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Introduction to
the Philosophy of
the Human Person
First Quarter
Module 2:
Methods of Philosophizing

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 Republic of the Philippines
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 11

Introduction to the
Philosophy of the
Human Person
First Quarter
Module 2:
Methods of Philosophizing

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 METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING

What I Need to know

The meaning and process of philosophy, emphasizing the
importance of holism, as well as learning how to construct philosophical
essays were introduced in the previous chapter. This chapter shall
demonstrate the various ways of doing philosophy. In search for wisdom,
a learner must evaluate arguments and ways of expressing one’s beliefs,
emotions, and opinions.
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
 define truth and opinion;
 determine truth from opinion;
 enumerate methods of philosophizing in determining truth from opinion;
 realize that the methods of philosophy lead to wisdom and truth; and
 evaluate truth from opinions in different situations using the methods of
philosophizing.

What I Know
A. Identify the answer to the following statements or sentences.
Write your answers in your notebook.
___________1. These are comprised of statements that provide views on a
certain matter.
___________2. These are arguments based on faulty reasoning.

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___________3. These are tendencies or influences that affect the views of
people.
___________4. It is a fallacy attacking the person presenting the argument
instead of the argument itself.
___________5.This refers to a bias that focuses on a certain aspect of a
problem while ignoring other aspects.
___________6.This fallacy assumes that what is true of a part is true for the
whole.
___________7.It is a fallacy that states that what is true for the whole is true
for its parts
___________8.This bias is the tendency to see past events as predictable, or
to ascribe a pattern to historical events.
___________9.This lies at the heart of any inquiry.
___________10.These are propositions or statements which are observed to
be real or truthful.
___________11.It must be truthful to gain validity and acceptance.

B. Identify what type of fallacy or bias are the following statements.

12. "My dear," I said, patting her hand in a tolerant manner,
"five dates is plenty. After all, you don't have to eat a whole cake to know it's
good."
13." Exercise is good. Therefore everybody should exercise."
14. "Two men are having a debate. The first one gets up and says, 'My
opponent is a notorious liar. You can't believe a word that he is going to say.

15. People tend to believe that their personal anecdotes are evidence for how
the world works. If your cousin’s child developed autism after going through
a standard round of vaccinations, you may believe that vaccinations cause
autism even though science has conclusively shown that they don’t.
16. “I know from the start that there will be a strong earthquake coming this
month.”

What’s In
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A. Give the correct answer of the following questions. Write your
answers in your notebook.
1. Which branch of philosophy deals with arguments?
2. Which branch of philosophy evaluates human actions?
3. Etymologically, what does “philo” mean?
4. “Virtual Reality vs. The Real Thing’ is under which branch of philosophy?

B. Explain. Give 3-5 sentences of answers only. Write your answer in

your notebook.
How do you understand holism?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________.

What’s New
A. Each of the statements below violates at least one of the guidelines
for critical thinking. Identify the guideline that was violated and give a
brief explanation for your choice. Determine whether the statements
are expressing opinions or truth.

1. Anna ought a bottle of pain reliever because a TV commercial claimed

that most hospitals prescribed it.

2. You’re either for us or against us.

3. I get disgusted with my science classes. We study the “principle of

this” and the “theory of that” Aren’t there any laws? Why can’t scientists
make up their minds and stop acting like they don’t know anything for
sure?

B. Self-evaluation:
How do you assess these words? “terrorists”, “pretty”, “gay” Are your
generalizations based on unfounded generalizations or facts?

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___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
________________________________.

What is It

METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING
Determining truth from opinion
Philosophers often grapple with the concept of truth. Truth lies at heart
of any inquiry. Knowledge must be truthful to gain validity and acceptance.
However, the concept of truth remains a highly debated and much-
discussed topic among philosophers. Philosophers consider truth as a kind
of quality or value. For example, when we answer a ‘Truth or False” test, we
judge if the statements we read are true or false. This means that
statements may have truth or may not have truth. Statements about the
world or reality are called propositions and these propositions and these
propositions may or may not carry truth. Propositions are usually stated
as short statements or sentences.
Opinions are comprised of statements which not only give facts but also
provide conclusions or perspectives regarding certain situations. Opinions
may advance a belief about certain things or provide explanations.
Arguments are a series of statements that provide reasons to convince
the reader or listener that a claim or opinion is truthful.
Some arguments may contain fallacies. This means that they are
products of faulty reasoning. We must be aware of the various kinds of
fallacies as these affect the validity of arguments.
Opinions are often influenced by bias. This means that a person having
the opinion may have views and tendencies that affect the way he or she

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sees reality. We must be aware of bias so that we can objectively and
critically examine points of view.

