Lesson 1:

Doing Philosophy
Activity No. 0: Outline
I. Doing Philosophy

A. To ask question.
-Doing philosophy means to ask questions, to reflect, and to
formulate and evaluate arguments.
-For me, questions are the best way to gain deeper
knowledge and develop more ground-breaking solutions.
-Contemplating about the mystery of life and constructing
arguments and be able to rationally evaluate them in the
end

B. Illusions.
-What is real or not?
-Basically, with what we already know, we judge what is real
or not.
-Sometimes, our brain makes shortcuts with the information it
receives from our senses
-Sometimes, how we understand things we receive from our
senses does not much how things really are.

II. In this chapter

A. What does it mean to ask question?

-First of all. I just want to be transparent that I am answering
this base on my own experience. In this case, asking
questions is of course, to learn something new. We ask
because we do not know about something and aside from
that, we also ask to put things together, to remember and to
resolve issues.
 Lesson 1:
Doing Philosophy
B. What is Philosophy?
-Doing philosophy is to ask question, to reflect, and to
formulate and evaluate arguments.
-In this way, we are more capable in understanding much
deeper about what a human being is likely to think, act or
get along with others.
-I see philosophy as a survey where we ask, evaluate and
conclude and this certain system will never be possible
without getting really into it.
-Simply saying, we ask certain questions.

C. What is the value of doing Philosophy?

-It really broadens our perspective in life.
- It reveals to us that philosophy seeks to find for actual
truth, love f wisdom. (That is why we ask!)
- To deliberate compassion and appreciation.
-PHILOSOPHY IS AN EVER-PRESENT REMINDER THAT YOU ARE
A HUMAN

III. Think about it

-No matter what, it is very important to test and check what
we know and appraise if this one is real.
-What we consider as factual is what we are taught.
IV. Meet the Philosopher (Rene Descartes)

- The question of what objectively ‘is’, is something that has

long been one of the subjects of philosophy.
- Descartes introduces the idea in his meditations:

“Surely whatever I had admitted until now as most true I

received either from the senses or through the senses.
However, I have noticed that the senses are sometimes
deceptive; and it is a mark of prudence never to place
our complete trust in those who have deceived us even
once.”

- Descartes famously employed systematic doubt, questioning

all knowledge conveyed by his experience in the world until
the only knowledge he couldn’t doubt was the fact that he
could doubt.

Therefore I suppose that everything I see is false. I believe

that none of what my deceitful memory represents ever
 Lesson 1:
Doing Philosophy
- Descartes famously employed systematic doubt, questioning
all knowledge conveyed by his experience in the world until
the only knowledge he couldn’t doubt was the fact that he
could doubt.

Therefore I suppose that everything I see is false. I believe

that none of what my deceitful memory represents ever
existed. I have no sense whatever. Body, shape,
extension, movement, and place are all chimeras. What
then will be true? … Thus, after everything has been most
carefully weighed, it must finally be established that this
pronouncement “I am, I exist” is necessarily true every
time I utter it or conceive it in my mind. (Descartes,
Meditations)

- Descartes confirmed we have an identity. Unfortunately,

this self could be the one we see in the mirror each
morning or a brain in a vat. If the only thing we cannot
doubt is that we can doubt, essentially that guarantees us
having only the mechanism to doubt. No body. We could
therefore be isolated brains, being manipulated by things
unknown, our entire world a mirage. (Source: fs.blog)

V. Meet the Philosopher (Socrates)

“I know that I know nothing…”

-This means that you can say 'I don't know about you' to
indicate that you are going to give your own opinion about
something and you want to find out if someone else feels the
same.
-In this method, it gives us an opportunity to learn more
because we can ask more.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

 Lesson 2:
Methods of
Activity No. 0: Outline
Philosophizing
In this chapter:
 What is truth
 What is untruth?
 How do I search for truth?

