LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Material and formal object
The material object of philosophy is all beings in the
widest sense of the term; its formal object is all beings
in its ultimate reasons, causes, and principles, studied
in the light of human reason.
Benefits derived from a knowledge of philosophy
1. Philosophy provides the searcher priceless
information ranging from the smallest atoms
and the cells to man and the stars and the
universe and god.
2. Philosophy is the unification and
systematization of all important knowledge
within the domain of reason.
3. Philosophy is the supreme achievement of the
human intellect in a purely natural way.
4. Philosophy enables one to distinguish truth
from error in the midst of conflicting and
confusing opinion.
5. Imbued with the great principles of true
philosophy, one can become a better character
and a greater man.
The purpose of philosophy
1. Philosophy enables us to understand ourselves
better;
2. Philosophy helps us understand others, our
fellowmen;
3. Philosophy helps us understand others’ way of
thinking;
4. Philosophy helps us understand the world and
our place and role in it;
5. Philosophy helps us understand the
significance, meaning, value, and finality of
human life; and
6. Philosophy helps us know and understand god
in his nature, essence, activities, and attributes.
Objectives
1. Philosophy of man gives a broader horizon in
understanding ourselves, others, and god;
2. Philosophy of man helps identify the points of
divergence and convergence between humans
and brutes and between humans and plants;
3. Philosophy of man exposes man to a thorough
and deeper understanding of himself as a
unique dipartite creature that he is the
substantial unity of body and soul;
4. Philosophy of man helps understand better his
nature, the meaning of his existence, his
points point of origin, and his terminal point,
who is god; and
5. Philosophy of man enables man to encounter
the diverse views of different philosophers
concerning his nature, his uniqueness, and his
role in the whole spectrum of god’s creation.
Lesson 2: Philosophy
Meaning of Philosophy
 from the Greek word, philos = lover or friend;
and Sophia = wisdom or knowledge
 is the science of beings in the ultimate reasons,
causes, and principles acquired by the aid of
reason alone.
 Is a science because it is based on certain
knowledge derived from reasoned
demonstration of causes and reduced to a
system.
 Is a science of being, that is full, of all things
which can be reached by the human mind:
man, the world, and God; everything that is or
becomes or is known.
 Is a search for meaning
Origin of Philosophy
Philosophy, in the West, began in the Greek
colony of Miletus with Thales (who, according to
ancient sources, was the first to ask “What is the basic
stuff of the universe from which all else comes?”) but
spread outward in the works of subsequent thinkers
and writers to reach its heights in the works of Plato
and his pupil Aristotle. The mathematician and mystic
Pythagoras (famed for his Pythagorean Theorem
today) was the first to call himself a philosopher.
Components of Philosophy
1. Ethics or Moral Philosophy – this is the
philosophical analysis of the morality of
human acts, the exploration for living a
good life and the ultimate foundation of
what is good or evil.
2. Logic – this is the philosophical
exploration on science and art of correct
thinking.
3. Epistemology – this is the philosophical
quest on the principles of human
knowledge, its extent and limitations.
4. Cosmology or Philosophy of Nature - this
is the philosophical quest for a profound
understanding of the inanimate physical
being or of the material universe.
5. Social /Political Philosophy – this is the
philosophical exploration on knowledge of
the human person on the ultimate
foundation of the state, its ideal form,
power and man’s place in society.
6. Philosophy of Man – this is the
philosophical study of man. It is an
endless inquiry in his attempt to
understand himself and the world he lives
in, his dignity, truth, freedom, justice,
love, death, and his relations with others
and with God.
7. Ontology or General Metaphysics – this is
the philosophical exploration for what
reality is in the final analysis and the
 principles of being and reality of things in
general.
8. Theodicy or Special Metaphysics – this is
the philosophical inquiry in the essence
and existence of God. His nature and his
relations to man and the rest of creation
based mainly on reason.
9. Rational /Philosophical Psychology – this
is the philosophical inquiry on living
beings and the ultimate principles of life.
10. Aesthetics – this is the exploration for a
profound apprehension of knowledge of
beauty, its nature and appreciation.
Branches of Philosophy
1. Theoretical – the division of the
theoretical is into theology, metaphysics
and physics.
2. Moral – “practical” as concerned with
acting, in other words “ethical” because
morals consist in acting as well.
3. Mechanical – means “imitative”. It
concerns things that humans produce.
4. Logical – means “having to do with
speech”, since logic treats words.
Meaning of Logic:
 Comes from the Latin word logos, meaning
science or knowledge.
 Is the science and art of correct thinking
Importance of Logic:
 Logic is not intended to be merely informative,
or to instruct; it is directive, aiming to assist
the mind in the proper use of its power.
 It guides us to know something previously
unknown.
 It serves as an instrument for helping us
discover the why’s of things around us.
Logic and Common Sense
 By experience – a lot of knowledge has been
acquired through experience alone.
