PHILOSOPHY: ITS MEANING, BRANCHES,
FOUNDERS, AND PROPONENTS
“Philosophy” came from two Greek words:
Philo which means “to love”
Sophia which means “wisdom”
Philosophy originally meant “love of wisdom.”
Philosophy is also defined as the science that by natural
light of reason studies the first causes or highest
principles of all things.
Science:
• It is an organized body of knowledge.
• It is systematic.
• It follows certain steps or employs certain procedures.
Natural Light of Reason
– It uses a philosopher’s natural capacity to think or
human reason or the so-called unaided reason.
Study of All Things
▪ It makes philosophy distinct from other sciences because
it is not one dimensional or partial.
▪ A philosopher does not limit himself to a particular
object of inquiry.
▪ Philosophy is multidimensional or holistic.
First Cause or Highest Principle
1. Principle of Identity – whatever is; whatever is not is not.
Everything is its own being, and not being is not being.
2. Principle of Non-Contradiction – it is impossible for a
thing to be and not to be at the same time.
3. Principle of Excluded Middle – a thing is either is or is
not; between being and not-being, there is no middle
ground possible.
4. Principle of Sufficient Reason – nothing exists without
sufficient reason for its being and existence.
❖ Early Greek philosophers studied aspects of the natural
and human world that later became separate sciences—
astronomy, physics, psychology, and sociology.
•Basic problems like the nature of the universe, the standard
of justice, the validity of knowledge, the correct application
of reason, and the criteria of beauty have been the domain
of philosophy from its beginnings to the present.
•These basic problems are the subject matter of the branches
of philosophy.
Branches of Philosophy
1. Metaphysics
– Extension of a fundamental and necessary drive in
every human being to know what is real.
– A metaphysician’s task is to explain that part of our
experience which we call unreal in terms of what we
call real.
– We try to make things comprehensible by simplifying or
reducing the mass of things we call appearance to a
relatively fewer number of things we call reality.
➢ Thales
– He claims that everything we experience is water
(“reality”) and everything else is “appearance.”
– We try to explain everything else (appearance) in terms
of water (reality).
➢ Idealist and Materialist
– Their theories are based on unobservable entities: mind
and matter.
– They explain the observable in terms of the
unobservable.
➢ Plato
– Nothing we experience in the physical world with our
five senses is real.
– Reality is unchanging, eternal, immaterial, and can be
detected only by the intellect.
– Plato calls these realities as ideas of forms.
2. Ethics
– Explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates
human actions.
– Study of the nature of moral judgments.
– Philosophical ethics attempts to provide an account of
our fundamental ethical ideas.
– Insists that obedience to moral law be given a rational
foundation.
➢ Socrates
– To be happy is to live a virtuous life.
– Virtue is an awakening of the seeds of good deeds that
lay dormant in the mind and heart of a person which can
be achieved through self-knowledge.
True knowledge = Wisdom = Virtue
Courage as virtue is also knowledge.
➢ William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
– African-American, wanted equal rights for the blacks.
– His philosophy uses the same process as Hegel’s
dialectic (Thesis > Antithesis > Synthesis).
3. Epistemology
– Deals with nature, sources, limitations, and validity
of knowledge.
– Explains:
1. How we know what we claim to know;
2. How we can find out what we wish to know; and
3. How we can differentiate truth from falsehood.
– Addresses varied problems: the reliability, extent, and
kinds of knowledge; truth; language; and science and
scientific knowledge.
▪ Sources of knowledge
a. Induction
– gives importance to particular things seen, heard, and
touched
– forms general ideas through the examination of
particular facts
– Empiricist – advocates of induction method
– Empiricism is the view that knowledge can be attained
only through sense experience.
b. Deduction – gives importance to general law from which
particular facts are understood or judged.
▪ Rationalist – advocates of deduction method
– For a rationalist, real knowledge is based on the logic, the
laws, and the methods that reason develops.
▪ Pragmatism – the meaning and truth of an idea are tested
by its practical consequences.
