Ways of Doing

Philosophy
 Lesson Objectives

Distinguish opinion from truth

Analyze situations that show the differen
ce
 Key Questions

What are the different ways of doing

philosophy?

How can philosophy guide us in

distinguishing opinion from truth?
Methods of Philosophizi
ng
Mr. Christopher DC. Francisco
Methods of Philosophizing
To think or express oneself in a philoso
phical manner
Standpoint

a special type of perspective which d

etermines the point from which a whole s
ystem of perspectives is viewed.
Phenomenology: On Consciousness
Edmund Husserl

Finding and guaranteeing the truth

careful inspection and description of phenomena or appearances

It is the scientific study of the essential structures of consci

ousness.

interested in the contents of consciousness, not on things of th

e natural world as such. - subjective

consciousness is intentional dire

cted toward something.
WHAT IS IN YOUR MIND?
WHAT IS IN HIS MIND?
WHAT IS IN THEIR MIND?
Existentialism: On Freedom
An outlook or attitude supported by dive
rse doctrines centered on certain common t
hemes:
the HUMAN CONDITION or the RELATION OF THE I
NDIVIDUAL TO THE WORLD;

HUMAN FREEDOM;
the significance (and unavoidability) of CHOIC
E AND DECISION in the absence of certainty an
d;
the concreteness and SUBJECTIVITY of life as l
ived, against abstractions and false OBJECTIFI
CATIONS.
Existentialism: On Freedom
Existentialism emphasizes the importance o
f free individual choice, regardless of th
e power of other people to influence and c
oerce our desires, beliefs, and decisions.

To be human, to be conscious, is to be
free to imagine, free to choose, and resp
onsible for ones life.
HOW DO I USE MY FREEDOM?
IS MY CONCEPT OF FREEDOM CORRECT?
Postmodernism: On Cultures
Diffuse family of IDEAS AND TRENDS that in sign
ificant respect REJECTS, CHALLENGES, OR AIMS
TO SUPERSEDE MODERNITY.
Humanity should come at truth beyond th
e rational to the non-rational elements o
f human nature, including the spiritual
Man is dynamic, not robots.
Value of our existence in the world and our
relation to it.
Analytic Tradition
language cannot objectively describe truth becaus
e LANGUAGE IS SOCIALLY CONDITIONED.

conviction that to some significant degree, PHIL

OSOPHICAL PROBLEMS, PUZZLES, AND ERRORS ARE R
OOTED IN LANGUAGE
These can be solved or avoided by a sound understandi
ng of language and careful attention to its workings.
Language can make and break us
Logic and Critical Thinking: Tool
s in Reasoning
analysis and construction of arguments.

Critical thinking:
Distinguishing facts and opi
nion
also takes into consideration CULTURAL SYSTEMS,
VALUES, AND BELIEFS and helps us UNCOVER BIAS
AND PREJUDICE and be OPEN TO NEW IDEAS not nec
essarily in agreement with previous thought.
Logic and Critical Thinking: Tool
s in Reasoning
Two basic types of reasoning:
Inductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning which is based from obs
ervations in order to make generalizations.
Experience
Deductive reasoning which DRAWS CONCLUSIO
N from usually one BROAD judgment or defin
ition and one more specific assertion, ofte
n an inference.
Logic and Critical Thinking Tools in
Reasoning
An argument (deductive argument) is valid
and sound if it is a product of logically
constructed premises.
VALIDITY COMES FROM A LOGICAL CONCLUSI
ON based on logically constructed premise
s.
An argument (inductive argument) is strong
if it provides probable support to the con
clusion.
A strong argument with true premises is sa
id to be cogent.
Methods of Philosophizing
Fallacies
A fallacy is a defect in an argument.
Fallacies are detected by examining the contents of
the argument.
Common fallacies
Appeal to pity (Argumentum ad misericordiam)
An attempt to win support for an argument or
idea by exploiting his or her opponents feelings
of pity or guilt.
Methods of Philosophizing

Example:
Instead of proving the innocence of an accuse
d person, a lawyer portrayed the unfortunate life
of the accused and more unfortunate life his fam
ily will live without him.
Methods of Philosophizing
Appeal to ignorance (Argumentum ad ignorantiam)
What has not been proven false must be true and
vice versa.
Ex:
The use of fiery words, high-sounding words and grandilo
quence of a language to sway once audience to being con
vinced more than any amount of rational reasoning.
Methods of Philosophizing
Equivocation
A logical chain of reasoning of a term or a word
several times, but giving the particular word a
different meaning each time.
Ex:
What is natural is good.
But to make mistakes is good.
Ergo, to make mistakes is good.

Spirits are immaterial substances.

But liquors are spirits.
Ergo, liquors are immaterial substances.
Methods of Philosophizing
Composition
Something is true of the whole from the fact that
it is true of some part of the whole.
Ex:
A man who is lying down can stand up. And so a
man can lie down and stand up at the same tim
e.
Methods of Philosophizing
Division
Something true of a thing must also be true of all
or some of its parts.
Ex: (1) All in this room weight about two tons. Bu
t Mr. Cruz is in this room. Ergo, Mr. Cruz weighs a
bout two tons.
(2) All soldiers are an army. But the commanding
general is a soldier. Ergo, the commanding gener
al is an army.
Methods of Philosophizing

Against the Person (Argumentum ad hominem)

It links the validity of a premise to a characteristic
or belief of the person advocating the premise.
Ex:
How could that be a leader, he is a homosexual.
Methods of Philosophizing
Appeal to force (Argumentum ad baculum)
An argument where force, coercion, or the threat
of force is given as a justification for a conclusion.
Ex:
A lawyer addressing a jury: I tell you, if you dont
convict this murderer, one of you may be his next
victim.

A teacher requiring his students to buy tickets

otherwise they will fail.
Methods of Philosophizing
Appeal to the people (Argumentum ad populum)
An argument that appeals or exploits peoples va
nities, desire for esteem, and anchoring on popul
arity.
Ex:
Appeal to Common Pratice. Hey, everyone speeds.
So speeding isnt wrong.

Ofcourse man is good. Every real human real being b

elieves that.
Methods of Philosophizing
False cause (post hoc)
Since that event followed this one, that event mu
st have been caused by this one.
Ex: Night comes before day. Therefore, night causes
day.
You came to the room before me. Therefore you mu
st be the cause of all the dirt in this room.
Methods of Philosophizing
Hasty generalization
Making an inductive generalization based on insu
fficient evidence.
Ex:
I had a bad experience with my former husband, an
d from that experience I have learned that all men ar
e no good.
Methods of Philosophizing
Begging the question (petitio principii)
An argument where the proposition to be proven
is assumed implicitly or explicitly in the premise.
Ex.
Miracles are impossible, because they cannot
happen.
Matter is eternal, therefore the world is eternal.
A because B, where B is the same as A.
 Activities
1. How can truth have different interpretations?
2. Share your experiences on the times you did not use
reason in your life but rather, you relied more on
emotions or opinions of other people. What did you
learn from the experience?
3. Cite examples of how fallacies are used in daily life.
For example, when you watch advertisements based
on the popularity of endorsers, do you tend to buy
their product?