INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

MODULE 2: METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING

In evolutionary perspective, human beings are animals that are considered to be apex
predators. Throughout millions of years, humans have not been extinct or endangered. On the
contrary, we propagated. This is thanks to our ability to think and know. The only thing we
possess is the ability to think, be creative, and to possess knowledge.

In the study of Philosophy, the branch that inquires about the features, extent and
limitations of human knowledge is called Epistemology. It originated from two Greek words,
episteme which means ‘knowledge’, and logos which means ‘study’ or ‘discourse’.
Epistemology, then, translates to ‘the study of knowledge’. It is a study that attempts to
answer the question, ‘How do we truly know something?’.

THREE DIFFERENT KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE:

1. Personal
2. Practical
3. Propositional

Personal Knowledge is the type of knowledge that we acquire as we experience the world.
Since the time we were born, we started to acquaint ourselves with the way the world is – some
refer to this as ‘common sense’ knowledge.
Practical Knowledge, also known as Procedural Knowledge, is a type of knowledge that is
particular for skills, like knowing how to cook, how to ride a bicycle, how to play the guitar. This
is the type of knowledge that you can practice, and usually involves motor function.
Propositional Knowledge is the type of knowledge that makes a claim: it proposes something
to be true. A Propositional Knowledge declares that there is ‘truth’ in the statement, it involves a
whole certainty of the truth.

Propositional Knowledge is the focus of Epistemology. Since statements that contain

Propositional Knowledge claim something to be true, the mission of Epistemology is to seek
questions and criteria of the extent of the truth that Propositional Knowledge claims.
There are three main criteria that must be met in order for a certain proposition or claim
to be considered as ‘knowledge’.

The first criteria is belief. When one makes a claim, he must have faith that his claim is
true. The second criteria is truth. Belief is necessary for us to claim that we know something.
Knowledge, then, requires a true belief. However, there is a need for a proof, or at least, a
reason for us to believe that a certain proposition is true. It is here where the last criteria enters
– justification. A valid justification accompanied with strong evidence and/or proof is what
separates an opinion from facts. It is what completes the nature of knowledge itself.
The notion of Knowledge as a justified true belief encourages us to reexamine the ideas
we think we already know.
PART II: OUR LOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
Another branch of Philosophy that focuses on the human mind is Logic. The traditional
study of logic can be traced back to the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who is called the
“Father of Logic”, for having the first recorded study of the subject. For him, logic is an organon
which translates in English as “a tool” or an instrument that the mind utilizes in order to arrive at
the Truth. For Aristotle, reason and logic should be the bases of our acceptance of ideas. Some
people appeal to authority, to power, to pity, etc. But, those appeals are invalid. One should
accept an idea simple because it is valid, true, sound – because it is logical.

The process of Aristotelian logic revolves around three step-by-step mental operations:
Simple Apprehension, Judgment, and Reasoning.

Simple Apprehension is the first logical process of the mind. It is the process of
grasping an idea into the mind. This means being able to hold a certain concept in one’s mind.
Simple Apprehension results into the mind holding an idea, these ideas become terms once we
express them in language and put a label on them.
The second logical process of the mind is called Judgment. The process of Judgment is
to connect one idea to another. It asserts whether a certain concept is related to another
concept. A Judgment results into a Proposition which is a claim of something to be true.
The third logical process of the mind is called Reasoning. Reasoning, then, collects and
connects Propositions in order to prove something to be true. It is usually composed of three
Propositions that contain a central topic which is called a Syllogism. A Syllogism is a form of an
argument that attempts to prove the claims of Propositions.

HIERARCHY OF BEINGS
According to Aristotle, Hierarchy of Beings is a method of putting each creature on Earth
in a certain level.

The lowest is Minerals. Because they do not have any form of life. Above them are plants, also
called as vegetative state. They have life, they breathe, they produce, they consume. Higher
than plants are Animals because they are Sentient Beings, they can sense, feel and move.
(Sentient - means able to perceive or feel things). The highest for Aristotle is MAN. Because
men is not only in vegetation, not only sentient, man is a Rational Being.

Man has life, senses and reason. Reason is what separates man from beast. It is what makes
us unique from other creatures. Hence, we ought to spend our lives in cultivating ,
sharpening and enriching our minds.

