PHILOSOPHY REVIEWER SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
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PHILOSOPHY REVIEWER
DOING PHILOSOPHY
- Question of Reality
- Reality- state of existence of things independent of human consciousness
- Includes physical things and things that we cannot easily perceive and comprehend
- “objective and absolute” reality = everything has a specific nature or character
- Concrete- ex. Red balloon
- Abstract- ex. Many colorful balloons
- Metaphysics- questions regarding reality
- Ontology- classification of existing things
- Question of Certainty
- Certainty- perfect knowledge free from error or doubt
- Truth- central concept in the question of certainty
- Knowledge- man is able to know
- Data that tells it is true
- Rationalism- theory on knowledge, pure reasoning
- Priori Knowledge- reasoning without experience
- Empiricism- theory on knowledge, experience
- Posteriori Knowledge- knowledge gained from experience
- Skepticism- questions the certainty of established doctrines or truths, mind has limits
- All knowledge is uncertain
- Epistemology- nature and extent of knowledge
- Question of Causality
- Causality- causes of events and phenomena, cause-and-effect rela
- Questions regarding origin of things
- Purpose- explanation of a thing’s function or goal, reason for a thing’s existence
- Ultimate cause- thing’s purpose
- Agency- capacity of man to govern or control his actions
- Free will- ability to choose among possible actions
- Choice- important aspect of any discussion on agency and free will
- Determinism- each event is determined or influenced by a specific set of events or factors
- Destiny- predetermined course of events leading to a specific outcome
- Etiology- studies causality
- Teleology- question of purpose
- Question of Ethics
- Ethics- standards of right and wrong, define human behavior, “greater good”, duty, obligation and virtue
- Ethics and Moral Philosophy- apply and analyze these concepts in various situations, contexts, and cultures, and recommends guidelines that will govern the decisions and actions of people
PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRIES
- Systematic Doubt
- Skeptical attitude
- Argument
- Engage in discussion and debate on their ideas, justify your answer
- Dialectic
- Varied and differing ideas and perspectives are analyzed, formulating new ideas
METHODS
- Socratic Method
- Series of question
- Axioms
- Greek: “Axioma”=”true but still arguments to prove”
- Assumptions which are taken for granted
- Provide a foundation and direction
- Basis of discussion and debate
- Occam’s Razor
- Problem-solving device
- Among possible explanations, one with the least assumptions is the most acceptable
- William of Ockham (1287-1347)
- English Franciscan friar and theologian, influential medieval philosopher and nominalist
- Razor= shaving away unnecessary assumptions or cutting apart two similar conclusions
- Formal Logic
- Research and data
- Systematic analysis of the validity of arguments and statements
- Use of syllogisms or logical arguments
- Thought experiment and allegory
- Imagined scenarios
- Avicenna’s “floating man”
- Relationship between perception and human mind
- Avicenna: father of modern math
- “there is nothing in the mind which was not first in the senses”
- Ship of Theseus
- Concept of an object’s identity
- Or “Seus Paradox”
- M. Straka
- Whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object
- Prisoner’s Dilemma\
- Individual’s objectives and motivations affect his willingness to cooperate
- Merrilll Flood and Melvin Dresher
- Why 2 completely rational individuals might not cooperate, even if it is in best interest to do so
- Allegory of the Cave
- Plato
- Describe his theory of forms and his ideas on how our perception affects knowledge
DETERMINING TRUTH
- Correspondence Theory
- Something is true if it corresponds to reality
- Coherence Theory
- Makes sense when placed in a certain situation and context
- Varied truths from different perspectives
- Proposed by Francis Bradley
- Relativism- no absolute truth
- An idea or principle is only true within a particular context
- Constructivist Theory
- Knowledge is shaped by social forces and influenced by culture and history
- Founded by Jerome Seymour Bruner
- Consensus Theory
- Knowledge based on agreements
- Something is true if almost everyone agrees that it is true
- Pragmatic Theory
- Something is true if we can put it into practice, useful in real life
- Verificationism- senses/experiences
CONSIDERATIONS IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH SOMETHING AS TRUE
- Arguments
- Reasonable phrases
- Fallacies
- Faulty reasoning
- Facts
- Establishe truths and easily verified
- Opinion
- Subjective information or personal ideas
