Unit II: Methods of Philosophizing

         Overview of the Lesson

        As shown in the previous chapter, insight plays an important role in any philosophical underpinning.  Insights differ from one philosopher to another, as noted in the history of philosophy.  The fact that insights vary implies that different philosophers “see” reality from different perspectives.  Because of this fact, this unit is designed to orient students the four different approaches to the study of human persons, such as cosmocentric, theocentric, anthropocentric, and existential (Dy, 2001; Pavo, 2012).  With a combination of theocentric and existential approaches, this chapter shows that phenomenology is an appropriate method in finding meaning in life lurking in one’s lived experiences.  In part 1, some basic concepts such as knowledge, opinion, and wisdom are defined so as to understand that the fundamental problem in dealing with the reality of man is methodical –how we do know that what we know about ourselves is certainly true.

Lesson Contents:

      

      A.     Basic Concepts Defined [click]

       1.  Fact, proposition, and belief

       2.  Opinion, knowledge, and wisdom

      B.     Philosophical Perspectives To Study Human Persons [click]

       1.  Cosmocentric, Theocentric, Anthropocentric, & Existential Perspectives

       2.  Phenomenological Methods: Husserlian and Marcelian [click]


Pre-test 1 [click] (Before you proceed, check your prior knowledge about Opinion, Knowledge, and Wisdom.) 

Pre-test 2 [click] (Before you proceed, check your prior knowledge about the philosophical perspectives and phenomenological methods.)



Motivational Activity 1 [click] This activity is designed to enhance students' curiosity about the inherent problem of acquiring knowledge. 

Motivational Activity 2 [click] This is intended to apply the four philosophical perspectives to a particular situation.  A single problem of human beings can be viewed from different perspectives.

      

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Chapter Quiz 1: Covers the topics about Proposition, Opinion, Knowledge, and Wisdom.  

Chapter Quiz 2: Covers the topics about Philosophical Perspectives and Phenomenological Methods. 

References: [click]