I.Think about it

What is truth? We can say that we are not completely ignorant

about the truth, and asking about its meaning does not mean that
we know nothing about truth. Truth is one of the central subjects in
philosophy. It is also one of the largest. Truth has been a topic of
discussion in its own right for thousands of years. Moreover, a huge
variety of issues in philosophy relate to truth, either by relying on
theses about truth, or implying theses about truth. There are also
times that it is difficult to determine truth, and it's not necessarily
because truth is unknowable. Truth is complex and nuanced, we've
already moved beyond “truths”, that is, we’re no longer talking
about the truth as told or said. In other words, when we “tell the
truth,” we don’t actually tell the truth.An articulation or expression
of truth that happens to reflect and correspond to the actual
reality to which our statement points.

II. Ontological Truth vs. Logical Truth

Ontological Truth- is simply what is, what exists. Reality as it is.

Logical Truth- is the ontological truth articulated and
communicated faithfully, truthfully.
 It is difficult to completely separate them.
 Knowing the difference and relationship between
ontological truth and logical truth allows us better
understand philosophy.
 “Something other than the self”
 “Living Truthfully”
 Lesson 2:
Methods of
III. How to do Philosophy, how to be truthful
Philosophizing
Doing Philosophy and being truthful means two things:
1. Telling apart truth from untruth
2. Speaking Truthfully
Opinions- are personal views and judgments that have their root in
belief rather than in truth, but this does not automatically mean
that opinions are untrue. Opinions and errors are not the opposite
of truth; they are not, strictly speaking, untruths.
Untruths- lie; that is, a statement that is intentionally not true, that is
intentionally false.
IV. Meet the Philosopher
Hannah Arendt
 German born political philosopher
 Totalitarianism and Political Life

V. How to Spot Fake New

 Read before you share
 Check, double- check, triple check the information given
 Identify the author
 Inspect the webpage
 Inform Others

VI. More on Speaking Truthfully

The whole point of argumentation is to arrive at a true conclusion
by providing true premises that really lead to and support the
conclusion. This means that the minimum criteria for a good
argument are:

1. True Premises
2. Conclusions suspected by premises
To meet the second criterion, you must check whether the
argument meets the following additional criteria:
1. Good argument form
2. Relevant Premises
3. Sufficient Premises
4. Acceptable Premises
 Lesson 3
I am my body? I
Activity No. 0: Outline
In this chapter:
have a body?
 What is embodiment?
 How does embodiment affect existence?
 What does embodiment reveal about ourselves?
I. Am I my body or do I have my body?
-Our body is our own; it’s unique; identity
-We should respect the complexity of our body in order to realize our
possibilities
-Our possibilities follow the possibilities of our body
- WE ARE OUR BODIES

II. Meet the philosopher

Gabriel Marcel (1889- 1973)
- French Philosopher
- The Mystery of being

III. My Finite Body

- The body is a hindrance of self-realization
- “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”
- Root of sinfulness
- I am not my body, I only have my body

IV. Bodies as bearers of limits and possibilities

- Our bodies are limits
- We are embodied; We are bodies
- Without bodies, we would appreciate the people we love, and neither
would we able to express that love.
- “Mind over matter”
- The human self is a project

V. I am not just my body

- Life beyond death; afterlife
- Religious belief; better existence beyond our body.

VI. BIG WORDS

- Embodiment (have body), Transcendence (Supremacy), Self- realization
 Lesson 4:
I am in the world
Activity No. 0: Outline
with other beings
In this chapter:
 What does it mean to be in the world with others?
 In what ways is nature the realm of one’s creative self- realization?
 How is nature to our being creative or destructive beings?
 Why do we need to live deliberately and mindfully in relation to nature?

I. I am in the world

- Existence in Earth but also relation to other beings

- To be creative or destructive is a choice
- We engineered the world
- Lack of mindfulness cause destruction
- Being sensitive and aware; understanding

II. Ways of seeing environment

- We are special beings who can think about the earth, create in it and
celebrate in it. (Mindfulness)

III. Meet the Philosopher

Siddharta Gautama (c. 563-483 B. C. E.)

- a.k.a. Buddha
- Spiritual leader

IV. On Mindfulness

- The impact of consumption ; carbon footprint ; water footprint

V. What can you do?

- Go outdoors and see nature’s beauty

- Planting will surely make a big impact
- Reduce carbon and water print
- Go package free
- Embrace using eco-friendly products
- And of course, Reuse, reduce and recycle