CLASSICAL

PHILOSOPHER
PLUTARCH
WHO IS PLUTARCH?
 Plutarch was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian,
biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi.

 He is known primarily for his Parallel Lives, a series of biographies

of illustrious Greeks and Romans, and Moralia, a collection of essays
and speeches.

 He was born on Chaeronea, Greece.

LUCIUS MESTRIUS PLUTARCHUS
(PLUTARCH)
The Moral Philosophy of Plutarch

Plutarch defends the view that we can

know our moral progress- not to or never
to be aware of our moral progress is self-
defeating. Moral progress has a practical
manifestation: how we live and act in
life, especially in relations with others.
The Contribution of Plutarch in Philosophy

Plutarch was a prolific writer who

produced over 200 works, not all of
which survived antiquity. Besides the
Parallel Lives, the Moralia (or Ethica), a
series of more than 60 essays on ethical,
religious, physical, political, and literary
topics, is his most recognizable work.
 Even though the great Greek
philosophers lived in much
different times, some things never
change. It’s not difficult to apply
ancient wisdom to modern
business.
 Plutarch presents himself in and through his
practical ethics as the one and only philosopher his
elite readers should need. According to Plutarch,
the budding leader should be motivated by a sense
of duty and honor – but not an excessive desire for
glory and public acclaim. Plutarch's distinction
between a life of happiness through theorizing or
contemplation and a practical life of happiness is
made in his On Moral Virtue, apparently inspired
by the relevant Aristotelian distinction in
Nicomachean Ethics.
Plutarch, on being a good role model

Plutarch, the ancient Greek historian and

educator, understood that humans are
incredibly social creatures, who constantly
observe the people around them and imitate
them. (The Guardian, 2020).
 In organizational terms, that means what
you say to your employees is less important
than what you do. They will watch how you
behave, how you treat others, how you cope
with pressure and whether you follow
through on your promises. And they will
imitate you.
 If you talk about ethics and then cut corners
at the first opportunity, they will follow your
lead. Set a good example and they will follow
it. Plutarch would also warn that your best
young employees will use you as a bar to aim
for and exceed. That's natural. Let them
compete with you and encourage them to go
further. (The Guardian, 2020).
Know how to listen, and you will
profit
even from those who talk badly.

-plutarch
 To make no mkistakes is not in the
power of man; but from their errors
and mistakes the wise and good learn
wisdom for the future.

-plutarch
 To find fault is easy; to
do better may be difficult

- plutarch
E. Logic and Critical Thinking: Tools in Reasoning

Logic is centered in the analysis and construction of

arguments. In the first chapter , logic is discussed as one of
its main branches. Logic and critical thinking serve as paths
to freedom from half-truths and deceptions.
Though facts are important, critical thinking also takes
into consideration cultural systems, values, and beliefs.
Critical thinking helps us uncover bias and prejudice and
open to new ideas not necessarily in agreement with previous
thought.
Inductive Reasoning Deductive Reasoning
 draws conclusion from
 PREDICTION usually one broad
judgement or definition
 FORECAST and one more specific
 BEHAVIOR assertion, often an
inference.

For instance:
All philosophers are wise (Major premise)
Confiucius is wise (Minor premise)
Therefore, Confiucius is wise (Conclusion)
 • VALIDITY and SOUNDNESS OF AN
ARGUMENT

Based on the previous example (or syllogism), if the

two premises are constructed logically , then the
conclusion must follow logically, and deductive
argument is valid. This does not necessarily mean that
the conclusion is true or false. Validity comes from a
logical conclusion based on logically constructed
premises (Reed, 2010).
 • STRENGTH OF AN ARGUMENT

On the other hand, Inductive arguments cannot

prove if the premises are true which will also
determine the truth of the conclusion. Inductive
reasoning proves only probable support to the
conclusion. The inductive that succeeds in
providing such probable support is a strong
argument.
While an inductive argument that fails to provide such
support is weak, a strong argument with true premises is
said to be cogent.