➢ Aristotle
– First philosopher to devise a logical method
– Truth means the agreement of knowledge with reality.
– Logical reasoning makes us certain that our conclusions
are true.
➢ Zeno of Citium
– One of the successors of Aristotle and founder of
Stoicism
➢ Other influential authors of logic
– Cicero, Porphyry, and Boethius
– Philoponus and Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes
4. Aesthetics
– It is the science of the beautiful in its various
manifestations – including the sublime, comic,
tragic, pathetic, and ugly.
It is important because of the following:
– It vitalizes our knowledge. It makes our
knowledge of the world alive and useful.
– It helps us to live more deeply and richly. A work
of art helps us to rise from purely physical
existence into the realm of intellect and the spirit.
– It brings us in touch with our culture. The
answers of great minds in the past to the great
problems of human life are part of our culture.
❖ Hans-Georg Gadamer
– A German philosopher who argues that our tastes
and judgments regarding beauty work in
connection with one’s own personal experience
and culture.
– Our culture consists of the values and beliefs of
our time and our society.
DOMAINS OF PHILOSOPHY
1. Metaphysics – seeks to answer the nature of
reality. It asks questions about what makes
things as they are or what makes a human
being truly human. Why do things exist? What is
their purpose? What are they made of? Where do
they come from?
2. Epistemology – is science of human
knowledge. It deals with origin, process,
validity of human knowledge. It asks the
questions like “what makes things true and what
makes them false? Is our knowledge of things
reliable? How do we know things? Do we know
them by their appearance only or do we know them
as they are in themselves? Where does knowledge
come from? Do we create it or it comes to us?
What is the role of the senses and reason in the
process of knowing?”
3. Ethics or moral philosophy – deals with the
morality of human action. It asks the
question, “what makes human action good or
evil?” It studies different norms and
standards of human action across cultures.
4. Theodicy or Natural Theology – studies the
existence and nature of God through human
reason alone without the aid of faith and
sacred scriptures. It ask the questions, “is
there a God? How does be exist? What is his
nature?”
5. Cosmology – the study of the nature of matter
/ corporeal entities. It is also the study of the
origin and nature of the universe. It asks
questions like, “what makes up matter? What is
the minutest component of matter? What are the
characteristic and properties of matter? What is
quantity? What makes things quantifiable? What is
the origin of the universe?”
6. Aesthetics or the Philosophy of Beauty and Art –
studies the nature of beauty and art. It ask
the questions, “what makes a thing or a work of
art beautiful? Is beauty in the thing or is it in the
eyes of the beholder? What are the criteria of
beauty?
7. Rational Psychology or Philosophical Psychology –
studies the origin of life, the nature of the
soul as the principle / cause / source of life.
8. Logic – science and art of correct thinking.
9. Axiology – is the study of human values.
10. Deontology – is the study of duty
11. Semantics – meaning of words and sentences.
12. Philosophy of the Human Person – is the study
of the nature of human person. It asks the
question, “what makes man truly human? What is
the meaning of his / her existence? What is the
purpose of his / her life? Where is he / she heading?”
13. Political Philosophy – is the study of how
society should be organized and gorverned.
It asks the questions, “who should rule? What is
the relationship between power and authority? What
is the nature and purpose of law? What are
freedom, order, human rights and justice all about?”
14. Philosophy of Science – is a branch of
philosophy that is concerned with the
foundation of science, its epistemology, and
methods of inquiry, and the reliability of
scientific theories generated.
15. Philosophy of Religion – is the study of a
religion or religions and its concepts and
beliefs through philosophical enquiry or
criticism. It asks question. “Is religious faith
reasonable or not? What the functions does religion
serve today? What are the similarities and
dissimilarities of religions? Can humanity flourish
without religion? What contributions does religion
give to humanity and to civilization? Why is there
evil and suffering in world? Is there a God? Is
God good? Can God be known by reason?”