What is truth and why is it important?

Knowledge is important in determining truth. It is the clear awareness
and understanding of something. It is the product of questions that allow for
clear answers provided by facts. Our knowledge is comprised of ideas and
beliefs that we know to be true.
Facts are propositions or statements which are observed to be real or
truthful. For example, we say that “I know that fish live in the water”
because fish do live in water.
Claim is not evidently or immediately known to be true. For example, we
can say that “I know that my school is the best school in the city”. This
cannot be taken as true since it is simply not immediately evident.
Truthful statements, therefore, can be considered as based on facts.
Science considers truth as something observable and empirical. This
means that any claim can be proven by verification and experimentation.
Philosophy has various views which can help us tackle the concepts of
knowing the truth, and arrive at a reasonable assessment if a statement,
idea, or event is believable.

How do we know if something is true?

There are several views regarding truth. Philosophers emphasize the
importance of belief as a basis for determining truth.
Ancient Greek philosophers approached the problem of truth by looking
at the nature of knowledge and how we know what we know.

Concepts about Truth

There are several views regarding truth. Philosophers emphasize the
importance of belief in determining truth.
One perspective on truth is justification which states that a belief is
true if it can be justified or proven through the use of one’s senses. A
belief may be justified by using one’s perception and senses by appealing to
authority or using reasoning.
Relativism is a philosophical concept that contends that there are no
absolute truths. An idea or principle is only true within a particular
context, and thus it is possible for alternative truths to exist in various
contexts or situations.

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 Verificationism, considers that ideas must be verified using the
senses or experience. In this perspective, the scientific method, where
experiments are designed to test hypotheses or confirm conclusions is used
like the pragmatic approach.

Theories as basis in determining truth

1. Correspondence Theory. States that something is true if it
corresponds to reality or the actual state of affairs. It assumes a direct
relationship between an idea and reality and that a statement can be taken
as “fact”.
Example: “I am a Filipino” is true when it corresponds to your parents
being Filipinos or because a certain document states that you are born as
Filipino.
2. Coherence Theory. It proposes that something is true if it makes
sense when placed in a certain situation or context and has a certain degree
of consistency which renders it truthful.
Example: Muslims have a belief that certain animals like pigs are unclean.
For Muslims, this fact prevents them from eating pork and other type of food
made from unclean animals. The belief that eating pork will render them
unclean makes sense in the context of Islamic faith. Non-Muslims, however,
do not share this belief and thus do not subscribe to this practice of not eating
pork.
3. Constructivist Theory. It holds that knowledge is shaped by social
forces and influenced by culture and history. What is true, or what the
person considers true is shaped by his society and culture. What is true
may be influenced by historical developments and social struggles.
Example: How different societies consider marriage? In some societies,
marriage is a highly important institution. It is not merely a union of
individuals but a merging of families. Such societies assign high importance to
marriage and this is reflected in laws and traditions. In other countries,
particularly in the West, marriage is viewed as a contract between two
consenting adults; in most cases, such union can be nullified through lawful
means.

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 4. Consensus Theory. This views knowledge as based on agreement,
and that something is true if almost everyone agrees that it is true. Certain
beliefs, traditions, and practices are often the product of consensus as they
may be imposed by influential groups or institutions such as governments
or religious organizations. It is also used to determine the truth of scientific
claims, where experts must agree on a certain phenomenon before it can be
established as true. But this approach has certain limitations. Getting
everyone to agree on something may not make that belief true.
For example, if you can get your classmates to agree that you do not need
to study to become successful in life, it does not make that belief true.
5. Pragmatic Theory. It holds the view that something is true if we can
put it into practice or is useful in real life. It also believes that ideas should
be continually tested to confirm their validity.
For example, the study of yellow fever during the late 19 th century. The
disease was first thought to be airborne. The idea was refuted by Dr. Carlos
Finlay. Then a member of his team heard about it and experimented on it. Dr.
Lazear had mosquitoes hatched and fed with blood samples infected by
yellow fever then ham himself and volunteers bitten by the mosquitoes. They
developed symptoms of yellow fever, definitively proving that mosquitoes
were indeed the carriers of the disease and was not transmitted through the
air.