- Has a tendency to be biased (depends on the speaker)
- Bias
- Personal views
FALLACIES
- Ad Hominem- latin word, “to the man”, “to the person”
- Attacking the person
- Appeal to Force- threat of force or undesirable threat
- Appeal to Emotion- pity or sympathy
- Appeal to the Popular- acceptable because a lot of people accept it
- Appeal to Tradition- acceptable because it has been true for a long time
- Begging the question- assuming that the thing or idea to be proven is true, “circular argument”
- Cause-and-effect – cause&effect rela
- Fallacy of Composition- what is true for the part is true for the whole
- Fallacy of Division- what is true for the whole is true for the part
BIASES
- Correspondence bias or attribution effect- judge a person’s personality by his or her actions
- Confirmation bias- look for and readily accept information which fits with one’s own beliefs or views and to reject ideas or views against it
- Framing- focus on certain aspect and ignoring other aspects
- Hindsight- tendency to see past events as predictable, pattern to historical events
- Conflict of Interest- person or group is connected or has vested interest in the issue being discussed
- Cultural Bias- based on one’s cultural standards
THE HUMAN PERSON
- Man- entire human race
- Humanity, mankind, humankind
- Human- man as species (homo sapiens sapiens or modern human beings)
- Person- human being granted recognition of certain rights, protection, and responsibilities
- Biological Perspective
- man as a part of the natural world and a product of evolution
- Modern humans- homo sapiens sapiens, most successfully adapted species on the planet, most widespread and dominant species
- Closely related to apes
- Human additional traits & capabilities:
- Planning and intentional action\
- Innovation and creativity
- Communication through language and writing
- Technology
- Symbolic interaction- art & religion
- Culture- man’s most significant achievement that set apart the evolution of humanity from other species
- Psychological Perspective
- human behavior and thought processes in analyzing human nature
- Mental faculties and capabilities:
- Psyche- human mind, divided into
- conscious mind- governs awareness
- unconscious mind- latent or repressed (nakatago) emotions, thoughts, desires
- Rationality – state of being reasonable
- Ability to understand experiences in order to solve problems or do tasks, and engage in decision making and judgment
- Intelligence- ability to perceive information, store knowledge, apply it in various situations
- IQ and EQ
- Introspection- examine one’s own conscious thoughts, feelings, and mental state, and the capacity for self-reflection
- Economic Perspective
- Man’s ability to engage in productive activities in an effort to meet his wants and needs
- Man as a productive being, primary role is to produce and engage in labor
- “economic man”= “homo economicus” – driven by rationality and self-interest in his desire to possess wealth
- Economic forces- greater influence on the actions of man than society or culture
- Theological Perspective
- Man as God’s creation
- Special relationship with creator
- Created in His image and given an immortal spirit
- Man’s existence brought by purposive creative act of God, and ultimate destiny is part of a divine plan
- Human Person
- Individual, and all the attributes snd characteristics that set him apar from other human beings
- Awareness of Self
- Sentience- ability to feel and experience
- Ability to perceive the surroundings and react to stimulus such as pain
- The self as innate- self is an essential part of the human being, self- awareness is natural and innate
- Religious views- self as synonymous to spirit or soul
- The self as emergent- awareness of self through interaction with the world and other human beings
- The self as integrated and developing- self is composed of varied elements that change over time
- Identity- distinct personality of an individual
- Persist through time, may change
- Personhood- recognition of a human being as a distinct entity- a person
- The person as an “autonomous being”- “reasoned free choice”
- Man possesses reason, capacity for reflection, ability to engage in decision making
- The person as a “unified individual”- inherent capacity to function as a person
- Human possessed the means to achieve his or her capabilities
- The person in relation to others
- Human being becomes a person through interactions with other human beings
- Pope John Paul II – person is defined by his or her actions and experiences, achieves self- development and fulfillment
May not be recognized as a person:
- People suffering from debilitating conditions that impair judgment – lack means to make decisions
