truths are contingent truths.
• Necessary Truth – true in all possible situations.
Rational truths are necessary truths.

GUIDE QUESTIONS (4) FOURTH KIND OF TRUTH

• The question of whether the truth of a belief or
• What are the different kinds of truth?
statement can only be known directly by the person
• How do they come about?
who has the belief or makes statement gives rise to
the difference between private truth and public truth.
INTRODUCTION • Private Truth – can only be known directly by the
• Statements and beliefs are either true or false. person who has the belief or makes the statement
• There are, however, certain questions or considered to be true.
considerations about certain aspects of the truth. o The truth of psychological statements, or
• Most kinds of truth are mostly related. statements about one’s own mental states.
is a private truth.
• Public Truth – in principle, can be known directly by
(1) FIRST KIND OF TRUTH
everyone. (includes empirical and rational truths)
• The question of whether the truth of a belief or o by “in principle”, we mean the occurrence
statement is established or arrived at by means of or presence of the necessary conditions
sense experience or reason gives rise to the like the knowing person is a normal adult.
difference between empirical truth and rational truth. • For example, a skin is cut and bleeding is public
• Empirical Truth - established by means of sense truth. But the pain felt is private truth because only
experience (experience through the 5 organs of you can feel the pain directly.
sense). It is a posteriori, a truth that can only be
known after some relevant experience.
(5) FIFTH KIND OF TRUTH
o The truth of observational statements such
as “It is raining.” is an empirical truth. • The question of whether or not the truth of a belief
• Rational Truth - established by means of reason or statement is dependent on the attitudes,
(through inference or analysis of concepts). It is a preferences, or interests of a person or a group of
priori, a truth that can be known before some relevant persons gives rise to the difference between
experience. subjective and objective truths.
o The truth of definitions such as “A triangle • Subjective Truth – dependent on the attitudes,
has 3 sides.” and mathematical statements preferences, interests of a person or a group of
such as “Five and five are ten.” is a rational persons. (ex. value judgements such as aesthetics)
truth o For example, the statement “Rock music is
the best kind of music” is subjective
because it is true for someone who may
(2) SECOND KIND OF TRUTH
like rock music.
• The question of whether or not knowing the truth of a • Objective Truth – dependent on the attitudes,
statement or belief extends our knowledge or adds to preferences, interests of a person or a group of
what we already know gives rise to the difference persons. (ex. factual judgements)
between synthetic truth and analytic truth.
o For example, the statement “Rock music is
• This question is technically expressed by some
one of the major kinds of music” is
philosophers in terms of whether the predicate of a
true belief or statement is already contained in the objective because it remains to be true.
information provided by its subject.
• Synthetic Truth – extends our knowledge (the (6) SIXTH KIND OF TRUTH
information provided by the predicate is not • The question of whether or not the truth of a belief
contained in the information provided by the subject) or statement is acknowledged to be true by
o For example, knowing that “The table is everyone or only by some people gives rise to the
brown” extends our knowledge about the difference between universal and relative truth.
table. We know what a table is and knowing • Universal Truth – something is universally true if its
that it is colored brown adds to what we truth is acknowledged by everyone.
know already about a table. o For example, the statement “Rock music is
• Analytic Truth – does not extend our knowledge such one of the major musical genres” is
as definitions and identity statements. (the universal because it is true for everyone.
information provided by the predicate is contained in • Relative Truth – something is relatively true if its
the information provided by the subject) truth is acknowledged only by some people.
o For example, knowing that a bachelor is an o For example, the statement “Rock music is
unmarried male does not extend our
the best kind of music” is relative because
knowledge about it.
it is true for people who like rock music.

(3) THIRD KIND OF TRUTH

• The question of whether or not a statement or belief
is true in all possible situations gives rise to the
difference between contingent truth and necessary
truth.
 (7) SEVENTH KIND OF TRUTH
• The question of whether or not the truth of a belief is
arrived at through the process of deductive or
inductive reasoning gives rise to certain and
probable truths.
• Certain Truth – deductive truth, the truth of the
statement arrived at through the process of
deductive reasoning is certain.
• Probable Truth – inductive truth, the truth of the
statement arrived at through the process of
inductive reasoning is merely probable.

(8) EIGHTH KIND OF TRUTH

• The question of under what area of study does the
topic or content of a belief or statement that is held
to be true falls gives rise to a number of kinds of
truth, as many as there are different areas of study.
• We can call these truths as disciplinal kinds of truth.
• We have religious truth, scientific truth,
psychological truth, biological truth, and economic
truth.