Quarter 1 – Week 2 Module:

Methods of Philosophizing
 LESSON 1:
Opinion vs. Truth
SY 2022-2023
In Person Classes
ACTIVITY

SY 2022-2023
In Person Classes
 TWO LIES AND A TRUTH

A student shall tell two lies and a

truth about themselves. Their
classmates will guess which one is
the truth
Fact vs Opinion
 A fact is a statement that can be proven
true or false.
 An opinion is an expression of a person’s
feelings that cannot be proven. Opinions
can be based on facts or emotions and
sometimes they are meant to deliberately
mislead others.
 Therefore, it is important to be aware of
the author’s purpose and choice of
language. Sometimes, the author lets the
facts speak for themselves.
The following is an example of a
fact:
 With fewer cars on the road, there
would be less air pollution and traffic
noise; therefore, the use of mass
transportation should be encouraged.
 Sometimes the author may use descriptive
language to appeal to your emotions and
sway your thinking.
The following is an example of a
opinion:
 Do you like looking at a smoggy view from
a congested highway? How do you feel
about fighting road hugs and bumper to
bumper traffic everyday? Mass
transportation is the solution to all these
problems.
 Emotional language is neither right nor
wrong, but the way in which it is used can
be positive or negative; it is up to you to
make reasonable judgement about the
material you are reading and to draw your
own conclusion.
 Therefore, when you read, it is important to
judge facts and opinions carefully in order to
come to the right conclusion. Ask yourself,
“are the facts reliable?” or “are the opinions
based on the facts?” Once you answer these
questions, you may be on the right track for
finding and sticking to the facts; you be the
judge.
Theories of Truth
Theories of Truth:

 Pragmatic Truth is what works, or serves our

purposes
 Coherence Truth is what coheres with the
rest of our knowledge
 Correspondence Truth is what corresponds
to facts
The Coherence Theory:
 Seems circular or question begging: it defines truth
in terms of coherence with our knowledge. But
knowledge presupposes true belief.
 If we know something, then surely anything that
contradicts that knowledge will be false. But how
do we get knowledge in the first place?
 What if we only knew one thing?
The Pragmatic Theory:
 Seems compatible with many things we think
are false
 Belief in spirits or ghosts may work or serve
the purposes of mediums and fortune tellers
… we still want to say those beliefs are or
may be false
The Correspondence Theory
 Seems to be what we mean when we say
something is true
 My pancake is salty! (we seem to agree that
someone told the truth when we check the
pancake and find it salty)
 Coherence and Pragmatic theories seem to
confuse a test of truth with what constitutes it
 LESSON 2:
Methods of Philosophizing
SY 2022-2023
In Person Classes
Methods of Philosophizing

 Philosophizing is to think or express

oneself in a philosophical manner. It
considers or discusses a (matter) from
a philosophical standpoint.
Methods of Philosophizing