16. The Philosophy of technology– branch of
philosophy that is dedicated to the influence
of technology to human lives and social effects.
17. The Philosophy of the Environment – branch of
philosophy that is concerned with the
implication of man’s exploitation of the natural
resources and the methods of its exploitation..
Doing Philosophy: Holistic Approach
FOUR FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS:
A. What is there?
B. What can be known?
C. How could life be lived?
D. What is good reasoning?
A. What is there?
➢ This questions belongs to metaphysics. Metaphysics
deals with the fundamental nature of reality and
being. It seeks to answer what constitutes a thing.
Its causes and effects; hence, what causes a cause.
➢ Some philosophers seek the meaning of what is
said, or meaning of utterances.
❖ Kleptomania is defined as “mental illness in which
one has a strong desire to steal things;.” If kleptomania
stems from a strong desire, can human beings exist
without desire? If desire is part of the humanity of the
human person, is he answerable to his actions that he
has no control of?
B. What is known?
➢ This is the core question of epistemology- the
branch of philosophy that deals with the nature
and grounds of knowledge. How is knowledge of
one thing applies to other thing? Or is universal
knowledge possible? Can my knowledge of myself be
replicated to other selves? If it is possible, can the self
be replicated?
C. How should life be lived?
➢ This is the area of ethics – the area of philosophy
that defines the principle of goodness of an act.
It is not to enough say that stealing, graft and
corruption is wrong. What makes stealing, graft and
corruption wrong. If virtue is desirable, what makes
it desirable?
➢ Human beings living with other human beings are
governed by certain principles that regulate their quality
of living. We cannot do things deliberately at will. We
have other considerations to assess, and by assessing
them, we should be guided by ethical principles.
D. What is good reasoning?
➢ This is the area of logic – a branch of philosophy,
deals with the principles validating our
reasoning. It is not enough that our reasoning is
correct, but most of all, it should also be valid.
Aside from good reasoning, philosophers are also
examining how meaning of something relates to
truth and the world. This is the area on the
Philosophy of Language which examines how
language works, how meaning refers to the world
and limits or structures our experiences of the
worlds.
The study of Philosophy:
A. Enables us to think carefully and clearly about
important issues.
B. Focuses on not what to believe but how to think.
C. Sharpens analytical abilities, enabling us to identify
and evaluate strengths and weaknesses in any
position.
D. Develops our ability to work independently.
The given reasons make apparent that philosophy
trains us to think and evaluate our thought process.
Philosophy is about life. It is not an abstract field
separated from concrete experiences. It takes the issue
of life deeper and considers all aspect of life in a
holistic fashion. Unlike other fields of human,
philosophy embraces life on its object of inquiry.
❖ For example, sending children to school despite all
odds is Filipino philosophy of education. This
preference on education is reflected in our constitution,
placed in the framework of governance, budget
allocation and planning, etc. both in the national and
microlevel. Filipinos believe that education is a
liberating agent in society– a force that can end the
intergenerational cycle of poverty. Thus, Filipinos can
say that through education man can be free.
Case Study: For Critical Analysis
o In law, cases like this, e.g. Kleptomania, has its
own appropriate sentence. In psychology,
kleptomania is tantamount to mental illness and
needs treatment. In philosophy, underlying question–
human freedom and responsibility-need to be
examined.
o From the philosophical point of view, the case
presented earlier takes on different path. Its method
of inquiry is holistic and considers many
perspective or theories on its approach in solving or
assessing problems in society or activities of life.
Precisely in real-life situations, one perspective is
not enough to show the strength of our decision.
Philosophy is about life, and it is for this reason
that philosophy is considered a holistic discipline.
o However, the other context of positive laws that
need to be stressed is not the punitive aspect of
the law but the rehabilitative attribute. The
consideration of mitigating circumstances are
situations that need to be examined. Logic demands
that no individual can be punished for acts that he
has no control of. Only lessen responsibility and
accountability, but they cannot remove one’s
responsibility and accountability. Thus, individuals
are still accountable in all their actions.
