INTRODUCTION TO THE

PHILOSOPHY OF THE
HUMAN PERSON
PHILOSOPHY

• The word “philosophy” comes from two Greek words: philo, meaning “to love”, and
Sophia, meaning “wisdom”
• Originally meant “love of wisdom”, and in a broad sense, wisdom is still the goal of
philosophy
• Defined as the science that by natural light of reason studies the first causes or highest
principles of all things
FOUR THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED

• SCIENCE. It is called science because the investigation is

systematic. It follows certain steps or it employs certain procedures. In
other words, it is an organized body of knowledge just like any other
sciences.
• NATURAL LIGHT OF REASON. Philosophy investigates things;
the philosopher uses his natural capacity to think or simply, human
reason alone or the so-called unaided reason.
• STUDY OF ALL THINGS. This sets the distinction between
philosophy from other sciences.
• FIRST CAUSE OR HIGHEST PRINCIPLE. A principle is that
from which something proceeds in any manner whatsoever.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLES
 THE FIRST PRINCIPLES

• PRINCIPLE OF IDENTITY. Whatever is • PRINCIPLE OF EXCLUDED MIDDLE.

is; and whatever is not is not; everything is A thing is either or is not; everything must
what it is. Everything is its own being, and be either be or not be; between being and
not being is not being not-being, there is not middle ground
• PRINCIPLE OF NON- possible.
CONTRADICTION. It is impossible for a • PRINCIPLE OF SUFFICIENT
thing to be and not to be at the same time, REASON. Nothing exists without a
and at the same respect sufficient reason for its being and existence.
EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS STUDIED ASPECTS
OF THE NATURAL AND HUMAN WORLD THAT
LATER BECAME SEPARATE SCIENCES
ASTRONOMY, PHYSICS, PSYCHOLOGY, AND SOCIOLOGY.
Correct application of reason Criteria of beauty Nature of the universe

Validity of knowledge Standard of justice

 EMPTYING

• Emptying can be intellectual. For instance, the Taoist considers an empty cup more
useful than a full one. This means simplicity and humility.
• Emptying can be also spiritual. For Christian philosophy, poverty in spirit means
compassion.
• Emptying is also physical. The Buddhists refrain from misuse of the senses, thereby
emphasizing a unified whole.
 WITHOUT THE VIRTUE OF EMPTYING, THERE
WILL ONLY BE PARTIAL PHILOSOPHY THAT IS
KNOWLEDGE-BASED, WITHOUT BECOMING
HOLISTIC
Holistic is acquiring wisdom through various dimensions of being human including the
psychological, social, emotional, and moral aspects.
Holism is the theory that parts of a whole are in intimate interconnection, such that they
cannot exist independently of the whole, or cannot be understood without reference to the
whole.
THE BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
METAPHYSICS

• The branch of philosophy that deals with the

first principle of things
• An extension of a fundamental and necessary
drive in every human being to know what is
real. The question: how to account for this unreal
thing in terms of what you can accept as real.
Metaphysician’s task is to explain that part of
our experience, which we call unreal in terms
of what we call real.
Everything is water. He claims that everything we
experience is water – which we call “reality”

THALES
IDEALIST AND MATERIALIST METAPHYSICAL
THEORIES ARE SIMILARLY BASED ON UNOBSERVABLE
ENTITIES

MIND MATTER
• Although we can experience in our • We can see things made of matter such
minds thoughts, ideas, desires, and as a book or a chair, but we cannot see
fantasies, we cannot observe or the underlying matter itself
experience mind itself that us having
these thoughts, ideas, and desires
PLATO

• A good example of a metaphysician who

draws the sharpest possible contrast
between reality and appearance.
• Nothing we experience in the physical
world with our five senses is real
• Reality is unchanging, eternal, immaterial,
and can be detected only by the intellect
• Plato calls these realities as ideas of
forms. These are meanings which universal,
general terms refer to, and they are also
those things we are talking about when we
discuss moral, mathematical, and scientific
ideals
ETHICS
HOW DO WE TELL GOOD FROM EVIL OR RIGHT FROM WRONG?
ETHICS

• The branch of philosophy that

explores the nature of moral virtue
and evaluates human actions
• A study of the nature of moral
judgments
 Whereas religion has often
motivated individuals to obey
Philosophical ethics attempts to the moral code of their society,
provide an account of our philosophy is not content with
fundamental ethical ideas. traditional or habitual ethics
but adopts a critical
perspective.
EPISTEMOLOGY