See figure below for further emphasis and demonstration.

For these
10 theories, truth is
CORRESPONDENCE
THEORY
measured
COHERENCE through the
THEORY concept of
 For these
CONSTRUCTIVIST theories, truth is
THEORY measured
CONSENSUS through the
THEORY concept of
relativism.

For this theory,

truth is
PRAGMATIC measured
THEORY through the
concept of
verificationism.

What other things should we consider in determining the

truth or when looking at arguments or opinions?
Arguments often take the form of statements that are either claims of
facts and are phrased in such a way that they seem reasonable. However,
number of arguments may be based on faulty reasoning. These kinds of
arguments are called fallacies. Some of these fallacies may be intentional,
as the person making the claim is desperate to convince you to accept his or
her argument. Fallacy is a defect in an argument/error in reasoning. 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 truth. (Christine Carmela R. Ramos 2016)
FALLACY CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE

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Against the -attacking the person “Of course he believes that
person presenting the argument the government is flawed,
(argumentum instead of the argument itself he is a rebel and a
ad hominem) Communist!”

 Poisoning
the well
 Name
calling
Appeal to force -using threat of force or If this peace agreement will
coercion to advance an not be signed by the
(argumentum
argument government, then we will
ad baculum)
have no recourse but to go
to war.”
Appeal to pity -someone tries to win support I really deserve an “A” on
(Argumentum for an argument or idea by this paper, professor.  Not
ad exploiting her/his opponent’s only did I study during my
misericordiam) feelings for pity or guilt grandmother’s funeral, but I
also passed up the heart
transplant surgery, even
though that was the first
matching donor in 3 years.
Explanation: The student
deserves an “A” for effort
and dedication but,
unfortunately, papers are
not graded that way.  The
fact that we should pity her
has nothing to do with the
quality of the paper written,
and if we were to adjust the
grade because of the sob
stories, we would have
fallen victim to the appeal
to pity.

Appeal to Using emotions such a pity or “All the charges are

emotion sympathy baseless. This is just plain
harassment – can’t you see
how this is affecting my
family?”

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Appeal to the The idea is acceptable because “Every boy your age already
popular a lot of people accept it has a girlfriend, you should
have one!”
Appeal to The idea is acceptable because “Marriage should be
tradition it has a long time between a man and a
woman. It has been so for a
long time in this country; it
should remain so today and
in the future.”
Begging the Assuming the thing or idea to “I have a right to free
question be proven is true; also known speech, therefore, you
as “circular argument” cannot stop me from
talking.”
Cause-and- Assuming a “cause-and-effect” “Ever since you bought that
effect relationship between unrelated sweater, everything has
events been going wrong in your
life. You should get rid of
it.”
Fallacy of Assuming that what is true of a “There cases of robbery in
composition part is a true for the world this district have convinced
me that the city has
become a den of thieves
and criminals.”
Fallacy of Assuming that what is true for “You come from family of
division the whole is true for its parts doctors and intellectuals!
Surely you can do better in
this course!”

There are still a lot of fallacies that we encounter when having

conversations with people. People who commits logical errors are oblivious
about the scenario more so when their emotions take over, leading to
misconceptions or miscommunications. Some are commonly used at home,
school or everywhere. We are just unaware that we are guilty of fallacious
acts at times.
Provided are examples for better understanding of the subject to
grasp fully its essence. Some are similar to the general terms used in the
preceding section and some are as follows:

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 Logical Fallacies

1) UNQUALIFICATION GENERALIZATION (or Dicto Simpliciter)

It means an argument based on as unqualified generalization. For example:
Exercise is good. Therefore everybody should exercise." The argument is a
fallacy.