- Person suffers extensive brain damage or a comatose individual – other people make decisions for them
- Ancient times, slaves were considered a property
- Women were also not granted recognition as persons during most of the ancient period
- African slaves were considered to be “subhuman” and were considered equivalent only to “three-fifths of a person”
1ST SEM FINALS
PHILOSOPHY AND SPIRITUALITY
- Spirit
- Human soul, immortal and non-corporeal essence of a man
- Major monotheistic religions- man is the only being with soul
- Other religions, Jainism and Hinduisn, non-living things has soul
- Embodiment
- Central concept in discussing the nature of human soul
- Discussions on the nature of human consciousness
- Consciousness has both physical and non-physical nature
- Embodied cognition
- man is able to perceive and experience reality through his physical body/ senses
- Enactivism
- Cognition arises through interaction between organism & its environment
- Christian doctrine:spirit is created by God
- Spirit continues to persist in afterlife
- Spirit essential element for the salvation of mankind
- Departed spirits will be raised from the dead during end times and shall receive judgment of God
NATURE OF SPIRIT
- PLATO: human mind is immortal & persists after the death of the body
human spirit or soul 3 parts:
- Logos- mind or reason
- Thymos- emotion
- Eros- desire
- ARISTOTLE- soul as integrated into the human body, soul is part of the man’s essence enables him to achive his ultimate purpose
MIND-BODY PROBLEM
- questions of how the mental or nonphysical are able to interact with the physical body
PHYSICALISM
- physical processes determine the state of the mind
IDEALISM
- mental processes and thoughts are the only reality
MONISM
- human being is composed of elements that are neither physical nor mental
DUALISM
- distinctiveness of the physical and mental nature of man
AVICENNA
- argued that self-awareness and consciousness exists even if the body is deprived of its senses
RENE DESCARTES
- proposed that the mind and body exist as two separate entities which interact with one another
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
- soul is the “first actuality” of the body
- for there to be a body, there should be first a soul
- soul has substance but no physical or concrete form, exists w/o body
ST. AUGUSTINE
- soul the driving force which governs the body and defines the human person
TRICHOTOMIC VIEW
- man is composed of the body, soul and spirit
- soul- component which gives man life and will
- spirit- enables man to establish connection with God
DICHOTOMIC VIEW
- no distinction between spirit and soul
- man composed of body and spirit
PSYCHOSOMATIC UNITY
- man is of a single or unitary constitution
- body and spirit are inseparable and integrated
- human person is the union of the body and soul
- man’s soul enables him to know and love God, and grant him the dignity of a person
- through the soul man is able to share in God’s life, relationship with God that defines his existence
THEOLOGY
- study of God and other religious concepts
- concept of divine, existence of God
THEISM
- belief in the existence of a God or several deities
- Monotheism- single God
GOD
- Supreme being which governs all existence, and the center of faith and devotion of a religion
- Omniscience- God is all-knowing
- Omnipotence- God is all-powerful
- Omnipresence- God is perfectly good, just, and all-loving
- Divine Simplicity- all attributes are integrated and embodied of Him
- Not just good, He is goodness itself
- Eternal- timeless no beginning&end
- Revealed Theology
- study of God through the analysis of sacred texts
- Natural Theology
- substantiate existence of God
- Ontological Argument
- Since man is a rational being, able conceive the notion of a Supreme being, such Supreme being exists
- Teleological Argument
- Focuses on the purpose of God would play in the universe
- Supreme being is necessary for the continued existence of an orderly but complex universe
- Cosmological Argument
- Nature of existence and the universe
- Recognizes the existence of God as an explanation of how things came to being in a reality
- Kalam Cosmological Argument
- Everything that has a beginning has a cause
- The universe has a beginning
- Therefore, universe has a cause
- God is the cause that brought about the beginning of the universe
- Moral Argument
- Man’s ethical nature is brought about the existence of God
- God is the representation of the “greatest good”, all standards of goodness is based
- By William Sorley
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
- God as the “prime mover”, “first cause of existence”, “source of being” of reality and universe
GOTTFRIED LEIBNIZ
- Existence of God on the “principle of sufficient reason”
