Modules 1-7

Subject: EMPOWERMENT TECHNOLOGY

Department: Mathematics &TO
Subject: INTRODUCTION ICT
THE
Duration: 3 weeks
PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Department: Social Science & CH
Duration: 7 weeks
 MEET THE TEACHERS!

RAZEL C. ABELLA
Assistant Prefect of Students - ALGCIT
XUSHS Faculty, MS Teams
Xavier University Senior High School
Masterson Avenue, Pueblo, Cagayan de Oro City
Email: [email protected]

HARVY T. BACANTO
Subject Coordinator – Philo 101
XUSHS Faculty, MS Teams
Xavier University Senior High School
Masterson Avenue, Pueblo, Cagayan de Oro City
Email: [email protected]
Contact #: +63 945 768 8412

MARK VINCENT O. CENITA

Moderator – Parent-Teacher Confederated
XUSHS Faculty, MS Teams
Xavier University Senior High School
Masterson Avenue, Pueblo, Cagayan de Oro City
Email: [email protected]

RICHARD JEFFREY F. OCAMPO

Coordinator - Athletics and Sports
XUSHS Faculty, MS Teams
Xavier University Senior High School
Masterson Avenue, Pueblo, Cagayan de Oro City
Email: [email protected]

ARNIE C. PAGULAYAN
XUSHS Faculty, MS Teams
Xavier University Senior High School
Masterson Avenue, Pueblo, Cagayan de Oro City
Email: [email protected]
 INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
COURSE OUTLINE
MT/THF
References:
Dy, Manuel Jr. PHILOSOPHY OF MAN: Selected Readings, 2nd Ed. Goodwill Trading co.,
Inc.: Philippines
Maboloc, Christopher Ryan, et.al (2016) INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE
HUMAN PERSON. SMKC Printshoppe: Davao City, Philippines
Grading System for Core Subject:
Semestral Grade = Midterm Grade (50%) Final Grade (50%)

Written Works 25% Written Works 25%

Performance Task 50% Performance Task 50%
Quarterly Assessment 25% Quarterly Assessment 25%

Written Works:
Written works constitute long tests, post-tests, quizzes, seatworks, assignments, or any written
activity. These will be given depending on the need and will be usually scheduled. Questions for
quizzes are usually exercise questions or applications to practice the concepts learned but will
sometimes be “objective” type. They may be held before or after the lecture or activity, so students
are held responsible to study and be prepared. Assignments or homework are given with the
intention of encouraging self-study among students, not just to review their lecture notes but also
to pursue skills development not readily acquired during class hours or learning time.
Performance Tasks:
Performance tasks (PT) are given or announced to students at the start of the quarter. Ample time
and appropriate scaffold tasks are given so that students can prepare well.
Quarterly Assessment:
There are two major exams for quarterly assessment: Midterm and Final. Delayed exam will be
given within one week after the scheduled examination. There will be no removal examinations.
Non-regular Activity:
During the cautious return to on-campus learning and depending on the availability of facilities
some class periods may be spent in the Audio-Visual Room for other instructional modes like
video-showing, PowerPoint presentations or multi-media activities.
Class Decorum:
For virtual classes, students are expected to observe netiquette. Taking down notes is an
integrated function of every student as well as studying and participating in class. For students
who can’t join the virtual classes, they will have to do the tasks on their own, following the
prescribed Learning Time.
 GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Reflect on their daily experiences from a holistic point of view
2. Acquire Critical and Analytical Thinking skills
3. Apply their critical and analytical thinking skills to the affairs of daily life
4. Become truthful, environment-friendly and service-oriented
5. Actively committed to the development of a more humane society
6. Articulate their own philosophy of life

Duration: 10 weeks (3rd Quarter)

No. of Activities/ Tasks/

WEEK Chapter # TOPICS
Hours Assessment
1 Chapter 1: Why Study - Overview of Subject Orientation
Philosophy? Philosophy
Feb 22-26 - Definition of Pre-test
Philosophy Picture Analysis
-Nature and Discipline
of Philosophy 3 Article Analysis
-Insight Self-Regulated Tasks
- Marcelian Reflection Mini Task 1
Video Analysis

2 Chapter 2: Ways of -Truth and Opinion Mini Task 2

Philosophizing Video Analysis
-Plato’s Idealism
Article Analysis
3
Mar 1-5 -Phenomenology
Picture Analysis
-Oriental Philo
Self-Regulated Tasks

3 Chapter 3: -Descartes’ Cogito Video Analysis

Subjectivity and Article Analysis
-Ricoeur’s Will
Embodiment
3 Picture Analysis
Mar 8-12 -Historical Action
Self-Regulated Tasks
-My Body

4
Mar 15-19 MIDTERM EXAM
5 Chapter 4: Humanity Deep Ecology Video Analysis
and the Environment Picture Analysis
Anthropocentrism
3 Self-Regulated Tasks
Mar 22-26 Environmentalism
Climate Justice

6 Chapter 5: Human -Total Determinism Case Analysis

Freedom
-Absolute Freedom Picture Analysis
3
Mar 29-Apr -Structured Freedom Self-Regulated Tasks
2

7 Chapter 6: -I and Thou Video Analysis

Intersubjectivity Article Analysis
-Infinite Responsibility
Picture Analysis
Apr 5-9 -Phenomenology of Self-Regulated Tasks
Love
3 Mini Task 3
Chapter 8: Mortality -Being-towards-death
-Mortality and
Freedom
-Will to Meaning

8
PT Making/ Submission/ Consultation
Apr 12-16
FINAL EXAM

*Changes in the schedule will be announced by the instructor

 INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
STEM/ TVL

MODULE NO. 1

Title: Doing Philosophy

Duration: 1 week

LESSONS OVERVIEW
Welcome to our first module!

In this module, you will take the following topics and you are expected to demonstrate the following as
evidence of learning:

Content Standards:
The learner understands the meaning and process of doing philosophy.
Performance Standards:
The learner reflects on a concrete experience in a philosophical way.
Formation Standards:
The learner should be able to demonstrate reflective & critical disposition on the various aspects
and levels of human existence.
Most Essential Learning Competencies:
1. Distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point of view.
2. Realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a broad perspective on life.
3. Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a holistic perspective.

Essential Topics: Nature and Discipline of Philosophy

Insight
Marcelian Reflection
Title: Doing Philosophy
Learning Objectives a. Articulate the etymological and analytical definitions of
philosophy;
b. Illustrate the brief history of Western and Oriental Philosophy;
c. Discuss how Gabriel Marcel’s article leads to recognizing
human activities that emanated from deliberate reflection;
d. Realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a broad
perspective in life; and
e. Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a
holistic perspective.
Evidence of Learning The learner realizes the value of doing philosophy in attaining a
broad perspective in life by formulating a Philosophical Video
Reflection about a specific event/issue/concern of their lives which
portray and consider a holistic approach of judging and dealing with
it.
 Self-regulated Strategies ● Set up a conducive space in your house
● Follow the allotted timeline in accomplishing your tasks
● Highlighting and note taking
● Don’t multitask and work on your own pace
● Utilize mnemonic devices
● Do self-reflections every now and then

References Maboloc, Christopher Ryan, et.al (2016) INTRODUCTION TO THE

PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON. SMKC Printshoppe: Davao
City, Philippines

Dy, Manuel Jr. PHILOSOPHY OF MAN: Selected Readings, 2nd Ed.