EXERCISE IS GOOD is an unqualified generalization. For instance, if you

have heart disease, exercise is bad, not good.

Note the following example.

All Americans are friendly.
Lawyers never tell the truth.
Women always love babies.

Beware of words like always, all, never, every: complex situations are
simply not that black-and-white. Your generalizations will be more credible
if you LIMIT them by using qualifiers such as sometimes, seem, in my
experience, often, many, or perhaps.

2) HASTY GENERALIZATION. Related to the preceding, this is

a conclusion drawn from too few samples.
An example follows:
That the students are smoking in the cafeteria leads me to conclude that
most college students smoke.

3) NAME CALLING (or Poisoning the Well or Ad Hominem, i.e., argument

attacking the man rather than the issue).
Note the following example:
Senator X just divorced his wife. How can his proposal be any good?

4) APPEAL TO PITY (Ad Misericordiam).

For instance: We should reelect Senator X; after all, he has a crippled
mother, a retarded son, and his wife just died.

"A man applies for a job. When the boss asks him what his qualifications
are, he replies that the he has a wife and six children at home, the wife is a
helpless cripple, the children have nothing to eat, no clothes to wear, no
shoes on their feet, there are no beds in the house, no coal in the cellar, and
winter is coming."

The man never answered the boss's questions about his qualifications.
Instead of he appealed to the boss's sympathy.

5) AD POPULUM (appeal to the people, to what they want to hear or to what

they fear).
For example:

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We know we can count on you, the generous American. We don't want those
people coming with their "red" ideas, do we?

6) BANDWAGON APPEAL.
Closely related to the above fallacy, it's the "everybody is doing it" argument.
No one wants to be left out. If "everybody's doing it," then don't you want to
"get on the bandwagon," right or wrong?

7) TESTIMONIAL (or association).

For example:
George Washington once made the same point as Senator X.
It's the Christian thing to do, because, as Jesus says,...

8) HYPOTHESIS CONTRARY TO FACT.

For example:
The Pony Express stopped running in 1861. It must have been a failure.
(The fact that the telegraph and the railroad made it obsolete and therefore
unnecessary.)

9) FAULTY CAUSE AND EFFECT (confusing coincidental time sequence

with genuine causation, sometimes called POST HOC).
For example:
Everytime I forget my umbrella, it rains, therefore I cause the rain by leaving
my umbrella at home, and I can guarantee a nice day by bringing my
umbrella.

10) FALSE ANALOGY (or trying to PROVE a point by analogy).

For instance:
1.You shouldn't change in midstream; therefore you must
re-elect Senator X. (He isn't a horse, and the nation's business is not a river.
It is no problem changing senators; in fact, if Senator S is doing a poor job,
our "ride" will be easier with Senator Y "pulling" us!)

2.Here is an example: students should be allowed to look at their textbooks

during examinations. After all, surgeons have X-rays to guide them during
an operation, lawyers have briefs to guide the during a trial, carpenters have
blueprints to guide them when they are building a house. Why then,
shouldn't students be allowed to look at their textbooks during an
examination?"
The argument is all wrong.
Doctors, lawyers, and carpenters aren't taking a test to
see how much they have learned, but students are. The situations are
entirely different, and you can't make an analogy between them.

3."My dear," I said, patting her hand in a tolerant manner,

"five dates is plenty. After all, you don't have to eat a whole cake to know it's
good."
"False Analogy," said Polly promptly. "I'm not a cake. I'm a girl."

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11) EITHER-OR (or the two-alternatives fallacy).
Examples include:
- Would you rather have a senator who is handsome and dumb or one who
is ugly and intelligent?
(One can be intelligent and handsome; one can be not bad looking rather
than ugly. Notice that in "Love is a Fallacy" our brilliant student/teacher
commits this same fallacy. Can you find the
fallacy?)
- You are either FOR the law or against it! (And what if I am for PARTS of it
or for it under certain circumstances but not all of them?)

12) BEGGING THE QUESTION (or circular argument).

This fallacy avoids proving the truth of the conclusion by ASSUMING the
truth of it in advance.

For example:
In a democracy the people are free because democracies are free countries.
(Schaulman n.d.)