- All facts and events must have an explanation
- Existence of the universe must have an explanation and the sufficient explanation is the existence of God
THEISM
- Existence of God or deities
AGNOTICISM
- Metaphysical concepts such as God inherently unknowable
ATHEISM
- Rejection or nonbelief in the existence of God or any deity
- Redemptive Salvation
- Divine Providence- blessings, miracles, divine inspiration, and revelation
IMMANENCE
- God manifesting Himself as a unique identity
- Other religions: take human form
- Christian: Jesus Christ then Holy Spirit
TRANSCENDENCE
- God as existing outside the material world (heaven), presence is beyond physical laws and even human knowledge and understanding
- Panentheistic view- God is both beyond and within universe
- Pantheistic view- God is an all-encompassing presence in the universe, no distinct presence
- Pandeistic view- God was a distinct entity but lost this state when He transformed Himself into the universe
- Transcendental experiences- prayer, meditation, visions
IMMANUEL KANT
- Human transcendence is based on rationality
- Humans are able to comprehend certain abstract concepts that have no equivalent physical object or sesnsory experience
JEAN-PAUL SARTRE
- Person’s ability to comprehend and relate objects and beings outside of his own self as an indication of transcendence
- Ability of person to relate to people, things, and experiences in meaningful manner
MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY
- Branch of philosophy concerned with natural environment and humanity’s place within it
ANTHROPOCENTRISM
- Human are the central and most significant species on the planet
- Primary cause that drives changes in the environment
DEEP ECOLOGY
- Natural world as being maintained by the interrelationship among living organisms and that every living thing on the planet is dependent on each other for survival
- Human interference as significant threat to the natural world
GAIA HYPOTHESIS
- By James Lovelock
- Non-organic elements play a significant role in maintaining balance in the environment as they interact with living organisms to regulate various systems
Theological Views
- Gen 1:26-28 – mankind is intended to live in harmony with all creation
- God created man and granted him dominion over all creatures and tasked him to subdue the earth
- Pope John Paul II- man’s lordship over nature as a “ministerial act”, a continuation of the work of the Creator, must be done with wisdom and love
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2014 study
- Human activities have contributed to the rise of global temperatures through the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
- Emerged in the 1970s
- Advocated human responsibility and action with regard to environmental issues
- All nonhuman (animals, natural resources) have intrinsic value and should be preserved
- Preservation of the environment is beneficial for humasn
- Man has responsibility to safeguard the planet as it has been entrusted to him by God
SOCIAL ECOLOGY
- Ecological and ethical approach in analyzing society, sees relationship between social problems and environmental problems
- Society should implement changes to address environmental issues
CLIMATE ETHICS & CLIMATE JUSTICE
- Fair distribution of environmental benefits, also burden of meeting environmental challenges
ENVIRONMENTAL AESTHETICS
- Greek word “Aesthesis”= perception of the senses
- Concepts of beauty in nature but has recently been increasingly influenced by environmental concerns
ENVIRONMENTALISM
- Important issue in international politics as governments and international organizations have devoted efforts to discuss environmental issues and formulate plans to address them
KYOTO PROTOCOL 1997
- Various nations committed to reduce greenhouse gas emisssions
EARTH DAY
- First instituted in 1970
- Global effort to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire action
FREEDOM
- Or “Liberty” is a social and political concept which has great significance in how people participate in society
- In political and social context is the freedom of an individual from oppression, compulsion, or coercion from other persons
- “Age of Enlightenment”- early man existed in a “natural state” and had absolute freedom
- Establishment of societies- “social contract”
POLITICAL FREEDOM:
- Positive Liberty- person taking control of his or her own life and fulfilling one’s potential
- Negative Liberty- freedom from external restraint, barriers, and other interferences from other people
LIBERALISM
- Preservation of individual rights and stresses the role of the government in protecting these civil liberties
LIBERTARIANISM
- Individual, not the government, is the best judge in upholding and exercising rights.