 By insight into the following principles:
By insight into the following principles:
1. Identity – a thing is identical with self
2. Nonidentity – a thing is not identical with
another.
3. Contradiction – a thing cannot be and not-
be at the same time.
4. Sufficient Reason – everything has its
reason. Am effect must have a cause.
Division of Logic
 Logic is commonly divided according to the
three acts of the mind which provide different
elements to its subject matter and different
bases of inferential functions:
o Apprehension. Idea, Predicability of
Ideas
o Judgment, Enunciation, Predication of
Ideas
o Reasoning, Argument, Inference of
New Predication
Soundness and Validity
Argument
is a set of statements or group of propositions
of containing a conclusion and one more premises. The
conclusion is a claim to follow from others or the
premises, which are regarded as providing support or
grounds for the truth of the conclusion. Hence, the
entire process is an act of reasoning. If there is no
conclusion supported by reasons, there is no argument.
For an argument to be present, there must be some
claim, expressed as a conclusion, supported by
evidence or reasons, expressed as premises. Anything
else is a non-argument.
Main Division of an Argument
1. Simple Argument – contains only one
conclusion and one or more premises
2. Complex Argument – contains a main
argument and one or more simple
arguments serving as premises of the main
argument.
Types of Premises
1. Independent premises – if the premise can
support fully the conclusion without the
mediation of another premise.
2. Dependent premise – if one premise needs
the mediation of another in order to
support fully conclusion.
Validity
is another term that is loosely used in ordinary
language. In logic we restrict its meaning to arguments
and inferences. But even logicians do not agree on
what to call valid. We also call “valid” that argument
or inference in which the antecedent and consequent
have this truth-relationship:
1. If the antecedent is true and the sequence
valid, the consequent is true, but not vice-
versa.
2. If the consequent is false and the sequence
valid, the antecedent is false, but not vice
versa.
Lesson 3: Ideas
Nature of ideas
Ideas are the building stones of knowledge
since they are the elements that constitute judgment.
Definition:
1. Nominal- from the greek word eidos = that
which is seen, an image.
 2. Real- an idea is an intellect representation
of objective reality.
Process of forming ideas:
1. Perception – the object is presented to the
external senses. What is formed is a
percept (a picture in the mind of a present
object)
2. Imagination – in the absence of the object,
an image or phantasm is formed in the
imagination.
3. Sensory memory – the image is stored in
the sensory memory. If the subject wishes
to remember the image, he can recall the
image from the sensory memory.
4. Abstraction – this is the mental process
whereby the intellect strips the image of
all its nonessentials characteristics, retains
only the most essential and from this form
the idea or concept.
Properties of ideas
1. Comprehension – is the sum total of all
attributes or thought elements constituting
an idea in its representation of a thing.
2. Extension – is the sum total of all
individual and groups to which an idea can
be applied.
Origin: How does the idea originate or where does the
idea come from?
1. Intuitive – is an idea formed as a result of
direct sense perception
2. Abstractive – is an idea formed of objects
by some means other than immediate
sense perception
Perfection: how clear is the idea acquired?
A. Explicit idea – expresses the things in itself and its
notes openly
1. Clear idea – is acquired of the things around us
or is familiar to us
1.1 Distinct idea – one whose
comprehension is known to us.
a. Adequate idea – its
complete elements can be
enumerated
b. Inadequate idea – only some
elements can be enumerated
1.2 Confused idea – can be distinguish
from others even without knowing its
basic elements
2. Obscure idea – is one which we have acquired
of things which are rare or far away
B. Implicit idea – expresses a thing or idea and it
includes something else.
Mutual relation or opposition: How do ideas relate
with one another?
A. Compatible ideas – are those ideas whose
attributes can be united into another or a third idea.
B. Incompatible ideas – are ideas whose
comprehension do not include the attributes of
other ideas.
1. Contradictory – are two ideas: one expresses
the idea while the other is the denial
2. Contrary – are two ideas which are the
extremes of a series belonging to the same class
3. Privative – are two ideas, one expresses a
perfection and the other its absence in a subject
which should possess it
4. Relative – are two ideas united in such a way
that one cannot be understood without the
other.
Concepts or ideas
Are the intellectual representations of things.
The word “term” is used as a “name” for the concept
or idea. The term deduced from the latin “terminus”, is
the extramental symbol of an idea. A term is an
external expression of an idea. Ideas are mental
expression of external objects. Terms express ideas.
Terms are also expressions of extra-mental objects.
Logical properties of terms:
1. The comprehension of a term – it is the
sum-total of all the qualities/ elements or
attributes that comprise the meaning of a
term. The comprehension of a term is the
manifestation of the necessary elements/
essence of the object. It is also known as
connotation.
2. The extension of a term – it is the sum total
of the particulars to which the
comprehension of a term can be applied. It
is also called as denotations.