• Deals with nature, sources,

limitations, and validity of knowledge
(Soccio, 2007).
• Epistemological questions are basic
to all other philosophical inquiries.
HOW WE KNOW WHAT EPISTEMOLOGY
WE CLAIM TO KNOW
EXPLAINS
 HOW WE CAN FIND OUT EPISTEMOLOGY
WHAT WE WISH TO KNOW
EXPLAINS
 HOW WE CAN
DIFFERENTIATE TRUTH
EPISTEMOLOGY
FROM FALSEHOOD EXPLAINS
 Truth Science and scientific knowledge

PROBLEMS

Language
Reliability, extent, and kinds of knowledge
HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

FIRST SECOND
• On the one hand, he sees, hears, and touches; on the • DEDUCTION. Other philosophers think it is more
other hand, he organizes in his mind what he learns important to fund a general law according to which
through the senses. Philosophers have given considerable particular facts can be understood or judged. Its advocates
attention to questions about the sources of knowledge. are called rationalists
• INDUCTION. Some philosophers think that particular • What distinguishes real knowledge from mere opinion is
things seen, heard, and touched are more important. They that real knowledge is based on the logic, the laws, and the
believe that general ideas are formed from the methods that reason develops
examination of particular facts
• EMPIRICISM. The view that knowledge can be attained
only through sense experience. Real knowledge is based
on what our sight, hearing, smell, and other senses tell us
is really out there, not what people make up in their
heads.
LOGIC

• Reasoning is the concern of the logician.

• Comes from the Greek word logike which means a treatise on matters pertaining to the
human thought
• Logic does not provide us knowledge of the world directly, for logic is considered as a
tool, and, therefore, does not contribute directly to the content of our thoughts.
• Its concern is the truth or the validity of our arguments regarding such objects
Understood truth to mean the agreement of knowledge
with reality; truth exists when the mind’s mental
representations, otherwise known as ideas, correspond
with things in the objective world.

ARISTOTLE
AESTHETIC

• The science of the beautiful in its various

manifestations – including the sublime, comic,
tragic, pathetic, and ugly
• To experience aesthetics means whatever
experience has relevance to art, whether the
experience be that of the creative artist or of
appreciation
IMPORTANCE OF
AESTHETICS
IT VITALIZES OUR KNOWLEDGE
IMPORTANCE OF
AESTHETICS
IT HELPS US TO LIVE MORE DEEPLY AND RICHLY
IMPORTANCE OF
AESTHETICS
IT BRINGS US IN TOUCH WITH OUR CULTURE
ASSIGNMENT: PRINTED

• Write your views about what is “right” or “wrong”.

• Research about Plato’s cave. What is Plato’s cave according to your research?
DIVERSITY

• Difference, and choice or other proposals that establish separate curricular routes for
different groups or individuals

• The difference that makes each person unique (i.e., biology, ethnicity and culture, family
life, beliefs, geography, experiences, and religion)
SOMETIMES WE HAVE SUCH BEHAVIOR MAY
CAUSE US TO LIMIT A
DIFFICULTY IN PERSON’S

ACCEPTING OTHERS OPPORTUNITIES OR

CAN MAKE THE
BECAUSE THEY ARE PERSON FEEL

DIFFERENT FROM US. REJECTED OR

RESENTFUL.
VIEWPOINTS OF
PHILOSOPHY
 1. EXPANDING OUR
PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMES:
WESTERN AND NON-
GREEK WESTERN TRADITIONS

• Greek Philosophy (Socrates,

Plato, Aristotle)
• Indian Philosophy (Adi
Shankara, Dadu Dayal)
• Chinese Philosophy
(Confucius, Laozi, Mencius)

INDIAN CHINESE
A. WESTERN AND NON-WESTERN TRADITIONS

• Historically, Asian classics of the Indians and the Chinese predate the oldest of Western
classics. During the first centuries, there was more philosophical activity in the East than
in the West .
• In our present century, almost all the major philosophical ideas emanate from Western
thinkers.
 All three philosophies (Greek, Indian, and Chinese) arose
as critical reflections on their own cultural traditions.