SOCIALISM
- Freedom to acquire economic resources and the ability to work and act according to one’s desires
- Maximizing one’s potential
NATURAL RIGHTS
- Innate in the person, universal and inalienable
- Such as the right to life
LEGAL RIGHTS
- Rights that are based on society’s customs and laws, and are enacted by legislation and enforced by a govt
THEOLOGICAL VIEWS- freedom from sin and living a life of righteousness, living in accordance with the will of God
HUMAN AGENCY
- Capacity of a person to act and exert control over his or her behavior
FREE WILL
- Capacity to choose from alternative courses of action or decision
FREE ACTION
- Freedom to perform an action without any obstacle or hindrances
FACULTIES MODEL
- Free will as the use of mental faculties
- Human action is based on rationality and sound judgment
HIERARCHICAL MODEL
- Free will is based on human wants and desires
- When he or she identifies one desire as acceptable and decides to act on it
THE REASONS-RESPONSIVE VIEW
- Man has free will because he or she is able to entertain reasons not to enact a certain decision and act upon them when the need arises
- Planning, crossing out one unattainable decision
CONSTRAINTS ON FREE ACTION
- Prohibitions
- Laws
- Social controls imposed by society
- Person with disability or sickness
- Weather, accidents, poverty
DETERMINISM
- Every event in the world is brought about by underlying causes or factors
MARXIST PHILOSOPHY
- Society imposes certain controls on people, and that a person’s social group largely influences how he or she thinks or acts
- Man is essentially constrained by society
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
- Person’s status of deserving praise and reward, or blame and punishment for an action
CONTROL AND REGULATION
- Necessary elements in the responsible exercises of freedom
THE PERSON AND OTHERS
EXISTENTIALISM & PHENOMENOLOGY
- Major philosophical branches that devote much discussion on the concept of interpersonal relations
SELF
- Egocentric perspective that defines how he or she perceives and relates to reality
OTHER
- Objects outside of personal experience, other individuals apart from the self
INTERSUBJECTIVITY
- Shared awareness and understanding among persons
- Shared or common knowledge and consensus, shared emotions such as grief, joy, love
Various levels of self-other interactions
1.simple awareness of the existence of other
- We are aware that they are other beings unique from us, they exist outside of our own awareness or perception
2.awareness of the self as being seen by others
- You are immediately aware of this person’s action as an other
3.awareness of the self in the other
- The way we act with other people is often influenced by our ideas of how these people see us
SEEMING
- Martin Buber
- Individual presents himself or herself in a certain way when dealing with others
- Taking on roles or characters when dealing with certain people or when in certain situations
DIALOGUE
- Genuine relationship established among individuals
EXISTENTIALISTS: consider human relationships as a defining influence on human life
CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
- Shape knowledge and truth within a certain society
PHENOMENOLOGISTS: shared experience between persons can shape the perception of reality
ALIENATION
- Individual ceases to view other as distinct and authentic person,and considers him or her as a mere object
- Karl Marx: alienation gives rise to exploitation of people
EMPATHY
- Edith Stein
- Awareness that the other is a person with thoughts and feelings
- Edmund Husserl: put oneself ”in the place where the other is”
AVAILABILITY
- Gabriel Marcel
- Willingness of a person to be present and be at the disposal of another
ETHICS OF CARE
- Emphasizes the moral dimension of relationships and interactions
- To see needs of other people, most especially the vulnerable
- Human person is regarded by Philosophy as a “being-with-others”
- Seeking and maintaining meaningful and harmonious relationships with others is necessary for personal development
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
- Human relations in the context of community
- Strongest bonds are those that involve parents and their children, friends, and the bond between man and wife
- Even greater still is the relationship between God and man which is defined as a fellowship & covenant
- Old Testament- Creation, Noah’s salvation from the Great Flood, Abraham’s journey to the Promised Land, deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, Ten Commandments, God’s Promise to Davi
- New Testament- Jesus Christ, death and resurrection, importance of fellowship among men
- “love your neighbor as yourself”
(Mark 12:31)
- “do unto others what you would have them do unto you”
(Matthew 7:12)
- Compels us to be sympathetic most especially to the least of our breathen
MAN AND SOCIETY
SOCIETY
- Large, independent, and organized group of people living in the same territory and sharing a common culture and heritage
- Hunting-and-gathering societies
- Lifestyle dependent on resources readily available from their surroundings, “primitive”
- Agricultural societies
- Agricultural activities, farming, fishing, livestock-raising
- Industrial societies
- Mechanized production and the exchange of goods and services
- Modern societies
- Technologically-advanced societies characterized by industry, mass production, and advanced communication & transportation
- Virtual society
- Not confined by territory and are composed of individuals coming from various social backgrounds
SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY
- Studying society and its influences on the human person
FORMATION OF SOCIETIES
- Humans are considered to have a natural tendency to cooperate and organize, and society is a natural outcome of this human tendency to socialize
- Humans as living in a so-called “natural state” removed fromo modernity and civilization
THOMAS HOBBES
- Man in natural state is governed by his desires that leads into conflict