Goodwill Trading co., Inc.: Philippines

By the end of the quarter, you are expected to show the following as Performance
Task: Philosophical Speech

The Cagayan de Oro youth council is going to conduct a webinar (GOAL) which seeks to promote social
awareness and empowerment among the young through Philosophical perspective. In order to educate
the youth (AUDIENCE) the organizers has invited you as the virtual speaker (ROLE) of the event for the
purpose of enhancing their experiences and learnings within that webinar.(SITUATION) Your
Philosophical speech must be aligned to the theme of the seminar “The Beauty of Human Life in the
Experience of Freedom, Transcendental Reality of Love, Society-The Fulfillment of Man, and Death:
Inescapable Reality”. This particular speech (PRODUCT) will be assessed based on the (STANDARDS)
Philosophical content and connection, visual and audible expressions and mastery.

To manage your time well, observe the Learning Time below:

Lesson Activity No./ Task Target Date of Completion

Philosophy’s Nature and Activity 1
February 22
Discipline Activity 2
Branches of Philosophy Activity 3
Insight Activity 4
February 24
Marcel’s Primary and
Activity 5
Secondary Reflection
Reflective Essay
Reflective Log
Doing Philosophy February 26
Activity 6
Mini Task 1
 PRE-TEST:
Let’s find out how much you already know about this module. Encircle the letter that you think best answers
the question. Please answer all items. After taking this short test, look for the right answer as you go through
this module.

1. Which of the following best describes Philosophy?

a) It focuses on life and its meaning.
b) It is a study concerned with behavior of people.
c) It is a discipline that deals with the reality of beings.
d) It promotes critical thinking with the help of scientific inquiry.

2. Which of the following is the aim of Philosophy?

a) To search for truth. c) To have the right answers.
b) To possess the truth. d) To become knowledgeable.

3. What is the famous quotation of Socrates that highlights the importance of knowing the self as the
foundation of a moral life?
a) The unexamined life is not worth living.
b) Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
c) We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act but a habit.
c
4. In early Greek philosophy, the focus of inquiry is all about ____________?
a) The Limit of Knowledge c) How does man live a moral life?
b) The nature or constitution of things. d) The Nature of God

5. Who was the Philosopher behind the concept of Primary and Secondary levels of reflection?
a) Socrates c) Roque Ferriols
b) Plato d) Gabriel Marcel

6. When one believes that human beings enter the world with inborn knowledge and that reasoning
gives human beings access to this knowledge, he or she is likely to use a philosophical perspective
called____________?
a) Empiricism c) Pragmatism
b) Rationalism d) Existentialism

7. There is no greater mystery than the mystery of human life.” What does this mean?
a) Life can be reduced into a mechanical problem.
b) The person can look at things in an objective way.
c) Our life focuses solely based on our biological functions.
d) Life is incomplete, becoming, and includes the fact that we are confronted with a myriad of
contrasting choices.

8. What is the importance of philosophizing?

a) Philosophizing helps us rationalize and justify our wrong doings.
b) Philosophizing enables us to easily judge the mistakes of others.
c) Philosophizing helps us understand the meaning, value and finality of man.
d) Philosophizing helps us evaluate our mistakes, discrepancies and behavior.
9. If existentialism sees the goal of learning as developing authentic individuals who exercise freedom of
choice and take responsibility for their actions, the role of every trained philosopher would be…?
a) Lead and advocate existential and material change.
b) Analyze sound propositions and detect incorrect arguments.
c) Encourage others to philosophize about life and to recognize and fulfill personal freedom.
d) Facilitate the learning environment and present stimuli using conditioning and social learning to
shape a person's behavior.

10. Aristotle, a realist believed that human beings learned through their senses. As an individual experience
the world, he\she develops and refines concepts about objects through his/her experiences. The role of
a learner then is_________________.
a. To learn, understand, and immerse one’s life to the world in which we live.
b. To demonstrate virtues and values through the achievement of concrete experience.
c. To encourage yourself to engage in discussions to facilitate discovery of errors in thinking and to
clarify ideas. All for the greater glory of God.
d. A and B.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before you start the module, kindly fill out the necessary information below.

Name:__________________________________________________________________________________

Grade/Section:_________________________________________________________________________

Address:________________________________________________________________________________

E-mail Address:________________________________________________________________________

Contact #:______________________________________________________________________________

Parents Contact #:______________________________________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 I. CONTEXT

Thinking is man's unique gift from God, and it separates a human person from any other animals.
It is undeniable that this generation is cognitively critical about finding answers for the multitude of
questions about reality. However, there is this kind of thinking that may hinder us to attain the goals of our
pursuit of truths. This is partial thinking. Your generation must realize that Philosophy is still relevant. You
must realize that their partial methods and approach to truth is leading them to nowhere. You must realize
that it is only through a holistic and deliberate thinking that one can effectively break free from narrowness
and close-mindedness.

Do you know that looking at the whole is more important than the parts? In fact, the totality of
each picture gives clarity to the viewer. Experiences should also be viewed in a broad perspective, not in a
narrow perspective.

Activity 1: Seeing whole picture

Instruction: Read the parable below and answer the processing questions.

The Six Blind Men and the Elephant

https://medium.com/betterism/the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-596ec8a72a7d

A blind man asked his blind friends what an elephant was like. His friends did not know. So, they found an
elephant. One of the men was holding the trunk and said, “An elephant is like a snake.” Another was holding
the ear. “An elephant is like a fan.” A third was holding a leg. “An elephant is like a tree.” Still, a fourth was
holding the tail and replied, “An elephant is like a rope.” The blind men began to yell at each other, claiming
the others were all wrong, and they could not come to any agreement of what an elephant is.

Processing Questions:
1. What are your realizations after reading the parable?
2. Why do you think that each blind man finds a hard time agreeing on what the elephant looks like?
3. Were there any instances in your life where you became a partial thinker just like the six blind men?
 Student’s responses:

In this lesson, you will learn to: a.) articulate the etymological and analytical definitions of philosophy, b.)
illustrate the brief history of Western and Oriental Philosophy, c.) discuss how Gabriel Marcel’s article leads
to recognizing human activities that emanated from deliberate reflection, d.) Realize the value of doing
philosophy in obtaining a broad perspective in life; and e.) do a philosophical reflection on a concrete
situation from a holistic perspective, and you are expected to show the following as evidence of learning:
Reflection responses and Reflection/Insight Paper/Video.

By the end of the lesson, you are expected to show the following scaffold to the Performance Task:
Philosophical Reflection Video

MINI-TASK 1: Philosophical Reflection Video

The learner realizes the value of doing philosophy in attaining a broad perspective in life by formulating
a Philosophical Reflection Video about a specific event/issue/concern of their lives which portray and
consider a holistic approach of judging and dealing with it.

Recall of Prior Learning

Let us know your initial ideas about the topic “What is Philosophy?”. Answer the I column (only) of the IRF
chart.

I R F
(initial ideas about the topic) (revised ideas about the topic (final ideas about the topic after
after learning the lessons) series of reflections)
You have now given your initial ideas on “What is Philosophy?”. Let us try to see how these ideas may be
affirmed or revised as we go along this module

II. EXPERIENCE

In this part, you will learn more about the topic through varied activities.