REMEMBER
There are multiple cultures and there are different types
of states in terms of modern economic modernization

The culture of the “East” is very different from that of

the “West”, but that does not mean each culture is
incapable of understanding certain features of the other
 As the world becomes “smaller”, it is increasingly
important to develop an understanding of culture centers
around the globe that are very different from our own

REMEMBER
Each society or culture has its own ideas of itself, a
definition of what is important in life, and its own notions
of what the world is like in general terms

Thus, each society or culture can be said to have its own

“philosophy”
3 ATTITUDINAL IMPERATIVES
West: Think in a linear manner, that is, in
terms of beginning and ending in a
straight line

East/Oriental: Runs in a circular manner in which

the end conjoins the beginning in a
cyclic style
SAMSARA
• There is a cycle of rebirths within the various
spheres of life, the vegetative, animal, and human
• The world, in fact, did not have an absolute
beginning but was merely a continuation of an
earlier world in an earlier time.
• A SUCCESSION OF WORLDS AND A
SUCCESSION OF LIVES
THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE
EAST DOES NOT MAKE A
RIGOROUS DISTINCTION
BETWEEN RELIGION AND
PHILOSOPHY
In the East, Philosophy is Religion and Religion is
Philosophy. The Oriental does not cut off philosophy that
is thought, from religion that is life in action.
ASIA IS POOR BECAUSE IT CANNOT ACCEPT THE POLARIZATION OR
DIVISION OF THEORY AND PRACTICE, OF PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION, OF
ITS WAY OF THINKING AND ITS WAY OF LIVING

Life for Oriental Orientals believe that

thinkers is a life must be the
translation of thought; extension of thought,
it is philosophy in its fruit, and its
action. application
Acceptance of the validity of intuition
and mysticism, the readiness to revert
to extra logical, if not illogical modes
of thinking
• Orientals are perceived of transcending the limitations of the
human intellect and treading on a no-man’s land where
verification of one’s premise is not possible
Eastern Version Western Version

Knower
Knower Known
Known

For the Eastern version, life becomes illusory if we are attached to the world and in
which we are ensnared is not what is. In terms of knowledge, our everyday
experience of the world presents us with dualistic distinctions – me/you or
subject/object.

However, this is artificial; our egos fools us into seeing separation. The distinction
between knower and known is essentially artificial for the Eastern version.
B. FILIPINO THINKING: FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL

• Loob: Holistic and Interior Dimensions

• Filipino Philosophy of Time

• Bahala Na
1. LOOB: HOLISTIC AND INTERIOR DIMENSION

• Kagandahang-loob, kabutihang-loob, kalooban: show sharing of one’s self to others

• Loob puts one in touch with his fellow beings
• Great Philippine values are essentially interpersonal
• Use of intermediaries or go-betweens, the values of loyalty, hospitality, pakikisama
(camaraderie, conformism), and respect to authority are such values that relate to
persons
• Filipinos generally believe in the innate goodness of the human being
The Filipino as individual looks at himself as holistic from the interior dimension under the
principle of harmony.

The Filipino looks at himself as a self, as a total whole – as a “person”, conscious of his
freedom, proud of his human dignity, and sensitive to the violation of these two
II. FILIPINO PHILOSOPHY OF TIME

A human being is like a bird who flies up and goes down

• The philosophy of life makes the Filipino an unmitigated
optimist
• The Filipino looks upon every event, fortunate or unfortunate,
as fleeting or transitory
THERE IS HOPE BEYOND
SUFFERING
TIME IS CONSIDERED CYCLIC
GULONG NG PALAD PAKIKISAMA
• Approaches karma of the Indians and • Close to the Chinese and Japanese
yang and yin of the Chinese philosophy of living in harmony with
nature.
III. BAHALA NA

• The pre-Spanish Filipino people believed in a Supreme Being, Batula or Bathala. However,
in this regard, the originality of Filipino though will probably be precisely in his
personalistic view of the universe (Timbreza, 2002)
• In his personalistic view of the world, the Filipino seems to signify that ultimately in life,
we have to reckon not only with nature and human nature, but also with cosmic
presences or spirits, seen to be the ultimate origin to the problem of evil
• Bathala is not an impersonal entity but rather a personal being that keeps the balance in
the universe
• Unlike the Indian and the Chinese, a human being can forge some personal relationships
with this deity because Bathala is endowed with personality
• The Filipino puts his entire trust in this Bathala who has evolved into the Christian God
(Mercado, 2000)
• The Filipino subconsciously accepts the bahala na attitude as a part of life
• Bahala na literally means to leave everything to God who is Bathala in the vernacular
• Contains the element of resignation
• Thus, the Filipino accepts beforehand whatever the outcome of his problem might be
(Mercado, 2000)
BAHALA NA IS ONE
OF THE MOST
OUTSTANDING
FILIPINO VIRTUES
BAHALA NA ATTITUDE