- Society is therefore men seek to control their natural tendencies and impose order
- “Social contract” – agreement where individual sacrifices some of their wants and submit to a higher authority to meet the needs of many
JOHN LOCKE
- Man in natural state as more cooperative and reasonable
- Society is formed through the consent of the individuals
- “Consent of the governed” – covenant among individuals to cooperate and share the burden of upholding the welfare of society
JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU
- “General will” – people are the ones who organized society & established an authority & government, government is able to impose its will on people and the best judge of what is most beneficial for society
JOHN RAWLS
- Redefines social contract and explained that human beings approach social cooperation in a rational manner in order to meet their individual self-interests
- Introduced new version of natural state “original position” to explain social formation, “veil of ignorance” no knowledge of one’s own characteristics
DAVID GAUTHIER
- “self-interest” a significant factor in building and maintaining societies
SOCIALIZATION
- Individual learns the prevailing behaviors, attitudes,, and values within his or her society, a person adopts a set of ideals and behavior considered appropriate within his or her society
- Individuals retain their own unique traits, society directly and indirectly influences certain aspects of individual behavior
STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT
- Stanford University 1971
- 24 male volunteers with sound mental state and had no history of violence participate in a simulated prison as prison guards and prisoners
- Guards began to implement harsh and abusive measures against the prisoners, the prisoners then began to rebel so the researchers had to stop
SOCIAL ROLES
- Set of expected behaviors that must be performed by a person
SOCIAL GROUP
- People in a social group tend to behave a certain way, and continuous interactions within their group reinforce such behavior
NORMATIVE DEMOCRATIC THEORY
- Perspective which considers a democratic society as morally desirable
Western Society- more individualistic & secular, being assertive and direct
Asian Societies- more rigid and formal, value respect, familial relations, social status
SMOOTH INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
- Community relations are defined by the desire to establish and maintain
FILIPINO SOCIETY
- Very close relationship among family members and members of extended family
- Traditions: pakikisama, pakikipagkapwa-tao, utang-na-loob, damayan, bayanihan
- Religion has an important role= family-centered and conservative (fiesta, Christmas, Holy Week)
HAPPINESS
- DEFINITIONS:
- Can be interpreted as a state of mind
- in a good mood
- Can still maintain his or her happiness even if he or she is experiencing difficulties in life
2. Evaluation of one’s experiences in life
a. satisfying life
EUDAIMONIA (good spirit)
- Person’s state of well-being or happinesss, term used by Ancient Greeks
PLATO
- Equates happiness with living a moral life, practicing virtues, fulfilling personal duties, and controlling one’s desires
ARISTOTLE
- Happiness is the primary reason for human action,
- One becomes happy through the practice of virtues and the accumulation of achievements
EPICUREANS
- Happiness means a life of peace that is free from fear and discomfort
ST. AUGUSTINE & ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
- Happiness as a union with God
- Achieving unity with the Divine, and man’s eventual union with God is the epitome of happiness
GREATEST HAPPINESS PRINCIPLE
- Utilitarianism proposes a view on happiness based on this
- Person’s actions are considered moral or desirable when they produce the greatest happiness for other people
WHOLE LIFE SATISFACTION
- Person is able to evaluate his or her life experiences and determine his or her level of satisfaction with how he or she has lived life
WLADYSLAW TATARKIEWICZ
- Happiness as “satisfaction with one’s life as a whole”
RICHARD BRANDT
- Person’s happiness based on a total life pattern- a person should not only be satisfied with thhe life he or she has lived, but must also feel constant joy and enthusiasm in life
WAYNE SUMNER
- Happiness in two ways:
- Cognitive perspective- one must able to look back at past experiences and have positive evaluation of his or her condition
- Emotional or affective side- happiness is brought about by a sense of well being in having lived a life that is enriching and rewarding
3 DISTINCT ELEMENTS OF HAPPINESS
1.Contentment- satisfaction with one’s life
2.Welfare- satisfaction of a person’s wants and desires plus basic needs
3. Dignity- ability to control and define one’s own destiny, and the freedom to live a life of one’s choosing
PSYCHOLOGISTS
- Happiness as a balance between a person’s emotions, moods,& feelings
- Combination of physical, emotional, psychological happiness
ECONOMISTS
- Use socioeconomic data to define happiness and well-being in numerical terms, giving rise to various statistics such as the Gross National Happiness Index & Gross National Well-Being Index
- Factors such as: sustainable development, promotion of cultural values, preservation of the environment, good governance
- 2011, UN recognized happiness as “a fundamental human goal and universal aspiration”
- World Happiness report since 2012
ETHICS
- Significant role in discussing happiness &the means to achieve it
ARISTOTLE
- Set worthwhile goals, determine role in society
- Devote himself or herself to public service and contribute to the good of society
- Goal that will lead to true happiness is the pursuit of knowledge
EPICUREANS
- Happiness is possible if one enjoys the simple pleasures of life and commits to a life of virtue
ST. AUGUSTINE
- Happiness can be found in the afterlife when the spirit reunites with God
JEREMY BENTHAM
- Happiness is achieved through wise decision-making
IMMANUEL KANT
- Achieving happiness is impossible because of the ever-changing nature of man’s desires.