Philosophy’s Nature and Discipline

Maboloc, Fernandez, et al. (2016) suggest that “it is the object of study and method which define the nature
of every discipline.” Biology for instance “is the natural science that studies life and living organisms.” Based
on this definition, we can simply say that the object of studying biology is focused only on all forms of life
and living organisms and its method is scientific. The same is true with the other branches of hard and
natural sciences. However, philosophy is different because it resists to be limited within these contents
and methods. In other words, philosophy also recognizes the reality of the subjective experience of each
existential being as immensely varied and abundant. And because of this “inexhaustible richness,” Fr. Roque
Ferriols, SJ believed that “any method/s cannot exhaust every possibility of knowing.” This is the nature of
philosophy as a discipline, “a humanistic discipline that is encompassing in its breadth and at the same time
descriptive but not deterministic.” However, while philosophy is seen as encompassing, inclusive and open
to everything that can be known through the aid of reason, some clarity is required for it to be understood
as a discipline in the humanities and as a formative and academic course.

Philosophy in its Definition and Meaning

A. Philosophy as “Love of Wisdom”

Etymologically speaking, the term Philosophy comes from two Greek words: “Philos” which means “Love”
and “Sophia” which means “Wisdom.” Ancient Greeks used this term to refer to a “Love of Wisdom”.
However, for Socrates, who is considered as the father of western philosophy, wisdom is different from
knowledge. While the latter focuses only to the things acquired and learned inside and outside the
classroom, the former can be understood as an attitude (character) or a critical habit (Barry:1983) Hence, it
is more of accumulated experience beyond the theoretical variety (Socio:2001) Thus, it is safe to say that all
wise are knowledgeable, but not all knowledgeable are wise. This has been manifested by the lives of many
philosophers who chose seeking for higher truths, educating those who are ignorant, ignoring material
pleasures, and embracing the food of the soul.

Philosophy as the art and science of searching for the ultimate cause/s of things acquired though
the aid of human intellect alone.

B. As a Science, philosophy is viewed in two aspects:

1. It adheres to certain procedures, systems, or methods in drawing out a sound conclusion.

2. It aims at arriving at the validity of every argument.

As an art, philosophy is viewed in relation to the Greek “techne” which means skills, ability, or craft. It then
involves learned and practiced skills that would direct reason toward the pursuit of holistic truth.

Philosophy and Its Divisions and Branches

Philosophy is considered to be a mother of all courses. It’s a broad discipline in terms of subject matter. It
is encompassing. It studies everything under the heat of the sun; physical and metaphysical, subjective
and objective realities. In this light philosophy are grouped into two major divisions wherein each division
has its own major branches:

1. Theoretical Division: Aims at acquiring knowledge on the subject matter being studied.
a. Epistemology: It deals with nature, sources, limitations, and validity of knowledge.
b. Metaphysics- It is an extension of a fundamental and necessary drive in every human being to know
what is real.
c. Cosmology- it is the study of the origin of the physical universe.
2. Practical Division: Aims at applying knowledge about the subject matter being studied for practical
purposes.
a. Logic- The science and art of studying correct and incorrect thinking.
b. Ethics- It explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions. It is a study of the nature
of moral judgments.
c. Aesthetics- It is the science of the beautiful in its various manifestations – including the sublime,
comic, tragic, pathetic, and ugly.

Let’s try this.

Activity 2: TRUE or FALSE

Description: Write T if the statement is true; write F if the statement is false.

_________ 1. Philosophy has been a foundation of all academic institutions because it gives emphasis to the
formation of the heart and mind of every learner.

_________ 2. Philosophy guides every learner to be morally responsible about the consequence of one’s
decision and action.

_________ 3. Philosophy sets us free from unexamined convictions and it encourages us to blindly follow
the mandate of the political and religious authorities.

_________ 4. Philosophy guides every individual to understand ultimately our fellow human beings and the
world before the self.

_________ 5. Every trained philosopher is ought to help in forming and transforming others into responsible
and productive agents of change.

_________ 6. Studying philosophy challenges us to immerse ourselves in reality and translate our learnings
into concrete action.
_________ 7. Philosophy encourages every learner to possess a holistic perspective in life by taking for
granted the perspective of others.

_________ 8. Philosophy sharpens the mind of every learner taking up other courses or disciplines.

_________ 9. Philosophers give answers to all the questions in life especially the “Whys”

_________ 10. Without a philosophy course all the other disciplines are meaningless and absurd.

Process Questions:

1. What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?

2. What makes philosophy a humanistic discipline?
3. Why do you think philosophy is considered as a mother of all disciplines?

Student’s responses:

Brief Illustration of the history of Western Philosophy

Undeniably, the science and discipline of philosophy is primarily a product of the development and changes
in the western world. From early developments in Ancient Greece, where philosophers are so passionate in
using “logos” or reason to create various theories based on the observable phenomena to explain the
origin of the universe; to the medieval era where philosophers used the power of reason to justify faith
especially the existence of the supreme Being; to the modern civilization, to reemphasized again the
independent power of rationality to uplift the anthropological capability and unique potential of every
person; and to the contemporary period, which highlights the important subjective events and existential
aspects of every being as authentic, situated-ness, free, subject, and actor.
 Periods Approach Description Nature of
Questioning

Ancient Pre Socratics To where does

Thales, The basic stuff everything comes from?
1st century BCE to Anaximander, Cosmology/Cosmo of the cosmos,
How does (reason)
5th century BE Heraclitus, centric with what
influence every individual
Anaximenes, Constituted
to be good?
Pythagoras, the universe.
Parmenides, What’s the difference
between pleasure and
happiness?
Socrates, Aristotle, Stoicism Emphasis on What are cardinal
and Plato morality, virtue, virtues?
calm, and
emotional How does one live a
fortitude happy (Eudemonia)
life?

St. Thomas Scholasticism / Application of How does reason

Medieval Aquinas Theology / Philosophy to justify faith?
Theocentic define and
5TH Century to 15th St. Augustine Who is God?
explain religious
centuries doctrines.
St. Anselm How can I prove His
existence?

What is good?

If God is good, why

is there evil?

Modern Rene Anthropology / Reason and Who is man?

Descartes logic considered
14th to 18th Anthropocentric Can man prove
the basis of
centuries Immanuel his/her existence
knowledge and
Kant without God?
belief; man has
Rationalism innate
Georg Is reason enough
Wilhelm knowledge that to become a
Hegel can be accessed responsible
through individual?
intuition or
deduction
 How can I possess
knowledge without
experience?

John Locke- Knowledge is Where does

gained through
David Hume Empiricism the knowledge comes
senses and from?
experience;
What is the origin of
reliance
knowledge?
on inductive
Reasoning Can I learn without
to arrive at my experience?
generalizations.

Contemporary Existentialism Human Who am I?

experience is
19th to 20th centuries Soren Kierkegaard What does it mean
defined by the
to exist?
Friedrich Nietzsche views, emotions,
and actions of What does it mean
Martin Heidegger the individual. to be a thinking
Jean Paul Sartre subject?

What is my purpose
William James Pragmatism Emphasis on in life?
the practical
John Dewey What am I living
use of
knowledge and for?
ideas. Why on earth am I
here for?

Am I free?
Albert Camus Absurdism Man will never
understand the Does life really have
human meaning or
condition and purpose?
the meaning of
life
 Jacques Derrida Postmodernism Analysis on how Is history a fiction?
knowledge,
Michel Foucault Post structuralism What is the
ideas, and
relationship
power relations
between
are defined
knowledge and
power?