For example:
Jay: Do you think Congressman Gerry will be re-elected?
Yna: I doubt it. His district has become more
conservative in recent years. Also, 63% of the registered
voters in his district are in the Opposition.
F. Fallacies

A fallacy is a defect in an argument other

than its having false premises. To detect
fallacies, it is required to examine the
argument’s content.
Here are some of the usually committed errors in
reasoning and thus, coming up with false conclusion and
worse, distorting the truth.
a) Appeal to pity (Argumentum ad misericordiam)
b) Appeal to ignorance (Argumentum ad ignorantiam)
c) Equivocation
d) Composition
e) Division
f) Against the person (Argumentum ad hominem)
g) Appeal to force (Argumentum ad baculum)
h) Appeal to the people (Argumentum ad populum)
i) False cause (post hoc)
j) Hasty generalization
k) Begging the question (petitio principii)
2.2 Analyze Situations that Show the
Difference between Opinion and Truth

 APPLYING LOGIC AND FALLACIES IN

DETERMINING TRUTH FROM OPINION

At the beginning of Tractatuts, Ludwig Wittgenstein speaks

of the picture that we can form of reality, and in which, by way
of a model, we represent the existence and non-existence of
state of affairs. Tractatus identifies the relationship between
language and reality and to define the limits of science.
 It is recognized as a significant philosophical work of the
twentieth century. It is in the possibility of agreeing or
disagreeing with reality, thus being true or false, that the
meaning of picture lies.
The same thoughts occur later when Wittgenstein
describes spoken and written language, that is, propositions,
as one of these pictures defines its meaning in terms of its
capacity for being true or false. The limits of what can be
said, therefore, are defined by logical rules.
 Moreover, Wittgenstein argues that the world consists of
states of affair, not of things. These constellations can be
reproduced in a picture, rather as a course of events in car
accidents for example, might be retracted in a court of laws,
the use of models. It is a case of projection in a picture, says
Wittgenstein.
Over the years, in the author’s view, the purpose of news
reporting and journalism had irrevocably changed. If the
purpose of the sentence is to inform or state a fact, some of
its words have cognitive meaning. However, words also have
emotive meaning.
 Con artists take advantage of the emotive side of language
in two very important ways. First, they use emotive meaning
masked as cognitive meaning to whip up emotions so that
reason gets overlooked. Secondly, they use emotive neutral
terms of euphemisms to dull the force of what they say and,
thus, more acceptable what otherwise might not be.
Ignorance can be cloaked in a false aura of authority. This
fact cause serious doubt on the general competence of
newsmagazine writers who talked flippantly on technical
matters.
2.3 Realize the Methods of Philosophy that
Lead to Wisdom and Truth
For Double (1999), although philosophy is an organized body of
knowledge , the subject matter of philosophy is questions, which
have three main characteristics:

1. Philosophical questions have answer, but the answers remains

dispute.
2. Philosophical questions cannot be settled by science, common
sense or faith.
3. Philosophical questions are of perennial intellectual interest to
human beings.
The methodology or method that philosophers use to address
philosophical questions is critical thinking.

Critical thinking is the careful, reflective, rational, and

systematic approach to questions of very general interest.
For Maboloc and Pascua (2008), critical thinking is a lifelong
process of self-assessment that further consists of:
• Defining, analyzing, and devising solutions;
• Arriving at reasonable and informed
conclusions;
• Applying understanding and knowledge to new
and different problems;
• Willingness to change point of view;
• Continually examining and re-examining ideas;
and
• Willingness to say “I don’t know”.
The attributes of a Critical thinker should include:
• Looks for evidence to support assumption and beliefs
• Adjust opinions
• Looks for proof
• Examines problem
• Rejects irrelevant and incorrect information
Only if one is able to be willing to change one’s point
of view based on arising evidence and continually re-
examining ideas, can a more holistic perspective of
truth be arrived at.
2.4 Evaluate Opinions

Critical thinking and logic are important tools to

distinguish facts from opinions. An opinion can be a
belief or judgement that rests on the grounds insufficient
to produce certainty. It is a personal view, attitude, or
appraisal or personal feelings. Asking relevant questions,
assessing arguments and statements, looking for evidence
to support assumption and beliefs, deciding rationally
what to believe or not are important to evaluate opinions.