• It is in one aspect perceived as courage to take risks

• For instance, it could be accounted that not only poverty but also because of bahala na
why millions of Filipinos are working abroad in complicated and high-risk environment
and places. From war-torn to besiege countries, Filipinos will risk their lives just to be
able to support their families back home.
BAHALA NA
ATTITUDE
• It is also seen as fatalistic; sort of
leaving everything to God or to
chance – such is the uncertainty of
life
ACTIVITY FOR NEXT MEETING

• Role-play showing the true meaning of the Filipino thinking:

• Group 1: Loob
• Group 2: Filipino Philosophy of Time
• Group 3: Bahala Na
IV. FILIPINO THOUGHT AND VALUES: POSITIVE AND
NEGATIVE ASPECTS
• It is believed, however, that the Philippine values and system, in line with Filipino
philosophy, are in dire need to be used as a positive motivation
• Beyond his family group, the Filipino sees himself belonging to a small, primitive group in a
dyadic, pyramidal fashion. In other words, he does not identify horizontally with his class
that cuts across the whole community but vertically with its authority figures
distinguished by their wealth, power, and age
• He receives protection and other favors from above and should be ready to do the same
toward his ties below
Reciprocating debts of gratitude between coordinates and
subordinates holds the whole group together – superordinate
and subordinate (utang na loob)
HOWEVER, AS WE CONSIDER OUR DUTY, IT
SHOULD NOT BE BOUNDED BY UTANG NA
LOOB BUT TO HELP TO UPLIFT THE LIFE NOT
ONLY OF ONE OWN’S FAMILY
(MICROPERSPECTIVE) BUT OF OTHERS AS
WELL (MACROPERSPECTIVEU)
THE FILIPINO
GIVES GREAT
VALUE TO
• This self-sufficiency refers not to individual self, but to
ENDURANCE the family to which one owes a special debt of
AND HARD gratitude for having brought him life and nurtured him
WORK AS MEANS
TO ECONOMIC
SELF-SUFFICIENCY
BAYANIHAN
CRAB MENTALITY
ASSIGNMENT: PHILOSOPHICAL PAPER

If you are entertaining a tourist or balikbayan relative or friend, how will you introduce the
Philippines?

Short bond paper

C. PHILOSOPHY: TRANSCENDING AND AIMING FOR
A LIFE OF ABUNDANCE

• Abundance comes from the Latin term, “abundare” meaning, “to overflow nonstop”.

• Abundance is out flowing than incoming. It is not about amassing material things or
people but our relationship with others, ourselves, and with nature
 IT IS WHEN WE RAISE OUR
EMPTY HANDS AND
SURRENDER, WHEN WE DO
NOT GRAB, WHEN WE ARE
UNATTACHED TO ABUNDANCE IS NOT
ANYTHING OR ANYONE,
WHEN WE OFFER ONESELF WHAT WE GATHER
– ALL THESE ARE
ABUNDANCE. BUT BUT WHAT WE
SCATTER
ONLY IF WE HAVE EMPTY
HANDS CAN WE RECEIVE
FULL BLESSINGS
 TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, WE
MUST FIRST LET GO. TO BE
ABLE TO ACQUIRE, WE

ABUNDANCE IS NOT
MUST FIRST CONTROL
OURSELVES.

WHAT WE KEEP BUT

TO BE ABUNDANT, WE
MUST LEARN TO CONTROL WHAT WE GIVE AWAY
OUR APPETITES AND
DESIRES, FOR THEY HAVE
IMPACT ON OTHER PEOPLE
 ABUNDANCE COMES TO
THE ONE WHO HAS
MONEY AND HEART,
MONEY AND VALUES,
MONEY AND
RELATIONSHIPS, MONEY ABUNDANCE IS NOT
AND DEEPER HAPPINESS.
WHAT WE HOLD BUT
ABUNDANCE IS MORE WHAT WE SHARE
THAN OUR AMBITIONS;
THERE ARE MORE
PRECIOUS THINGS SUCH AS
PEOPLE THE MATTER.
 ABUNDANCE IS MORE OF
AN EFFORT OF THE HEART
THAN MIND ALONE. TO
ACHIEVE, ONE MUST
COMMIT. ACCORDING TO
AGUILAR (2010), ONLY THE
HEART CAN COMMIT.
ABUNDANCE IS A
ABUNDANCE, THEREFORE,
IS A CHOICE WHICH
CHOICE
TRANSLATES TO
COMMITMENT,
DETERMINATION, AND
PERSEVERANCE.
 TO LIVE IN ABUNDANCE
MEANS EVOLVING TO A
HIGHER BEING IN
FOLLOWING ONE’S
ABUNDANCE IS TO
MISSION; A DELIBERATE OR
CONSCIOUS DESIRE TO
EVOLVE INTO A
ACT UPON WHAT CAN HIGHER BEING
MAKE US AND OTHERS
HAPPY
BRAINTEASERS
BEFORE MOUNT EVEREST WAS DISCOVERED, WHICH
WAS THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD?