Does everything we
believe are true?

Brief Illustration of the history of Eastern Philosophy

While the ancient Greeks established the foundation of Western philosophy in Europe, several belief
systems and philosophies were already prevalent in many communities in Asia. Oriental philosophers have
focused their studies to the pursuit of a way of life. In fact, philosophy during this time has been associated
with religion. Philosophy and religion are one. When they are doing their philosophy, they are also practicing
their religion. There is no dichotomy between man and the objective world. Moreover, “eastern philosophies
are often described as wisdom literature, where stories, sayings and texts encourage people to adopt an
ethical and harmonious way of life.” There is also great emphasis on social relations, and the family and
community are considered a central aspect of life.

Periods / proponents/major Approach/Religion Description Nature of Questioning

texts

Ca. 2000BCE Monotheism: JUDAISM Belief in one God who has a Who is the ultimate
role in the ultimate destiny destiny of man?
(ISRAEL, THE LEVANT)
of mankind. The Jewish
What are the ten
Abraham, Moses, various prophets. people are God’s chosen
commandments?
people.
What is the source of
The observance of God’s
Tanakh, Torah, and various wisdom?
commandments will result
scriptures in rewards. A deeper study
and understanding of God’s
laws as revealed in the
sacred scriptures will lead
to wisdom.
 Ca. 1500 BCE Polytheism/ Hinduism Belief in a pantheon of Who are the three
gods, with three main major gods?
gods-Brahma, Shiva, and
Does reincarnation be
The Vedas Vishnu
justifiable?
Cycle of birth and rebirth
(Samsara) which is broken
when a person achieves
ultimate union with the What is Karma? How
divine (Moksha) does it make me a
It give emphasis on good person?
Dharma, the fulfillment of
duties and behavior in
accordance with the
established order in the
world; individual actions
contribute to either good
or bad effect (Karma) in a
person’s life.

Ca. 600BCE Shintoism (Japan) An animistic religion What makes the Shinto
influenced by Japanese belief system unique?
No distinct philosophers or sacred
myth and traditions.
texts How is Shinto learned
The materiel and spiritual and passed onto future
worlds are closely generations?
connected; rituals and
traditions are a way to
connect with the spiritual
What does death
world.
represent according to
Mankind and the world are Shinto view?
essentially good and pure.

Harmony and balance are

essential in maintaining
purity.

Ca. 600-500 BCE Jainism Rejects the idea of a creator

and considers the universe
India
as eternal and unceasing;
Mahavira time is a wheel which goes
through cycles of prosperity
and suffering.

Jain Agamas Wisdom is developed

through the practice of the
five main vows; ahimsa (non-
violence) Satya (truth) asteya
 (honesty) brahmacharya
(chastity) and aparigraha
(piety).

Meditation, respect, and

discipline for all life are
emphasized.

Ca. 400 BCE Buddhism (south Asia, Shares a number of main

East Asia, southeast beliefs (Samsara, dharma,
Asia) moksha) with Hinduism
Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
The four noble truths
Tripitaka
describe worldly existence
an imperfect and influenced
by earthly suffering and
desires (dukkha) to get rid of
oneself of desire and achieve
liberation from suffering,
one must follow the eight-
fold path.

Divided into two major

branches: Theravada
Buddhism and Mahayana
Buddhism.

Ca. 400 BCE Confucianism (East Asia) Contemplation of the order

of things can lead to self-
transformation. Self-
Confucius transformation can lead to
the betterment of the family
and society.

The Five Classics Human relationships are

based on mutual
obligations. Individuals
ought to perform their
intended roles (Rectification
of names) and contribute to
social order.

Ca. 200 BCE Taoism (East Asia) Emphasis on the unity and
harmony among opposing
Lao Tzu elements (yin yang); individuals
must seek to understand and
I Ching, Tao Te Ching; and Zhuangzi act in accordance with the
natural order
 Ca. 610 Islam (West Asia) Belief in on God (Allah)
commitment to faith is
shown through the practice
of the five pillars: testament
of faith (shahada), daily
prayers (Salat) alms giving
(zakat) fasting during the
month of Ramadan (Sawm)
and pilgrimage to the holy
city of Mecca ( Hajj)

Religion and society are

closely intertwined; all
Muslims are members of the
community (ummah)
bounded by faith.

Divided into two major

Branches: Sunni Islam and
Shia Islam.

Let’s try this.

Activity 3: COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Description: Compare and contrast the aspects of Western and Eastern philosophies and find its
similarities. Write your answer on the table below

Western Philosophy Similarities Eastern Philosophy

↓ ↓ ↓
Rationality essentially makes us unique from another being because it gives us a capacity to think and
distinguish between right from wrong as well opinion from truth. For Plato, thinking begins from the
moment we wonder and ask questions. Questions about the underlying truth that surround the reality and
mystery of one’s life and the basic assumptions about the world. Accordingly, the pursuit of this truth allows
us to go beyond the practical and limited aspects of our existence. By means of philosophy we can prudently
think about living and embracing the profound and holistic way of living.

Insight
by Fr. Roque J. Ferriols, SJ

We shall not begin with a definition of philosophy. The purpose of this course is not to teach you
what philosophy is but to try to give you a chance to philosophize. Like all activities, philosophizing
is something which is easier to do than to define. After you have begun to engage in this activity,
you might want to try to define it yourself. Even at this early stage it is probably safe to say that most
of you associate philosophy with thinking. A crucial element in thinking is insight. Insight is a kind
of seeing with the mind. A good example is seeing the point of a joke. A friend gives a joke. You see
the point and you laugh. Somebody also does not see the point and is bewildered. He might accuse
you of pretending to see a point that is not there. But you know quite definitely that there was a
point, that you saw it, that you did not feel yourself into thinking that it was there. You are glad to
be alive and able to see the point. At the same time, you realize how hard it is to convey all this to
one who has missed the point.

Two things should be considered with regard to an insight.

1. The insight itself.

2. What I do with the insight. Item number two is vague.
It will become clear as we go along. What can I do with my insight into a joke? I can analyze it. If I
am merely enjoying the joke, analysis can kill my enjoyment. But if I am to deliver the joke to others,
analysis can deepen and clarify my original insight and so help towards a more effective delivery.

Take this example:

Knock.
Knock.
Who’s there?
Mary Rose.
Mary Rose who?
Me relos ka ba?
Anong oras?

Upon analysis I discover that the point of the joke is this: Mary Rose and me relos sound very different,
yet they are made to sound alike. To bring this non-existing alikeness into existence, I must
mispronounce me relos and say me reros. But this introduces a new difficulty. Will the listener know
that me reros stands for me relos? To make sure that he does, I follow it up with Anong oras? Finally,
to make the point of the joke stand out more sharply, I try to surround the delivery with an
atmosphere of atrocious nonchalance.

Take another example. Juan is standing beside the coffin of his grandfather who has just died at the
age of ninety-five. As far as Juan can remember, the old man was always weak and shriveled. For
Juan is only eighteen and his grandfather was already seventy-seven when Juan was born. Juan
comes home from the funeral and his mother hands him his grandfather’s memoirs. There Juan sees
his grandfather as he was during the revolution: young and full of vigor and high spirits. Then he
hears from old maiden aunts who also heard from old maiden aunts that in his youth his grandfather
used to be dashing and quite popular with the ladies.