SUFFERING
- Mild, moderate, severe
- Experience of unpleasantness, discomfort, and pain
- Threats to human existence or the lack of pleasure or happiness
- Can also be caused by conflict between “perfect world” and actual state of world leading to anxiety, uncertainty and dread
- Physical Suffering
- Physical sensations, discomfort, hunger, distress, pain caused by injury, disease and the lack of basic needs
- Mental Suffering
- Emotional and mental states depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness and grief caused by sudden changes in lifestyle, loss of employment, stressful situations, and grief caused by death of loved one
WELTSCHMERZ
- Man’s realization that the world can never live up to the ideal “perfect world” leading to feelings of sadness or apathy
ANGST
- Fear and anxiety
- Relate this feeling to “existential dread”- crisis brought when a person begins to question his or her purpose and reason for being
ENNUI
- Feeling of weariness and discontent brought by a lack of interest or intense boredom with the world
TWO MAJOR PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS
- Suffering as an undesirable human condition, and that humans naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER
“proposed a view of world controlled by chaotic forces that bring about human suffering”
- German Philosopher, best known for his 1818 work the “World as Will & Representation”
- Developed an atheistic metaphysical & ethical system that has been described as an exemplary manifestation of philosophical pessimism
- “pessimistic view” – human existence is characterized by suffering caused by man’s inability to meet his unlimited wants&desires
- Suffering is necessary to human existence. Suffering is essential because it defines human existence, to grow, for u to become stronger
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
“suffering is inevitable, and that man is meant to suffer”
- German Philosopher whose work has exerted a profound influence on Western Philosophy and Modern Intellectual history
- Certain forms of suffering can be beneficial and can result in personal growth and development, test of a person’s worth
GEORGE SEFLER
- Suffering as one of many interrelated elements that define the meaning of experiences throughout life
- Suffering and happiness go hand-in-hand in defining a person’s views on his life’s experiences
- Balance between positive and negative experiences will result in a well-adjusted, functional person
THEODICY
- Philosophical branch which tries to reconcile the existence of a benevolent, all-good God with the reality of suffering in the world
COPING
- Means that a person employs in dealing with difficult life situations, and involves a conscious effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems
- EPICUREANS- suffering can be avoided by seeking only the pleasurable things in life and avoiding those that cause harm or pain
- STOICS- one must face difficulties in life with fortitude and patience
- NIETZSCHE- human suffering emphasize individual’s roles in making sense of adversity, a person should face his or her suffering and take responsibility for it
HUMANITARIANISM
- Purpose of a person’s existence is to make other people happy
SOCIAL SUPPORT/GROUPS
- Family
- Peer group
- Religious groups
DEATH
- End of all biological functions that sustain a living organism
- Causes: aging, injury, fatal injury
- “brain death” – ceasing of all brain functions, clinically dead
- Natural occurrence
AGING OR SENESCENCE
- gradual decline of the human body
- decline of the senses- sight and hearing, gradual loss of vitality and mobility, mental decline, increased frailty and susceptibility to injury or disease
REINCARNATION
- belief that a person’s spirit begins a new life in another body
ETERNAL OBLIVION
- belief that the person’s consciousness is completely erased upon death, wala ng senses but still has unconscious mind
*first & last sense- hearing
CEREMONIES & COMMEMORATION
- All Souls Day
- Chinese Ghost Festival
- Mexican Day of the Dead
PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
- Wake- opportunity to come together in memory of the deceased
- Abuloy- voluntary contributions for the family of the deceased
- Funeral procession- important practice, adopt a respectful and somber attitude as the procession passes