13. Poisoning the Well

"Two men are having a debate. The first one gets up and says, 'My opponent
is a notorious liar. You can't believe a word that he is going to say.

It's not a bit fair. What chance has the second man got if the first man calls
him a liar before he even begins talking?"

When looking at an opinion, be aware of bias or the personal views of

the person presenting it. Biases are not necessarily errors in reasoning,
but refer to tendencies or influences which affect the views of people. Bias
cannot be avoided in any discussion or debate. What is important is that the
people engaging in the discussion are aware of their personal biases and
have an open but critical attitude toward other views which conflict with
their own. (Roberto D. Abella 2016)

BIAS CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE

Correspondence Tendency to judge a person’s “These soldiers who
bias or personality by his or her actions, fought in the war are all
attribution without regard for external factors

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effect or influences bloodthirsty murderers!”
Confirmation Tendency to look for and readily “How can I accept his
bias accept information which fits one’s view that there is no
own beliefs or views and to reject God? I am a Christian!”
ideas or views that go against it
Framing Focusing on a certain aspect of a “Preliminary evidence
problem while ignoring other has still not pointed out
aspects the actual cause of
plane crash, but
investigators are
currently focusing on
the possibility of pilot
error.”
Hindsight The tendency to see past events as “Magellan’s assault on
predictable, or to ascribe a pattern Mactan Island was a
to historical events foolhardy venture, made
by an overconfident,
Chronological Snobbery. It is the
careless man who
view that people of the past were
underestimated the
irrational and ignorant.This is
valor of the native
influenced by hindsight bias as the
Filipinos.”
decisions of the past may appear to
be foolish when there were
reasonable at the time given their
historical context.
Knew it All Along. It is common
for people to overestimate their
foreknowledge of an event. For
example, a stock trader may think
that a crash is coming at least
once a week for 9 years. When a
crash does finally occur, the trader
may believe that they knew it. This
si a common phenomenon that can
cause overconfidence as an
individual may begin to
overestimate their talent, insight or
perhaps start to believe that they
can predict the future with some
accuracy.

Conflict of A person or group is connected to “As the daughter of the

interest or has a vested interest in the accused, I believe I have

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 issue being discussed the right to express my
opinion on the issue of
his alleged corrupt
practices.”
Cultural bias Analyzing an event or issue based “I do not agree with this
on one’s cultural standards Western practice of
placing aged parents in
retirement homes. We
Filipinos take care of
our family members.”

Pro-Innovation or Anti-Innovation Bias-Tendency to believe something is

good (or bad) simply because it’s new. In Western society we tend to
overvalue innovation, while other societies (and many sub-cultures within
the West, such as religious fundamentalists) overvalue tradition. Both
biases are irrational: just because something is new or old doesn’t mean it’s
going to be more or less beneficial. When we evaluate ideas, we should do it
on the basis of their own merits, not simply how new or old the idea is.
Outcome Bias- Tendency to evaluate a choice on the basis of its outcome
rather than on the basis of what information was available at the time. For
example, a family may decide to send their child to an expensive college
based on good financial Information available at the time. However, if the
family later falls into financial hardship due to unforeseen circumstances,
this decision will appear, in retrospect, to have been excessively risky and a
bad choice overall. (www.iep.utm.edu n.d.)
Anchoring bias- Tendency to focus too much on a single piece of
information rather than all available information; this usually happens with
either the first piece of information you received or the most emotional
information you received.
Availability Heuristic- It is the tendency to attach too much weight to
information that we happen to have available to us, even if we’ve done no
systematic research. For example, people tend to believe that their personal
anecdotes are evidence for how the world works. If your cousin’s child
developed autism after going through a standard round of vaccinations, you
may believe that vaccinations cause autism even though science has
conclusively shown that they don’t.
Confirmation Bias- One of the most important cognitive biases! This is a
tendency to find evidence that supports what you already believe-or to
interpret the evidence as supporting what you already believe. Changing
your viewpoint is hard cognitive work, and our brains have tendency to
avoid doing it whenever possible, even when the evidence is stacked against
us.