Critical thinking can help us improve our communication skills because we analyze the real
meaning behind words and statements wherein it allows us to see errors and them on time.
Critical Thinking also provides us with a good sense of imagination because we push our
insights further and our ideas deeper, we stretch our limitations to find better solutions to
our problems.

According to Russel, the goal of Philosophy is like any other subject, Knowledge.
However, it does not guarantee a provision of answers to its own questions.

Instead, its use lies on being critical of the practices and beliefs of every subject known to man.

It’s mission is to shake a previously held foundation of a study, in order to arrive at the true
knowledge.

It is with this uncertainty that Philosophy truly becomes valuable.

For Russell, someone who doesn’t give an effort to be more analytical is locked in his own
world, perceiving ideas that are mere common sense.

In Logic, errors or mistakes made in reasoning are called fallacies. The term came from the
latin word faller which means “deception” or “false”. Hence, fallacies are false reasoning.

THREE TYPES OF FALLACIES:

1. FALLACIES OF IRRELEVANCE - are committed when the conclusion does not have a
connection or a “relevance” to the premises of the argument. The claims of the
conclusion are not appropriately supported by the premises. Examples of these fallacies
are Argumentum ad Hominem, Argumentum ad Baculum, Argumentum ad Ignorantiam,
Argumentum ad Misericordiam, and Tu Quoque Fallacy.
2. FALLACIES OF PRESUMPTION - are committed when we make a jump to a certain
conclusion without a strong evidence. Fallacies that fall under this classification are
Fallacy of Composition/Division, Fallacy of Complex Question, Slippery Slope Fallacy,
False Cause Fallacy.
3. FALLACIES OF AMBIGUITY - fallacies that we commit due to our limitations in
language. It is also called as the FALLACIES OF LANGUAGE. The way we convey our
ideas into language could, sometimes, result in ambiguous and vague statements that
are open to interpretation, and so we could proceed to a misunderstanding with the
person we are communicating with.

FALLACIES OF IRRELEVANCE:
1. Argumentum ad Hominem - is a latin phrase that translates to “an argument to the
man” or an “attack to the man”. In an argument, we should address the argument itself.
Argumentum ad hominem consists of an attack to the person who is speaking the
argument rather than to the argument itself.
2. Argumentum ad Baculum - translates to an “appeal to the stick”. The stick is used as
an instrument to punish a child in order to force him to behave in ways his parents want
 him to. Hence, this fallacy appeals to force or authority - whether physical or
economical.
3. Argumentum ad Ignorantiam - an “appeal to ignorance” is a fallacy being used to
argue the non-existence of something due to the lack of knowledge.
4. Argumentum ad Misericordiam - “an appeal to misery”. This is usually in a form of
verbal and/or physical crying. It appeals to one’s emotion so the person will be
convinced.
5. Tu Quoque Fallacy - “an appeal to hypocrisy” is a fallacy we commit by justifying our
wrong actions because somebody has done it as well.

FALLACIES OF PRESUMPTION:
1. Fallacy of Composition - is about the relation between parts and whole. It happens
when we mistakenly assume that what is true for the parts must also be true for the
whole.
2. Fallacy of Division - it is the other way around – we mistakenly assume that what is
true for the whole must also be true for the parts.
3. Fallacy of Complex Question - it happens when we raise a major question that has
implicit minor questions. And when the major question is answered, the implied
questions are also answered.
4. Slippery Slope Fallacy - consists of a sequence of claims that will cause another event
which will cause another event and so on. It is also known as a “domino theory”.
5. False Cause Fallacy - is committed when two following events occur and we jump to
the conclusion that the first event caused the second event although no connection
between them can be found.

FALLACIES OF AMBIGUITY:
1. Fallacy of Equivocation - happens when we use a single term with two or more
meanings (an equivocal term) in our argument, and end up in a confusing manner.
2. Fallacy of Amphiboly - happens when our whole sentence, instead of just a term, has
two or more meanings.
3. Fallacy of Accent - is committed when our statements differs on meaning once we put
emphasis on certain words.

Naturalistic Fallacy - the most basic terms in its most natural state like the term good is
indefinable and any attempt to do otherwise would be futile.