Mount Everest. It wasn’t just

discovered yet
IF YOU WERE RUNNING A RACE AND YOU PASSED THE
PERSON IN THE 2ND PLACE, WHAT PLACE WOULD YOU
BE IN NOW?

Second place
WHAT CAN RUN BUT NEVER WALKS, HAS A MOUTH
BUT NEVER TALKS, HAS A HEAD BUT NEVER WEEPS, AND
HAS A BED BUT NEVER SLEEPS?

A river
IMAGINE YOU ARE IN A SINKING ROWBOAT
SURROUNDED BY SHARKS. HOW WOULD YOU SURVIVE?

Stop imagining
WHAT CAN BE AS BIG AS YOU ARE AND YET DOES
NOT WEIGH ANYTHING?

Your shadow
PAUL’S HEIGHT IS SIX FEET, HE’S AN ASSISTANT AT A
BUTCHER’S SHOP, AND WEARS SIZE 9 SHOES. WHAT
DOES HE WEIGH?

Meat
WHICH IS HEAVIER, A TON OF GOLD OR A TON OF
SILVER?

Both weigh the same

2 FATHERS AND 2 SONS GO FISHING. EACH OF THEM
CATCHES ONE FISH. SO WHY DO THEY BRING HOME
ONLY 3 FISH?

Because the fishing group comprises

of a grandfather, a father, and a son –
hence, just three people
IS IT LEGAL FOR A MAN TO MARRY HIS WIDOW’S
SISTER?

No, he is dead.
WHAT GOES UP BUT NEVER COMES DOWN?

Age
 METHODS OF
PHILOSOPHIZING
 IN SEARCH FOR WISDOM, THE STUDENT
MUST EVALUATE ARGUMENTS AND WAYS OF
EXPRESSING ONE’S BELIEFS, EMOTIONS, AND
OPINIONS
A. PHENOMENOLOGY: ON
CONSCIOUSNESS
EDMUND
HUSSERL
FOUNDER OF PHENOMENOLOGY
A. PHENOMENOLOGY: ON CONSCIOUSNESS

• This focuses on careful inspection and description of phenomena or appearances, defined

as any object of conscious experience, that is, that which we are conscious of.
• The word phenomenon comes directly from the Greek word, phainomenon, meaning
“appearance”
• Phenomenology is the scientific study of the essential structures of consciousness. By
describing those structures, Husserl believes that we can find certainty, which philosophy
has always sought.
A. PHENOMENOLOGY: ON CONSCIOUSNESS

• Phenomenology is the thesis that consciousness is intentional.

• Every act of consciousness is directed at some object or another, possibly a material
object or an “ideal” object
• The phenomenologist can distinguish and describe the nature of the intentional acts of
consciousness and intentional objects of consciousness, which are defined through the
content of consciousness
A. PHENOMENOLOGY: ON CONSCIOUSNESS

• This method of philosophizing uncovers the essential structures of experience and its
objects. For instance, time consciousness, mathematics, and logic; perception and
experience of the social world; our experience of our own bodies; and moral, aesthetic,
and religious experiences
• What interest phenomenologists are the contents of consciousness, not on things of the
natural world as such
FOCUS NOT ON THINGS BUT OUR
CONSCIOUSNESS OF THINGS
B. EXISTENTIALISM: ON FREEDOM
B. EXISTENTIALISM: ON FREEDOM

• Unlike phenomenology, existentialism is not primarily a philosophical method. Neither is

it exactly a set of doctrines but more of an outlook or attitude supported by diverse
doctrines centered on certain themes
B. EXISTENTIALISM: ON FREEDOM