 They are different processes of

determining the truth or drawing
conclusions from statements using
various philosophical methods
1. Socratic Questioning
 Elenchus – to inquire or to cross examine
 Socrates
 Statement Deconstructions, Creative Questioning
 It is based on the practice of disciplined, thoughtful
dialogue.
 Socrates, the early Greek philosopher/teacher, believed that
disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning enabled the
student to examine ideas logically and to determine the
validity of those ideas
2. Dialectic Method
 Dialektike – the act of conversation
 Dialectics is defined as a process that
makes use of contradictory statements
or ideas to reach an ultimate truth
 Some other examples of dialectical
statements are: “I feel happy and I feel sad”;
“I want to be loud and you need me to be
quiet”; “Things are very different now from
a year ago and every day feels the same”; “I
feel too tired to work and I can do my work
anyway”; “I love you and I hate you”
3. Scientific Method
 The process of observing, asking
questions, and seeking answers
through tests and experiments is
not unique to any one field of
science.
3. Scientific Method
 Scientia – to produce knowledge
 Hypothesis Testing is done to prove the validity of
this idea
 Wisdom and Truth
 Conclusion
 All truth supported by facts
 Experiments, Logical Reasoning and Observation
 Valid conclusions
4. Historical Method
 Iotopia – to investigate or to find out
 It is the process of gathering evidence, examining
them, and formulating ideas about the past to come
up with present truths
 The study of the history of philosophy as a means of
thinking about philosophical issues for the sake of
the practice of original philosophical work.
5. Fallacies
 A faulty argument, one that is not
based on sound reasoning or logic
 These can be made on purpose or by
mistake. If you use a fallacy in your
argument, you're more likely to come to
an incorrect conclusion, mislead your
audience, and be called out for your error
5. Fallacies
 Fallacies are not just false beliefs.
Logical errors in argumentation,
reasoning, explanation, rhetoric,
debate
1. Argumentum ad hominem
Or attacking a person
 Homo – man
 Hitting the person below the belt instead of
focusing on the issue at hand
 Ex: “You’re stupid, so I don’t care what
you have to say”
2. Argumentum ad baculum
Or appeal to force
 Baculum – scepter or stick (symbol of authority)
 Is committed when a person uses threats or
force to advance an argument
 Ex: If you don't let me win the race, I can't be
your friend anymore. Letting me win the race
makes sense, don't you think?'
3. Argumentum ad misercordiam
Or appeal to pity
 Misericordia – pity or compassion
 A specific kind of appeal to emotion in which
someone tries to win support for an argument or
idea by exploiting his or her opponent’s feelings of
pity or guilt
 Ex: "You need to pass me in this course, since I'll
lose my scholarship if you don't."
4. Argumentum ad populum
Or appeal to people or bandwagon
 Populum – people
 The arguer tries to convince the audience to do or
believe something because everyone else does
 An argument that appeals or exploits people’s
vanities, desire for esteem, and anchoring on
popularity.
 Ex: An increasing number of people are
turning to yoga as a way to get in touch
with their inner-being
 Therefore, yoga helps one get in touch
with their inner-being
5. Argumentum ad traditio or appeal to
tradition
 Traditio – tradition
 Ex: Men should propose to women. Belief
in God
6. Argumentum ad ignorantiam
Or appeal to ignorance
 Ignorantiam – ignorance
 Concluding that something is true since you
can't prove it is false.
 For example "God must exist, since no one
can demonstrate that she does not exist."
7. Petitio principii or begging the
question
 A conclusion is taken for granted based on a
premise
 Circular argument
 Ex: Either God exists or the moon is made of
green cheese
 The moon is not made of green cheese
 Therefore, God exists
8. Composition

 This infers that something is true of the whole

from the fact that is true of some part of the
whole. The reverse of this fallacy is division.
 "Trees are made of atoms, and atoms are not
visible to the eye. Therefore, trees are not
visible to the eye either."
8. Composition

 You are a doctor, therefore you came from a

family of doctors
9. Division
 One reasons logically that something true of a
thing must also be truth of all or some of its
parts
 "Trees are visible and they are made of atoms.
Therefore, atoms are also visible.“
 Your family is smart, therefore you are smart
10. Equivocation

 This is logical chain of reasoning of a term or a

word several times, but giving the particular
word a different meaning each time.
 Ex: Human beings have hands; the clock has
hands.
11. False Cause

 This fallacy is also referred to as coincidental

correlation, or correlation not causation

 Ex:"I took aspirin and prayed to God, and my

headache disappeared. God cured me."
12. Hasty Generalization

 This is commonly based on a broad conclusion

upon the statistics of a survey of a small group
that fails to sufficiently represent the whole
population
 •"I saw a basketball player sneeze; thus all
basketball player have allergies?"
 Dogs are good pets. Coyotes are dogs.
Therefore, coyotes are good pets.
 • Divorce is rampant in America. We only stand
a 50 percent chance of survival. Therefore, we
can't get married.
 Some faulty reasoning to convince others that is
a victim of misinformation and disinformation.
E.g. fake news
 Validate information in different sources.
 Information Literacy
 Ask yourself which source of information is
fair, objective, lacking hidden motives and
showing quality control – Robert Harris
Selecting Sites – Recommendations in
Selecting Sites:
 Author’s Name, Title, and/or Position
 Site’s Organizational Affiliation (if any)
 Date of Page Created of Updated
 Contact Information (Email or Snail-Mail
Address)
C-A-R-S OR CARS CHECKLIST