ON THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN PERSON: A
PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
➢ To come up with a philosophical perspective
concerning man’s existence, a historical –
philosophical approach is an appropriate method
to comprehend the very nature of his existence.
This approach would be the basis of
understanding man in the context on his existence.
➢ Beginning with the concept of philosophy as the
“love of wisdom,” the early attempts to explain the
nature of man were on the composition of the
world and the beginning of the world. Known
as Cosmogenesis, man is conceived as part of the
world. Any discussion pertaining to the world
entails the discussion of man. Hence, from
cosmogenetic principle, man cannot be divorced
from study of the world.
Human Nature on the Western Thoughts
To discuss human nature, we proceed to how
human beings are perceived by humans. In doing such,
our goal is to establish the connecting between
the thought of existence and the experience of
existence.
i. x is a human person if and only if x is found
on the nature of things.
Human Nature according to the Ancient Greek.
The early Greeks conceived man as part of nature.
▪ Water, (Thales 624-546 BC)
▪ Air (Anaximenes – 585-525 BC)
▪ Fire (change) (Heraclitus 540-475 BC)
▪ The boundless (Anaximander – 610-547 BC)
▪ A composite of body and soul (Pythagoras-582-507 BC)
➢ Human person partakes on the elemental
components of nature. He has to breathe air,
maintain a certain level of body temperature,
consume something produced by nature, and most
of all, gets affected by the forces of nature.
Thus, man is part of nature.
➢ Human persons are dependent on nature for their
existence and possess characteristics found in
nature. Hence, if the humanness of x is based on
his partaking on the elements of nature, then it
can be deduced that such requirement lack of
merit for the same is found in other animals.
What we are looking is for something that is
uniquely of the human person, and by such it
makes human beings, humans.
ii. x is a human person if and only if x possesses
categories that strengths his existence.
❖ The variation of thought on the composition of the
world and of man’s place in the world, led to the
development of the principle that man is the ultimate
criterion of truth and the center of all things.
➢ Protagoras (490-421 BC) maintained that man is a
center of all things and thus, the measure of
everything. Hence, for Protagoras, centrality is the
requirement which strengthens human person’s
existence.
➢ Socrates (469-399 BC) advocated the knowledge of
the self as the foundation of knowing.
Furthermore, he argued that the “unexamined life
is not worth living.” The Socratic principle on
knowledge of the self as the basis of acquiring
further knowledge puts the self as the first
criterion for the truth. Simply stated, nothing is
learned prior to the self. Nothing exist before the self.
When the self declares that it knows nothing, then
learning starts. “I am the wisest man alive, for I know
one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” Therefore,
the ability of the human person to know and use such
knowledge to establish more knowledge fortifies human
person’s existence.
➢ For Plato (427–347 BC), man is an embodied
soul. He believed that man has its existence first in
the world of ideas of which his existence is
embodied in the physical world. For him, man is
basically a soul. Being a soul, man possesses a
priori knowledge. Prior to his existence on the
physical world, man already knows something for
he has already contemplated the ideas in the world
of ideas. Thus, the human drama first began in
the World of Ideas of which this physical drama
only participates in the drama happening in the
world of Ideas.
– extols the human person as a being in the world of
ideas possessing a priori knowledge. By advancing this
idea, he failed to defend his position that a
priori knowledge existed before the existence of the
idea of the human person. So therefore, it failed to
prove the strength of the human person’s existence on
the basis that something existed prior to his existence.
That which existed later is produced by the former.
Some of the statements attributed to Plato:
• One of the penalties for refusing to participate in
politics is that you end up being governed by your
inferiors.
• Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good
actions in others.