Juan gradually begins to realize: My grandfather as a young man was exactly like me! For Juan likes
to think of himself as full of high spirits, dashing, and quite popular with the ladies. Then Juan begins
to think more deeply. He is full of high spirits now, but high spirits are not inexhaustible. It may take
a long, long time, but sooner or later his high spirits will be exhausted. It will be his turn to become
old and shriveled and to be contemplated in the coffin by his grandson.

Juan thinks to himself: This is the way it is with the generations of men. They start life full of vigor
and high spirits then wither away and die. But not before they have left behind sons who also begin
full of vigor and high spirits then wither and die after they have given life to their own sons. Juan has
an insight into the rhythm of rise and fall in the life of the generations of men.

What can Juan do with this insight? He can crystallize it in a metaphor.

Homer had the same insight centuries ago and he crystallized it in the image of leaves. Here are two
versions of the passage from the sixth book of the Iliad.

High-hearted son of Tydeus, why ask of my generation?

As in the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity.
The wind scatters the leaves on the ground,
but the live timber burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning.
So one generation of men will grow while another dies.
As the generations of leaves, so the generations of men.
For the wind pours the leaves out on the ground,
but the wood blooms and grows and begets in the season of spring.
So too the generations of men: now they bloom, now they pass away.

The metaphor sharpens the insight and fixes it in the mind. Also, one portion of reality casts light on
another. By contemplating the fall and the return of leaves, we are able to understand not only the
nature of trees but also the rising and falling rhythm of the generations of men.

Take a third example: the insight into the meaning of the number four. The insight is so clear that it
seems nothing can be done with it. However, just to push a point, one can say that the meaning of
four can be analyzed into two and two or into one and one and one and one. And we can see that
these analyses do make somewhat clearer the already clear insight into the meaning of four. But let
us try another approach; let us ask: how did we gain this insight into the meaning of the number
four? The usual answer is: by counting. You can count four cars, for instance. Say you have here a
Toy pet, a Mercedes Benz, an Impala, a Volkswagen. Note that you have to look at them in a special
way if you want to count until four. You must look on them as cars. If you look on them from the
Toyopet point of view, you can only count one. Abstraction is involved here. We abstract when we
concentrate on one aspect of a thing while prescinding from its other aspects. We prescind when we
neither affirm nor deny, we merely disregard. Thus, if I have two carabaos and two dogs, I can count
until four only if I consider them as animals and prescind from the fact that two are carabaos and
two dogs. But what is the content of the insight into the number four? It is not four cars nor four
animals but simply four.

Here we come across a second abstraction; we must not only abstract from certain aspects of things
we count, but in the end, we have to abstract from the things themselves. The simple insight into the
meaning of four is seen to involve a rather complicated preparation involving at least two
abstractions. Abstraction is one of the tools often used in the analysis of insights. An abstract thought
is called a concept and analysis by abstraction is called conceptual analysis. We can return to Juans
insight into the rise and fall of generations and analyze it conceptually. The moment we begin the
analysis we see that there are many ways of doing it. One way would be: The generations of men
begin life with a fund of energy and high spirits which seem inexhaustible. But sooner or later the
fund exhausts itself. Yet in the very process of self-exhaustion it begets another generation equipped
with the same kind of seemingly inexhaustible energy and high spirits.

The last example shows one of the dangers of conceptual analysis: it can desiccate an insight. The
throbbing, tumultuous generations of men become an abstract fund of energy and high spirits. That
is why it is necessary after conceptual analysis, to return to the concrete fullness of the original
insight. When this return to the concrete is made, conceptual analysis can deepen and vitalize insight.
When this return is not made, conceptual analysis fossilizes insight.

From this brief survey, we have gained some insight into the nature of insight. It is a kind of seeing,
not with eyes (though our eyes often play a very important role in it) but with our powers of thinking.
When we want to clarify and deepen an insight or to fix it in our minds, we do something with it. We
have seen two techniques for doing something with and insight: conceptual analysis and metaphor.
But other techniques can be used. There is for instance the important technique of weaving a myth
to embody our insight.

There is a second point to note in our survey of insight. The fact that there are many ways of doing
something with an insight shows that certain insights are so rich that they cannot be exhausted by
our efforts to clarify them. We may explore them in many ways and along different levels, but some
superabundance of the original insight always remains beyond the reach of our techniques. In fact
one of the effects of doing something with this kind of insight is to make us more keenly aware of its
superabundance. Hence this kind puts us into a state of tension between a sense of knowledge and
light and a sense of ignorance and darkness.
 A third point. Note that insight permeates the process of doing something with an insight. We need
insight to see that the contemplation of the fall and return of leaves does lead to a deeper
understanding of the death and birth of generations. We need insight to see whether a given
conceptual analysis of a given insight does probe deeply into it instead of merely classifying its
superficial aspects.

Fourth and final point. Why do certain insights resist all efforts to explore them completely? Because
these insights bring us into the very heart of reality and reality is superabundantly rich. The richness
of these insights then is the richness of reality itself. And the stance of a human being facing reality
has always been a tension between a sense of knowledge and a sense of ignorance.

Our limited perspectives lead us to easily complain and judge without putting ourselves to the
shoes of others. Some of us are blinded by our own anger, pride, biases and prejudices which hinder us to
decide objectively and holistically. The aforementioned article of Fr. Roque Ferriols basically encourages us
to philosophize or to “think” well and immerse ourselves to the world of experience because this is the best
way that allows us to enter into a dialogue with other beings and with our inner selves. It also allows us to
see what cannot be seen at first look by way of insight and eventually moves us to delve deep and penetrate
to the core of the matter - what something is actually meant behind the “seeming” truth it shows and brings
forth the taken for granted meaning concerning what it means to be. Fr. Ferriols elaborated this by showing
three examples of seeing with the mind.

The first is by getting the point of a joke, laughing about it, and realizing through analysis how it becomes
a joke. This moment of "getting it" (i.e. understanding why that particular joke is a funny joke), one not only
laughs but also understands well why it is funny, not merely laughing along with others or not laughing at
all because you do not see its point wherein any of us can relate with.

The second example is Juan's insight about life after the death of his grandfather, who was once, like him,
young and full of hope. He realizes that it is the way life goes; at one moment you are energetic and dashing
and popular with the ladies, but as time passes by, this energy fades and you are reduced to just another
man walking into this earth.

The third example that Fr. Ferriols mentioned is about the number four (4). We gain insight on the meaning
of four, not only as "four" but also the sum of 1+1+1+1 or 2+2, through the very act of counting. We can
count four cars, four people, four buildings, and so on and so forth. What is common here is that we do not
mind what kind of car, building, or person we are counting. Rather, we are merely concerned that each one
of them counts as one.

Now, focus your attention to the third example. It emphasizes the value of abstraction- This is done when
we analyze concepts and concentrate on one aspect of a thing while temporarily not minding other aspects
of existing things. However, for Leovino Garcia, though, abstraction is an important tool in the analysis of
insights and findings, as we momentarily distance ourselves from reality in order to focus on something.
But the other implication of this is that it has the chance of desiccating an insight, freezing it and prohibiting
it from becoming open for other insights to spring forth. Thus, it is important that one should return to the
"concrete fullness of the original insight.” Furthermore, Fr. Ferriols believed that, looking at the various
aspects of our experiences and analyzing it cannot fully exhaust the meaning of our experiences. Every
existence is confronted and surrounded by endless possibilities. These possibilities are well written into the
reality of things and the narratives of our lives. In this sense, there is a danger if we reduce everything to
mere abstract concepts. This is because the various aspects of any experience must not be dissolved into
just one part. Doing so will simply diminish its value and meaning. In order to grasp what the world is all
about, one should be able to go beyond what he only sees in his or her naked eyes. One must go beyond
the limited perspective of his material existence. In this sense, one must not only accept things. He should
be able to transform them by being critical and open minded about the way he views reality.