DUALIST PERSPECTIVE
- Mind and spirit, being incorporeal, persists after the body’s demise, his spirit endures after death
AFTERLIFE
- Believed that the spirit of the dead survives and continues to persist
NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
- People who were close to death reported experiences of an afterlife
- “out-of-body experience”- person views his or her body or the events surrounding his or her apparent death from a distance
ETERNAL OBLIVION
- Opposite view to the belief in afterlife
- Belief that death totally extinguishes the consciousness of the person
- Denies the existence of a noncorporeal, immortal aspect in man, and considers death as the end of a person’s existence
MORTALITY SALIENCE
- Man’s awareness of the inevitability of death
MARTIN HEIDEGGER
(German Philosopher)
- He believes that man is being oriented towards death (being-toward-death)
- Human existence is fundamentally defined by the awareness of one’s impending death
- Fulfillment of existence, acceptance of one’s morality ->sense of freedom
- “every man is a born men and dies as a single one”
LUDWIG JOSEPH JOHAN WITTGENSTEIN
(Austrian)
- Death is a phenomenon that is outside of human experience, we do not live to experience death
- “where one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent”
KARL JASPERS
(German-Swiss Psychiatrist & Philosopher)
- Death as the most significant “limit situation”
- one should have the capacity to alter his or her perspectives and ideas to be able to live with the fact that he or she is destined to die
- “what is meaningful cannot in fact be isolated”
ERIK ERIKSON
(Psychologist)
- Defines death as an important aspect in the development of man
- “Doubt is the brother of shame”
EGO INTEGRITY VS DESPAIR
- Last stage of our lives,
- Ego Integrity- a person achieving his or her life’s purpose or having come to terms with his or her life
- Despair- person views his or her life as a failure or his or her life experiences as generally unsatisfactory
- Wisdom- view of life undaunted by death
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
- Death in the context of man’s spiritual nature
- Death entails destruction of the physical body, as man is created from dust and in death, he returns to dust (General 3:19)
- Man’s Spirituality- defines his existence as it is the person’s ultimate destiny to live on in eternity as a spirit united with God
THEISTIC VIEW
- Meaning of life as a part of a larger plan devised by God
GRIEF
- Natural reaction to death and dying
- Involves multitude of emotions such as sadness, anxiety, anger, and guilt
- May also be brought by forms of loss
BEREAVEMENT
- State of loss brought by death
MOURNING
- Process by which persons deal with death
FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF
(Elisabeth Kubler-Ross)
- DENIAL- dying person initially expresses disbelief
- often refuse to believe the news at first
- ANGER- person expresses frustration with his or her situation,
- their situation is “unfair” often thinking that the deceased did not deserve such fate
- BARGAINING- dying person is willing to do anything to survive and to prolong his or he life,
- things will improve if they behave in a certain way or make changes in their lives
- DEPRESSION- intense sadness and exhibits disinterest in life and its normal routines,
- Person may become withdrawn, sullen and express hopelessness
- Experience certain emotional or mental problems
- ACCEPTANCE- last emotional stage, person finally comes to terms with his or her impending death and has embraced his or her morality
- calm & emotionally stable, source of emotional support for their grieving family members
FOUR TRAJECTORIES OF GRIEF
(George Bonnano)
- RESILIENCE- emotionally stable despite the loss, continue with normal activities
- Most ideal emotional course when experiencing grief
- RECOVERY- person experiences a period of grief, eventually gives way to recovery and a return to normalcy
- CHRONIC DEPRESSION- continues long after the death or traumatic experience has passed,
- may persist for several years often needs counseling & support
*Acute Depression- sudden
- DELAYED GRIEF- well-adjusted but experiences feelings of grief, anxiety, and distress at a later time
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