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Bandwagoning- It is the tendency to adopt the same beliefs as the people
around you, or to assume that other people are making the right decision. If
you live in a city with a subway, you may have seen bandwagoning at work-
sometimes, a long line will form at one turnstile is broken, or else why would
there be this disparity in the lines? But if no one decides to test this
assumption, then the line will get longer and longer for no good reason!
Fundamental Attribution Error – This is the tendency to believe that your
own successes are due to the effort and innate talent, while other’s
successes are due to luck. Conversely, it’s also the tendency to believe that
your own failures are due to bad luck, while other people’s failures are due
to lack of effort and talent. Basically, it means you give yourself credit while
denying credit to others. This bias has broad effects in cross-cultural
encounters.
Halo Effect- The tendency to perceive a person’s attributes as covering more
areas than they actually do. For example, if we know that a person has one
type of intelligence (good at math, say) we tend to expect that they will show
other kinds of intelligence as well (e.g. knowledge of history).
Mood-Congruent Memory Bias- Tendency to recall information that fits our
current mood, or to interpret memories through that lens. When in a foul
mood, we easily recall bad memories and interpret neutral as though they
were bad, leads to a tendency to think that the world is a sad, happy, or
angry place when really it is only our mood.

How can an understanding of the difference between truth

and opinion lead us to wisdom?
An understanding of opinions and facts and the means to distinguish
one from the other can further improve our understanding and appreciation
of varied views and ideas. The ability to determine truth goes hand in hand
with the holistic perspective and enables us to make wiser decisions,
especially in choosing the ideas and views which we find acceptable.
An individual cannot live his or her life just agreeing with everybody
he or she meets. A critical mind aided by philosophy can help us form our
own personal point of view that can guide us in making decisions and
actions when faced with a problem. Each individual’s point of view is unique
but it should be based on sound and reasonable ideas and views.
Philosophy can help us determine ideas that are truthful and acceptable,
which we can then use to form our own views regarding certain matters.

19
 What’s More
Instruction: Do the following activities.
1. Differentiate truth from opinion. Explain.
2. Identify what method of philosophizing is emphasized in the statements
below. Check (√) the space that correspond your answer.

STATEMENTS FALLACY BIAS

Tendency to perceive a person’s attributes as
covering more areas than they actually do.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, look at this
miserable man, in a wheelchair, unable to use his
legs. Could such a man really be guilty of
embezzlement?
Lord Byron shouldn't win the poetry competition: he
doesn't need the prize money.
The book of Dan Brown is very expensive;
Therefore, every page of that book is very expensive.

Tendency to focus too much on a single piece of

information rather than all available information;
this usually happens with either the first piece of
information you received, the most recent
information you received, or the most emotional
information you received.
“If you do / do not believe in God, you will be
imprisoned.”
Millions of people agree with my viewpoint, therefore
it must be right.
Three friends decide to bet on a horse race. One of
them breaks from the other two and chooses a horse
with very low winning odds, saying that he has a
good feeling about that horse. The long shot ends up
winning, prompting the friend to claim he'd been
certain of the outcome.

3. Read the statements below. Identify if it is Truth or Opinion. Check

(√) the space that correspond your answer.

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STATEMENTS TRUTH OPINION
My sister ate the last piece of pizza.
All jackasses have long ears.
Carl is a jackass.
Therefore, Carl has long ears.

I know I got drunk, slapped the waitress on the

behind, then urinated in the parking lot... from
inside the restaurant, but that was Satan who
had a hold of me.

The order of the planets in the solar system,

starting nearest the sun and working outward is
the following: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and then the
possible Planet Nine
I know in my heart of hearts that our home team
will win the World Series.

Living near the school is better because we don’t

have to spend much for the transportation.
Ice is water in frozen and solid form
The ancient Aztecs believed that there existed
four worlds prior to this one, and that the world
is eventually destroyed and renewed through the
sacrifice of the gods.

What I have learned

Philosophy is concerned with determining truth since it lies at the heart
of any inquiry.