Take a look at this example:

“One day, I gave a gift to a person who was very rich. But I think it did not really mean anything to him.
Then yesterday, a very poor kid knocked at an outdoor house. He asked for a present and so I gave him an
old basketball. His joy was indescribable. I soon realized that I am guilty of two things. First, giving more to
someone who doesn’t need anything. Second, giving less to someone who deserved more than I gave. But
above all else, it is actually this. It made me understand who is truly poor and who is not. Some souls are
so poor that they no longer need anything. While some, and the wrong judgment actually comes from us,
are not actually poor. For it is only in the richness of one’s heart that one recognizes the meaning of love.
Does it not bother us that we give more to those who actually need less? And that we give less to those
who actually need more?”

Thus, we might think that our daily experiences do not give us a more holistic view of the world. But in
reality, they do if we just open to the richness of reality and humbly accept whatever that is to come as well
as pay attention to those things that we have simply taken for granted because of our limited perspective
or simply because we allowed ourselves to be limited by a particular biased perspective.

Let’s try this.

Activity 4: FILL IN THE BLANK

Description: Fill in the words necessary in each item. Write your answer on the blank provided,

1. We shall not begin with a definition of philosophy. Philosophy is easier to _______ than define.
2. At this age, it is safe to say that we associate philosophy with _____________.
3. Crucial element in thinking is __________.
4. Insight is seeing with the __________: only you can do it. I cannot see it for you, but I can help you to see
it.
5. Many ways of doing with insight. Some insights are so deep they cannot be ______________.
6. It takes insight to do something with insight, like the _________ of Homer.
7. Insights bring us to the very heart of reality, and ____________ is deep and unfathomable.
8. The tool that sharpens the insight and fixes it in the mind is ________________.
9. An analysis by abstraction is called _______________ analysis.
10. “As the generation of leaves, so the generation of __________”
 Marcel’s Primary and Secondary Reflection

To reflect is to give time to think about the meaning and purpose of life. We ask the meaning of our lives
because it is important. This existential import comes from our desire to live. Seeing what really matters in
life, at various levels, is the reason we come to reflect about things.

For instance,

“A twenty-year-old man ran away from his home. His parents look for him. The young man never returns. He
never does. In a short note, he writes that what he really wants to have is an independent life away from the
domination of a father. Indeed, this is life shattering, and so both parents will now begin to grapple with the
situation and ask why things came to be this way. Such is an example that preoccupies our heads. “Reflection
is never exercised on things that are not worth the trouble of reflecting about.”

Two Kinds of Reflection

Supplementary Reading:

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY REFLECTIONS (Gabriel Marcel) by Gabriel Marcel

… the distinctive note of philosophic thought, at least according to my conception of it and I have many
authorities for that conception, is that not only does it move towards the object whose nature it seeks to
discover, but at the same time it is alert for a certain music that arises from its own inner nature if it is
succeeding in carrying out its task. We have already said that the point about philosophic thought is that
it is reflective, and it is into the nature of reflection, as an activity, that we must probe more deeply than
we have done so far.

As usual, I shall start with the simplest examples I can find, to show how reflection has its roots in the daily
flow of life.

I put my hand, let us say, into my pocket to take my watch out. I discover that my watch is not there; but it
ought to be there; normally my watch is in my pocket. I experience a slight shock. There has been a small
break in the chain of my everyday habits (between the act of putting my hand in my pocket and that of
taking out my watch). The break is felt as something out of the way; it arrests my attention, to a greater or
a less degree, according to the importance I attach to my watch; the notion that a valuable object may be
lost arises in my mind, had this notion is not a mere notion but also a feeling of disquiet. I call in reflection
to help me … but let us be careful here not to fall into the errors of an out-of-date psychology which isolated
one faculty of the mind from another. It is very clear in the example I have chosen, and in every similar
example, that reflection is nothing other than attention, in the case where attention is directed towards this
sort of small break in the daily chain of habit. To reflect, in this kind of case, is to ask oneself how such a
break can have occurred. But there is no place here for the kind of purely abstract speculation which, of its
very nature, can have no practical outcome; what I have to do is to go back in time until I recall the moment
when the watch was last in my possession. I remember, let us say, having looked at the time just after
breakfast, therefore at that moment everything was still all right. Between then and now something must
have happened to the watch. My mental processes are rather like—there is no avoiding the comparison—
the actions of a plumber who is trying to trace a leak. Was there perhaps a hole in my pocket? I look at my
pocket and discover that there is no hole. I continue with my task of alert recapitulation. Say that I succeed
in recalling the fact that there was a moment when I put the watch down on the table; and there, let us say,
that watch still is. Reflection has carried out its task and the problem is solved … Let us notice, however,
even in connection with this almost childishly simple example, that I have made my mental effort because
something real, something valuable, was at stake. Reflection is never exercised on things that are not worth
the trouble of reflecting about. And, from another point of view, let us notice that reflection in this case was
a personal act, an act which nobody else would have been able to undertake in my place, or on my behalf.
The act of reflection is linked, as bone is linked with bone in the human body, to living personal experience
and it is important to understand the nature of this link. To all appearances, it is necessary that the living
personal experience should bump into some obstacle. One is tempted to use the following sort of metaphor.
A man who has been traveling on foot arrives at the edge of a river where the bridge has been carried away
by a flood. He has no option but to call a ferryman. In an example such as that which I have just cited,
reflection does really play the part of the ferryman.

But the same sort of thing can happen, of course, at the level of the inner life. I am talking to a friend, and
somehow, I let myself be drawn into telling him something which is an actual lie. I am alone with myself
again, I get a grip on myself, I face the fact of this lie, how was it possible for me to tell such a whopper? I
am all the more surprised at myself because I have been accustomed to think of myself, up to the present,
as a truthful and trustworthy person. But then what importance ought I to attach to this lie? Am I forced to
conclude that I am not the man I thought I was? And, from another point of view, what attitude ought I to
take up towards this act of mine? Ought I to confess the lie to my friend, or on the other hand would I make
myself ridiculous, to let my friend laugh at me, as a sort of punishment for having told him the lie in the
first place?

As in the previous example, what we have here is a kind of break, that is to say, I cannot go on just as if
nothing had happened; there really is something that necessitates an act of readjustment on my part.