➢ Aristotle (384-322 BC) foremost emphasized good
reasoning as the foundation of knowledge. For
instance, in his Ethics he identified the highest
good with intellectual virtue, i.e. a moral person is
one who cultivates certain virtues based on sound
and valid reasoning. For Aristotle, it is not enough
to say that virtue is good or vice is bad. Rather,
an individual should be able to explain what makes
a virtue good or what makes the vice bad
– “x x x x happiness must be based on human nature, and
must begin the facts of personal experience. Thus,
happiness cannot be found in any abstract or ideal notion,
like plato’s self – existing good. It must be something
practical and human. It must then be found in the work
and life which is unique to humans. . . . . It follows
therefore that true happiness lies in the active life of a
rational being or in a perfect realization and outworking of
the true soul and self, continued throughout a lifetime”
Reflect on these statements by Aristotle
• The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
• We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an
act, but a habit.
• It is a mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a
thought without accepting it.
Human Nature according to the Medieval Era.
– With the dominance of Medieval Christianity in
Europe (12th – 18th century), philosophy per se was
regarded as the handmaid of theology – ancilla
theologiae. In other words, reason was seen as a
companion of or complementary to faith . The
very role of philosophy is to explain faith. In the
context of the study of human person, he is still
viewed as part of nature, but at this time as a
being created by God.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness. . . So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God, he created him; male and female He created them”.
❖ Taking into consideration the biblical verses cited, it
can be assumed then that man, next to angles, was
the noblest creation. He is placed on the limelight as
a being – created – after – the – image – of – God. No
other part of the bible explicitly states that other
creations were created after the image of God.
❖ Heavy criticism from other non-creationist perspective.
Creationism cannot be accepted because it lacks
empirical evidence to warrant the arguments laid out
by this principle. Creationism relies primarily on
faith. Hence, the principle that man is created after
the image of God is a matter of faith, not of
science and reason.
iii. x is a human being if it demonstrates its
rational nature. Rationality has been the mark of the
human individual. Without this rational nature, man
will be no different from the rest of the animals.
Rationalism and the Human Nature.
– Rene Descartes’ (1596 – 1650) “Cogito, Ergo Sum” –
I Think, Therefore I Exist – demands for a rigorous
method for the secure and accurate attainment of
truth. This rigorous method which he termed
Methodical Doubt – everything can be reduced to
doubt, except doubt itself – ensures the utilization or
proof on the exercise of the rational nature of a
man. This rigorous method, known as scientific
method, would liberate the rational nature of man
from the clutches of faith and nature.
– For Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804), man’s existence is
defined by the ability of the intellect to know a
prior. In his “Critique of Pure Reason,” he opined
: “The human intellect, even in an unphilosophical
state, is in possession of certain cognitions a priori.”
He continued thus:
❖ “If we have a proposition which contains the idea of
necessity in its very conception. It is judgment a
priori … If moreover, it is not derived from any other
proposition, unless from one equally involving the idea
of necessity, It is absolutely a priori,”
❖ Simply put, the human person knows something a
this reason, it is difficult to use the Hegelian notion of
reason to draw the qualitative distinction between human
beings and other beings.
v. x is real if x can maintain its reason for existence.
– This principle can be found in Arthur Shopenhauer’s
(1788 – 1860) work, on the Fourfold Root of the
Principle of sufficient Reason maintaining that
nothing is without sufficient reason. He reasoned that
the world of experience is the phenomenal world.
For him, “science signifies a system objects known,”
not just groups of presentations. Furthermore, man
possesses abstract concepts, while the intuitive concepts
are common to both man and animals. In conclusion
for him, is moral man guides his actions by principles.
Likewise, principles need concepts. Knowledge is the
servant of the will.
Existentialism and Human Nature
When one talks about existentialism, he always faces
two difficulties, namely :
1. Existentialism is not so much of a philosophical
system. We have to note that existentialists are
very much against any system
2. The question on what is the meaning of life is more
important to them than the answer to those questions.
A strong reaction was made by Soren Kierkegaard
(1813 – 1855) on the philosophy of Hegel. Known as
the father of existentialism, Kierkegaard argued that
man cannot placed as a “cog in a machine” or a part
of a system. Putting human undertakings in a box
is a diminution of man’s freedom and consequently