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 The discussion on truth is part of philosophical studies on knowledge
where philosophers explore the nature of knowledge and the ways of
knowing.
Facts are statements that are observed to be real of truthful. Claims are
statements that are require further examination to determine their
truthfulness.
There are various philosophical views regarding truth. Philosophers
consider something as truthful if it corresponds with an observable fact or
reality. Something is also true if it can be justified through experience and
the use of one’s senses. Another view believes that truth is a product of
agreement or consensus. Another perspective considers a claim a truthful if
it can be tested and verified.
Opinions are comprised of statements which not only give facts but also
provide conclusions or perspectives regarding certain situations. Opinions
may advance a belief about certain things or provide explanations.
Arguments are a series of statements that provide reasons to convince
the reader or listener that a claim or opinion is truthful.
Some arguments may contain fallacies. This means that they are
products of faulty reasoning. We must be aware of the various kinds of
fallacies as these affect the validity of arguments.
Opinions are often influenced by bias. This means that a person having
the opinion may have views and tendencies that affect the way he or she
sees reality. We must be aware of bias so that we can objectively and
critically examine points of view.
To determine truth from opinion, it is important to consider fallacies and
biases in arguments.
Philosophy can help us examine various views on relevant issues in our
lives. An objective evaluation of opinions and an awareness of our own
personal biases can help us make wise choices regarding the most
acceptable views to adopt and the right actions to undertake.

What I can do

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A. Observe your household for 4 days. Point out 4 situations of the
following: opinions, faulty arguments or any violations in
philosophizing that you hear and list them daily. Give the method of
philosophizing you use to solve or correct those errors and then write
your reaction/remarks upon doing it. An example is provided for you.

OBSERVATIONS METHOD OF REMARKS

PHILOSOPHIZING
EMPLOYED
Example
Situation1
1. Mama said “Di gani 1. I did not talk back, 1. The situation was
ka manglimpyo ron, instead, I work silently easy and there was no
wala moy kaon!” and obeyed her tension in the house
demands to avoid because of what I did.
further problems.

Situation 1
Situation 2
Situation 3
Situation 4

B. Answer the question below.

1. How can philosophizing help you as a human being?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.

2. How important is determining truth from opinions?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.

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3. Have you experienced a situation where what you believed to be true
turned out to be untrue? How did this experience affect you?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.

Assessment
Instructions: Read the statements or sentences properly. Write only
the letter of the correct answer in your notebook.

1. These are arguments based on faulty reasoning.

a. Bias
b. Conclusion
c. Explanation
d. Fallacies

2. Which of the following fallacies used emotions such as pity or sympathy?

a. Ad hominem
b. Appeal to emotion
c. Appeal to tradition
d. Begging the question

3. What do we consider when looking at an opinion?

a. We should be critical in dealing with our views
b. We should be aware of the bias or the personal views of the person
presenting it
c. We should analyze the errors in reasoning
d. We should consider the influences which affect the views of the people.

4. Which of the following statements describe the fallacy of cause-and-

effect?
a. “Every boy your age already has a girlfriend, you should go find one.”
b. “I have a right to free speech, therefore you cannot stop me from talking”.
c. “Ever since you bought that sweater, everything has been going wrong in
your life. You should get rid of it.”
d. “These cases of robbery in this district have convinced me that the city
has become a den of thieves and criminals.”

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5. What is confirmation bias?
a. It is focused on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring other
aspects?
b. The tendency to see past events as predictable, or to ascribe a pattern to
historical events
c. It is analyzing an event or issue based on one’s cultural standards
d. The tendency to look for and readily accept information which fits one’s
own beliefs or views and to reject ideas or views that go against it.

6. Which of the following describe framing?

a. “How can I accept his view that there is no God? I am a Christian!”
b.“These soldiers who fought in the war are all bloodthirsty murderers!”
c. “As the daughter of the accused, I believe I have the right to express my
opinion on the issue of his alleged corrupt practices.”
d.“Preliminary evidence has still not pointed out the actual cause of the
plane crash, but investigators are currently focusing on the possibility of
pilot error.”