But here is the third example that will give us an easier access to the notion of reflection at the properly
philosophical level. I have been disappointed by the behavior of somebody of whom I was fond. So, I am
forced to revise my opinion of this friend of mine. It seems, indeed, that I am forced to acknowledge that
he is not the man I believed him to be. But it may be that the process of reflection does not halt there. A
memory comes back to me—a memory of something I myself did long ago, and suddenly I ask myself: “Was
this act of mine really so very different from the act which today I feel inclined to judge so severely? But in
that case am I in any position to condemn my friend?” Thus, my reflections, at this point, call my own
position into question. Let us consider this second stage. Here, again, I cannot go on as if nothing had
happened. Then, what has happened? There has been this memory and this sort of confrontation that has
been forced upon me, of myself and the person I was judging so harshly. But what does “myself” mean
here? The point is that I have been forced to ask myself what I am worth, how true I ring. So far I had taken
myself, so to speak, for granted, I quite naturally thought of myself as qualified to judge and eventually to
condemn. Or perhaps even that is not quite the case: I used to believe or, what comes to the same thing, I
used to talk like a man qualified to judge others. In my heart of hearts, I did not really think of myself as
such a man. Here, for the moment at least, this process of reflection may terminate. Such a reflection may
leave me in a mood of anguish, and nevertheless I have a certain sense of being set free, the sense of which
I spoke in the last lecture: it is as if I have overturned some obstruction in my way.
But at this point a twofold and important realization is forced upon me; on the one hand, I am now able to
communicate at a broader level with myself, since I have, as it were, introduced the self that committed the
dubious act to the self that did not hesitate to set itself up as the harsh judge of such acts in others; and on
the other hand—and this cannot be a mere coincidence—I am now able to enter into far more intimate
communication with my friend, since between us there no longer stands that barrier which separates the
judge on the bench from the accused on the dock.

We have here a very striking illustration of that important notion of intercourse, on which I was expatiating
the other day, and no doubt we shall later have to remember this illustration when we begin to discuss the
topic of intersubjectivity properly so called.

But meanwhile there are certain other observations on the relations between reflection and life that are
pertinent at this point. There is a kind of philosophy, essentially romantic, or at least romantic in its roots,
which very willingly contrasts reflection and life, sets them at opposite poles from each other; and it is
permissible to notice that this contrast, or this opposition, is often stated in metaphors of heat and cold.
Reflection, because it is critical, is cold; it not only puts a bridle on the vital impulses, it freezes them. Let us,
in this case too, take a concrete example.

A young man has let himself be drawn into saying rash things to a girl. It was during a dance, he was
intoxicated by the atmosphere, by the music, the girl herself was a girl of unusual beauty. The dance is over,
he comes home, he feels the intoxication of the evening wearing away. To his sobered mood, reflection
does present itself, in such a case, as something purely and merely critical: what is this adventure going to
lead to? He has not the sort of job that would make marriage a reasonable proposition; if he were to marry
this girl, they would have to lead a narrow, constricted, life; what would become of love in such sordid
circumstances? And so on, and so on … It is obvious that in such cases reflection is like the plunge under
an icy shower that wakens one from a pleasant morning dreaminess. But it would be very rash to generalize
from such examples, and even in regard to this particular example we ought to ask ourselves rather carefully
what real relationship between reflection and life it illustrates. For I think we must be on our guard against
a modern way of interpreting life as pure spontaneity. For that matter, I am not sure that spontaneity is, for
the philosopher, a really distinct notion; it lies somewhere on these shadowy borders where psychology and
biology run into each other and merge. The young Spanish philosopher, Julian Marias, has something
relevant and useful to say about this in his Introduction to Philosophy. He says that the verb “to live” has
no doubt a precise meaning, a meaning that can be clearly formulated, when it is applied, say, to a sheep
or a shark: it means to breath by means of this organ and not that (by lungs or gills, as the case may be), to
be nourished in such and such a fashion (by preying on other fish, by cropping grass), and so on. But when
we are talking about human life the verb “to live” cannot have its meaning so strictly circumscribed; the
notion of human life cannot be reduced to that of the harmonious functioning of a certain number of
organs, though that purely biological functioning is, of course, presupposed in the notion of human life. For
instance, a prisoner who has no hope of getting out of jail may say without exaggeration—though he
continues to breathe, to eat, to perform all his natural functions—that his existence is not really a life. The
mother of an airman might say in wartime, “While my son is risking his life, I am not really living.” All this is
enough to make it clear that a human life has always its center outside itself; though it can be centered,
certainly, on a very wide and diverse range of outside interests. It may be centered on a loved one, and with
the disappearance of the loved one be reduced to a sad caricature of itself; it may be centered on something
trivial, a sport like hunting, a vice like gambling; it can be centered on some high activity, like research or
creation. But each one of us can ask himself, as a character in one of my plays does, “What do I live by?”
And this is not a matter so much of some final purpose to which a life may be directed as of the mental fuel
that keeps a life alight from day to day. For there are, as we know only too well, desperate creatures who
waste away, consuming themselves like lamps without oil.

But from this point of view, from the human point of view, we can no longer think of life as mere and pure
spontaneity—and by the same token we can no longer think of reflection as life’s antagonist. On the
contrary, it seems to me essential that we should grasp the fact that reflection is still part of life, that it is
one of the ways in which life manifests itself, or, more profoundly, that it is in a sense one of life’s way of
rising from one level to another. That, in fact, is the very point of the last few examples we have been taking.
We should notice also that reflection can take many different shapes and that even conversion can be, in
the last analysis, a sort of reflective process; consider the hero of Tolstoy’s Resurrection or even Rashkolnikov
in Crime and Punishment. We can say therefore that reflection appears alien to life, or opposed to life, only
if we are reducing the concept of human life to, as it were, a manifestation of animality. But it must be added
that if we do perform this act of reduction, then reflection itself becomes an unintelligible concept; we
cannot even conceive by what sort of a miracle reflection could be granted on mere animality.

So much for the relations between reflection and life; we would reach similar conclusions about the relations
between reflection and experience, and this links up with what has been previously said. If I take experience
as merely a sort of passive recording of impressions, I shall never manage to understand how the reflective
process could be integrated with experience. On the other hand, the more we grasp the notion of experience
in its proper complexity, in its active and I would even dare to say in its dialectical aspects, the better we
shall understand how experience cannot fail to transform itself into reflection, and we shall even have the
right to say that the more richly it is experience, the more, also, it is reflection. But we must, at this point,
take one step more and grasp the fact that reflection itself can manifest itself at various levels; there is
primary reflection, and there is also what I shall call secondary reflection; this secondary reflection has, in
fact, been very often at work during these early lectures, and I dare to hope that as our task proceeds it will
appear more and more clearly as the special high instrument of philosophical research. Roughly, we can say
that where primary reflection tends to dissolve the unity of experience, which is first put before it, the
function of secondary reflection is essentially recuperative; it reconquers that unity.

http://tamawogadfly.blogspot.com/2005/07/primary-and-secondary-reflections.html

In general sense, the article entitled “Primary and Secondary Reflections” An Existentialist named Gabriel
Marcel emphasized that “reflection is rooted in a daily flow of life’s experience.” And it is divided into two:
Primary and Secondary.

Primary reflection

1. It breaks the unity of experience of myself into several categories.

2. It derives a clear concept from the process of abstraction.
3. It only considers what is available to the senses.
4. It looks at the person as fragments of scattered events or moments.
5. Objective qualities of things are perceived.
6. It is the foundation or instrument of scientific knowledge which is equivalent to the natural attitude of
Husserl.
7. It is a limited perspective.

Examples

1. In asking who am I? I am so and so, born on this day, in such a place, with height and weight, etc.

2. In a relationship. One may establish a relationship or friendship with somebody who is rich so that she
may be able to borrow money in times of need.

3. In asking about one’s body. This body in mine is like other bodies, detached from the “I” , the body
examined by the doctor, studied by medical students, or a body sold by a prostitute.