 CREDIBILITY : What about this source makes

it believable?
 ACCURACY : Is the information provided up
to date, factual, detailed, exact, and
comprehensive?
 Arniel Ping – VP, Philippine Association of Media
and Information Literacy (PAMI)
guide to validate sources
a. Can you trust the source? Domain extension
(.edu, .gov, .org, .net, .com) ; URL (Uniform
Resource Locator)
b. Is it the appropriate source for the information you
need?
c. What different sources can provide you the
information you are looking for?
 REASONABLENESS: Is the information fair,
objective, moderate, and consistent?
 SUPPORT : Can the information be
corroborated?
 QUIZ

SY 2022-2023
In Person Classes
DIRECTION: Identify each statement as to Opinion or
Truth. Write letter “O” if the statement is an Opinion
and letter “T” if the statement is Truth.
• 1. _____ Manila is the capital of the
Philippines.
• 2. _____ Sun is the center of the solar
system.
• 3. _____ My neighbor is ugly.
• 4. _____ The sun is the center of the solar
system.
• 5. _____ Asia is the largest continent in
the world.
• 6. _____ God made the world in seven
days
• 7. _____ Man has the right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
• 8. _____ China’s continued presence in
the Spratlysis a violation of international
law.
• 9. _____ A person must always consider
the interest of his or her family before his
other own happiness.
10. _____ Citizens have the right to take up
arms and overthrow an oppressive
government.
DIRECTION: Choose the letter of the best answer.
Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.
TAKE HOME ACTIVITY

SY 2022-2023
In Person Classes
 DIRECTION: Read the article and
identify the opinion and facts about
Matthew. Write your answer at the
space provided.
Write four facts about
Matthew
1.
2.
3.
4.
Write four opinion about
Matthew
1.
2.
3.
4.
 LESSON 3:
Evaluate Opinions
SY 2022-2023
In Person Classes
How do I evaluate an argument?
 An argument is a conclusion based
upon evidence (i.e. premises).
Arguments are commonly found in
newspaper editorials and opinion
columns, as well as magazine essays.
How do I evaluate an argument?
 To evaluate these arguments, you must
judge whether it is good or bad. "Good"
and "bad" are not, however, merely
subjective opinions. An evaluation should
be based upon rational criteria, such as
the F.E.L.T. criteria below.
Criteria in Evaluating an Argument

 • Fairness
 • Evidence
 • Logic
 • Tone
 Fairness:
Is the argument fair and balanced, or does it
contain bias? Bias can be detected by asking
the following questions:
Is the argument overly emotional and filled
with loaded language?
Is the argument one-sided? Are there
alternative points of view not addressed?
Fairness:
What are the implications of this narrowness?
Is the argument fair and balanced, or does it
contain bias? Is the argument overly emotional
and filled with loaded language?
Is the argument one-sided? Are there alternative
points of view not addressed?
Evidence and Logic:
Are the given premises reliable and relevant?
Are they thoroughly explained?
Does the author make contradictory points?
Does the author make concessions to alternative
views without explaining why they are
nevertheless subordinate to his/her main view?
 Evidence and Logic:
Do the premises themselves require further
justification? (That is, do they beg the
question?)
Is the movement from premise to conclusion
logical? Does the argument contain gaps in
reasoning or logical fallacies?
Tone
Is the attitude of the writer appropriate for the
content? For example, is it too serious? Is it too
sarcastic or dismissive? Is it overly dramatic?
(Tone can reinforce bias.)
Is the attitude of the writer appropriate for the
content?
How to evaluate an argument:
• Identify the conclusion and the premises.
• Put the argument in standard form.
• Decide if the argument is deductive or non-deductive.
• Determine whether the argument succeeds logically.
• If the argument succeeds logically, assess whether the
premises are true. ...
• Make a final judgement: is the argument good or bad?