7. The following are the common biases EXCEPT:

a. Cause-and-effect
b. Conflict of interest
c. Framing
d. Hindsight

8. According to Greek philosophy, this is required in order to establish

something is true. This concept states that something is true because you
believe it to be true and is proven through the use of senses or reasoning.
a. relativism
b. correspondence
c. justification
d. verificationism

9. This theory on the nature of knowledge and truth believes that truth
must conform to reality.
a. Consensus Theory
b. Correspondence Theory
c. Coherence Theory
d. Pragmatic Theory

10. This theory on the nature of knowledge and truth considers truth as
based on agreement.
a. Consensus Theory
b. Correspondence Theory
c. Coherence Theory
d. Pragmatic Theory

11. This theory holds that something is true if it can be understood within a
certain context.

25
a. Consensus Theory
b. Correspondence Theory
c. Coherence Theory
d. Pragmatic Theory

12. This theory considers something is true if it is useful and verifiable.

a. Consensus Theory
b. Correspondence Theory
c. Constructivist Theory
d. Pragmatic Theory

13. These are tendencies or influences which affect the views of people.
a. bias
b. claims
c. fallacies
d. opinions

14. A 2013 survey of scientific journals established that majority of the

scientists believe human activities have directly caused global warming and
climate change. What theory is referred in this statement?
a. Consensus Theory
b. Correspondence Theory
c. Pragmatic Theory
d. Constructivist Theory

15. The ancient Aztecs believed that four worlds existed prior to this one,
and that the world is eventually destroyed and renewed through the sacrifice
of the gods. This statement is an example of a theory of knowledge called
_____.
a. Consensus Theory
b. Correspondence Theory
c. Pragmatic Theory
d. Constructivist Theory

16. These are usually stated as short statements or sentences.

a. knowledge
b. opinion
c. propositions
d. truth

References
Christine Carmela R. Ramos, PhD. In Introductio to the Philosophy of the HUman Person, by
PhD Christine Carmela R. Ramos, 35-37. Manila: REx Book Store, 2016.

google.com. n.d. https://www.google.com/search?

q=reasoning+images&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjE_PHps6vqAhUYR5QKHRM-
D7MQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=reasoning&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIABBDMgQIABBDMgQIAB

26
 BDMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoFCAAQsQNQijJY_0dgilpoAHAAe
ACAAYACiAG9DpIBBTAuNC41mAE (accessed June 28, 2020).

google.com. n.d. https://www.google.com/search?

q=reasoning+images&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjE_PHps6vqAhUYR5QKHRM-
D7MQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=reasoning&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIABBDMgQIABBDMgQIAB
BDMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoFCAAQsQNQijJY_0dgilpoAHAAe
ACAAYACiAG9DpIBBTAuNC41mAE (accessed June 28, 2020).

google.com. n.d. https://www.google.com/search?

q=reasoning+images&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjE_PHps6vqAhUYR5QKHRM-
D7MQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=reasoning&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIABBDMgQIABBD
MgQIABBDMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoFCAAQsQ
NQijJY_0dgilpoAHAAeACAAYACiAG9DpIBBTAuNC41mAE (accessed June 28,
2020).

google.com. n.d. https://www.google.com/search?

q=reasoning+images&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjE_PHps6vqAhUYR5QKHRM-
D7MQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=reasoning&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIABBDMgQIABBDMgQIAB
BDMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoFCAAQsQNQijJY_0dgilpoAHAAe
ACAAYACiAG9DpIBBTAuNC41mAE (accessed June 28, 2020).

In Introduction to the Philosophy of the HUman Person, by M.Div., D.Min. Roberto D. Abella,
16-36. Quezon: C & E Publiching, Inc., 2016.

Schaulman, Max. "Love is a Fallacy." n.d.

www.iep.utm.edu. n.d. https://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/ (accessed June 27, 2020).

(google.com n.d.) (google.com n.d.) (google.com n.d.) (google.com n.d.)

Rubric for Essay

Criteria Rating
Content and ideas are organized in a clear , 1 2 3 4 5
logical manner

27
Provides adequate discussion supporting the 1 2 3 4 5
main idea
Conveys a genuine personal view regarding the 1 2 3 4 5
topic or issue
Employs standard grammar conventions, proper 1 2 3 4 5
punctuation, and proper word choice
TOTAL (20 points)

Legend: Rating : Description

5 - Excellent
4 - Very Impressive
3 - Impressive
2 - Convincing
1 -Beginning

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