Secondary reflection

1. It recuperates the unity of original meaning and experience.

2. It does not go against the data of primary reflection but refuses to accept it as final.
3. It is an act of gathering together the fragments of our experiences in order to truly see the big picture.
4. It goes beyond what is physical.
5. It is introspective.
6. It recognizes the interconnectedness of everything.
7. It is the instrument of philosophical reflection.
8. It is holistic and transformative.
Examples:

1. Who am I? I am more than my names; I enter into my inner core.

2. In a relationship. One may establish a relationship or friendship with somebody who is rich not only so
that he/she can borrow money in times of need.
3. In asking about one’s body? I am my body. I feel pain whenever the dentist pulls my tooth. I experience
a terrible feeling when I see my body.

Thus, Marcel speaks about secondary reflection as philosophical reflection because it goes beyond what is
objectively functional. It is not limited only to a specific idea. It is not selfish and biased to one’s perspective.
But it teaches us to think open mindedly and acknowledge both sides of the situation. And most
importantly, it provides us with a holistic picture of reality through appreciating the uniqueness of every
individual and seeing the value and meaning, unity of all the actions and events and relationship with others.
This kind of perspective allows us to deepen our understanding of ourselves, as well as our role and place
in the world.

Let’s try this.

Activity 5: REFLECT ON YOUR OWN

Description: Enumerate the characteristics of Marcelian Reflection and give 3 examples each reflection.
 PRIMARY REFLECTION SECONDARY REFLECTION

Characteristics Example Characteristics Example

Process Questions:

1. What is the danger of only focusing on the partial perspective in life?

2. Why is it important to always see the bigger picture of every situation of our lives?
3. How can philosophizing benefit you as a person?

Student’s responses:
After doing all the assigned readings and tasks, write down your revised ideas about the topic under the R
column

I R F
(initial ideas about the topic) (revised ideas) (final ideas)

Now that you have a deeper understanding of the topic, you are ready to do the tasks in the next section

III. REFLECTION

What is Philosophy?
Why do we need to look at a situation through a holistic perspective?
What makes a reflection Philosophical?
What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
How to differentiate Holistic and Partial Thinking?

Reflective Essay:
REFLECTIVE LOG

Date:

Goals for this lesson

What went well Things to improve

Goals for next time

Before next time I will…

Any other comments

Let’s revisit your ideas earlier and complete the table IRF chart.

I R F
(initial ideas about the topic) (revised ideas) (final ideas)

IV. ACTION

MINI-TASK 1: Philosophical Reflection Video/Paper

Instruction:

As a learner in Philosophy, you must realize that it is only through a holistic and deliberate
thinking that you can effectively break free from narrow and close-mindedness. Reflect
and identify a person (personally related to you) whom you consider as wise. Give
justifications on why this person is wise. Using your mobile phone, record a 2-minute
video presenting your reflection. Upload your video using the code given to you by your
teacher in the FlipGrid App.

You may also choose to write/encode your Mini Task in a Short Bond Paper instead of
making a video. Just submit/attach it together with this module.

Processing Questions:

How did you find the mini- task?

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How did the lessons help you see the real-world use of the topic?
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Your work will be evaluated based on the attached rubric.

CRITERIA 4 3 2 1
Excellent Better philosophical Average Poor philosophical
Philosophical philosophical insights and philosophical reflections,
content reflections, deep reflections understanding; inconsistent
insights about the Enough reflections alignment of
presentation about the subject thoughts
throughout the
presentation
Insights are validly Insights are validly Insights are Insights are not
obtained from well- derived from invalidly obtained fully derived from
Logic and founded premises; premises; There is from premises; premises; no
Coherence There is unity of unity of thought; some ideas are not general idea and
thought some ideas are not connected to the incomprehensible
connected to the topic
topic
The paper is based The paper is based Some ideas are No reflection of
Experience on a very profound on a reflection of a related to particular human
reflection of a particular human human experiences experiences
particular human experience
experience

CLOSURE ACTIVITY:

Activity 6: Reflection Response

Description: Given the information learned in the previous section, what is the relevance of
philosophy in your respective strand? How does it help you become a better student in your
strand and a person in life?

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 You are about to complete this lesson. Now answer the post-assessment to check how well you learned.

V. EVALUATION

POST-TEST:
It’s now time to evaluate your learning. Encircle the letter of the answer that you think best answers the
question. Your score will be disclosed by your teacher during Consultation Periods.

1. Which of the following best describes Philosophy?

a) It focuses on life and its meaning.
b) It is a study concerned with behavior of people.
c) It is a discipline that deals with the reality of beings.
d) It promotes critical thinking with the help of scientific inquiry.

2. Which of the following is the aim of Philosophy?

a) To search for truth. c) To have the right answers.
b) To possess the truth. d) To become knowledgeable.

3. What is the famous quotation of Socrates that highlights the importance of knowing the self as the
foundation of a moral life?
a) The unexamined life is not worth living.
b) Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
c) We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act but a habit.
d) Reflection is never exercise on things that are not worth the trouble of reflecting about.

4. In early Greek philosophy, the focus of inquiry is all about ____________?

a) The Limit of Knowledge c) How does man live a moral life?
b) The nature or constitution of things. d) The Nature of God

5. Who was the Philosopher behind the concept of Primary and Secondary levels of reflection.?
a) Socrates c) Roque Ferriols
b) Plato d) Gabriel Marcel

6. When one believes that human beings enter the world with inborn knowledge and that reasoning gives
human beings access to this knowledge, he or she is likely to use a philosophical perspective
called____________?
a) Empiricism c) Pragmatism
b) Rationalism d) Existentialism

7. There is no greater mystery than the mystery of human life.” What does this mean?
a) Life can be reduced into a mechanical problem.
b) The person can look at things in an objective way.
c) Our life focuses solely based on our biological functions.
d) Life is incomplete, becoming, and includes the fact that we are confronted with a myriad of
contrasting choices.
8. What is the importance of philosophizing?
a) Philosophizing helps us rationalize and justify our wrong doings.
b) Philosophizing enables us to easily judge the mistakes of others.
c) Philosophizing helps us understand the meaning, value and finality of man.
d) Philosophizing helps us evaluate our mistakes, discrepancies and behavior.

9. If existentialism sees the goal of learning as developing authentic individuals who exercise freedom of
choice and take responsibility of their actions, the role of every trained philosopher would be…?
a) Lead and advocate existential and material change.
b) Analyze sound propositions and detect incorrect arguments.
c) Encourage others to philosophize about life and to recognize and fulfill personal freedom.
d) Facilitate the learning environment and present stimuli using conditioning and social learning to
shape person’s behavior.

10. Aristotle, a realist believed that human beings learned through their senses. As an individual experience
the world, he\she develops and refines concepts about objects through his/her experiences. The role of
a learner then is_________________.
a) To learn, understand, and immerse one’s life to the world in which we live.
b) To demonstrate virtues and values though the achievement of concrete experience.
c) To encourage yourself to engage in discussions to facilitate discovery of errors in thinking and to
clarify ideas. All for the greater glory of God.
d) A and B.

SELF-ASSESSMENT
Before moving on to the next module, kindly complete the table below:

Lesson Activity Actual Date Were you Reason/s: Teacher’s

No./ Task of able to Remark
Completion complete the
task on time?

You have completed Module 1! You can now proceed to the next module.