• The human condition or the relation of • Human freedom

the individual to the world
• The significance (and unavoidability) of
• The human response to that condition choice and decision in the absence of
• Being, especially the difference between certainty
the being of person (which is • The concreteness and subjectivity of life
“existence”) and the being of other as lived, against the abstractions and false
kinds of things objectifications
B. EXISTENTIALISM: ON FREEDOM

• Existentialists share a concern for the individual and personal responsibility

• Existentialism is often thought to be antireligious
• Existentialism emphasizes the importance of free individual choice, regardless of the
power of other people to influence and coerce our desires, beliefs, and decisions
FRENCH
PHILOSOPHER, SARTRE
Sartre argued that consciousness (being-for-
itself) is such that it is always free to choose
(though not free not to choose) and free to
“negate” (or reject) the given features of the
world.
One is never free of one’s “situation”, but one is
always free to “negate” that situation and to
(try to) change it.
To be human, to be conscious, is to be free to
imagine, free to choose and responsible for
one’s life
 ONE MAY BE SHY OR ASSERTIVE, BUT SUCH
BEHAVIOR IS ALWAYS A CHOICE AND ONE
CAN ALWAYS RESOLVE TO CHANGE.
One can be Asian or American, but it is an open question how one will make of oneself, how
these will made into handicaps or an advantage, become challenges to be overcome, or excuses
doing nothing.
C. POSTMODERNISM: ON CULTURES
C. POSTMODERNISM: ON CULTURE

• Postmodernism has come into vogue as the name for a rather diffuse family of ideas and
trends that in significant respect rejects, challenges, or aims to supersede modernity; the
convictions, aspirations, and pretensions of modern Western thought and culture since
the Enlightenment.
POSTMODERNISM IS NOT PHILOSOPHY
It is at best a holding pattern. It rightly talks about world philosophy, the philosophy of
many cultures
POSTMODERNISTS
• Postmodernists believe that humanity should come at
truth beyond the rational to the non-rational elements of
human nature, including the spiritual
• Postmodernists consider that to arrive at truth, humanity
should realize the limits of reason and objectivism
• Postmodernists adhere to a relational, holistic approach
D. ANALYTIC TRADITION
CAN LANGUAGE DESCRIBE OBJECTIVELY DESCRIBE
TRUTH?
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
An analytic philosopher, language is socially conditioned
D. ANALYTIC TRADITION

• Analytic philosophy is the conviction that to some significant degree, philosophical

problems, puzzles, and errors are rooted in language and can be solved or avoided by a
sound understanding of language and careful attention to its workings.
• Critics are apt to point these concerns – they might say – this fixation with language and
logic as one aspect of the trivialization of philosophy with which they charge the analytic
movement.
THE LAST TWO TO THREE DECADES HAVE
SEEN…INCREASED SELF-SEARCHING AS TO THE
LIMITATIONS OF THE ANALYTIC APPROACH AND MORE
EFFORTS TO APPLY IT TO SUCH DEEPER QUESTIONS
E. LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING:
TOOLS IN REASONING
E. LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING: TOOLS IN
REASONING
• Logic is centered in the analysis and construction of arguments.
• Logic and critical thinking serve as paths to freedom from half-truth and deceptions
• Critical thinking is distinguishing facts and opinions or personal feelings
HOW DOES A HUMAN MAKE RATIONAL
CHOICES?
In making rational choices, first, we suspend beliefs and judgment until all facts have been
gathered and considered.
CRITICAL THINKING HELPS US UNCOVER
BIAS AND PREJUDICE AND OPEN TO NEW
IDEAS NOT NECESSARILY IN AGREEMENT
WITH PREVIOUS THOUGHT
Critical thinking also takes into consideration cultural systems, values, and beliefs.
BASIC TYPES OF REASONING

INDUCTIVE DEDUCTIVE
• Is based from observations in order to • Draws conclusion from usually one
make generalizations broad judgment or definition and one
more specific assertion, often an
• This reasoning is often applied in
inference.
prediction, forecasting, or behavior
• General to specific
• Specific to general
INDUCTION OR DEDUCTION

• All men are mortal. Danny is a man.

Therefore, Danny is mortal.
• The coin I pulled from the bag is a penny.
The second and third coins are pennies.
Therefore, all the coins in the bag are
pennies.
• Jesse is a grandfather. Jesse is bald.
Therefore, all grandfathers are bald.