PHILOPE ORALS
PLATO- RATIONALIST/IMPORTANCE OF REASON
POSSIBLE CAUSES OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
ARISTOTLE
Any phenomenon is complete only when it accounts
for these four types of causes
o MATERIAL (wood/nails)
o FORMAL (shape, design)
o FINAL (school? Dining?)
o EFFICIENT (agent-carpenter)
MAN VS. NON HUMAN
ARISTOTLE
Man is a political animal
Humans are rational, free and immortal.
IT IS THE SOUL THAT SEPARATES THE HUMANS
FROM OTHER BEING (Rational Soul)
BEING VS. SEEMING
MARTIN HEIDEGGER
BEING/DAS SEIN
o DAS SEIN is always somewhere. We are
always in a place, interacting with others or
participating in something.
DEATH/ DAS NICHTS
o Being is alive
Not limited to the
distractions/routinely life imposed
to us by the modern world.
o Being is connected
We do not simple treat others as
means.
o Being is free and lives for himself.
Initially, we are not free because we
are thrown in this world without
our consent.
Dichotomy between the authentic
self and inauthentic self. (they-self)
We must not be afraid of das
Nichts/death.
BEING is: Overcoming our throwness, by becoming
more conscious of das Nichts day-to-day, and use
this as a stepping stone in order to escape the
clutches of das Gerede/chatter/they-self in order
to attain the Authentic self and start living for our
own self.
HUMAN NATURE
WE MUST LIVE A LIFE OF THE MIND
Humans are made up of body (subject to decay) and
soul (eternal, permanent, immortal)
PLATOS EPISTEMOLOGY- ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
o World of ideas vs. World of Illusions/Shadows
A story of people who are imprisoned in a cave since
forever. There is no light, only shadows. The people
inside the cave perceive these shadows as the reality.
One day, one prisoner was able to get out into the
open air. That person was able to experience light
(sun) and see what life is really life outside the cave.
Then the person decided to go back and tell the other
fellow prisoners of this but the latter refused to
believe the person, thought that he/she was absurd.
ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE= life of
enlightened people.
Cavemen- people before philo
Sun- light of reason
THE TRIPARTITE SOUL- THE CHARIOTEER
Aside from the separation of soul and body, Plato
believed that the former has three parts and he used
the Charioteer as an analogy in explaining this. The
three parts are the rational part, represented by the
Charioteer, the spirited part represented by the
white horse and the passionate/appetitive part,
symbolized by the black horse. The two horses that
symbolize the spirited and appetitive part are
antithetical to each other, with the former concerned
with honor and glory, relatively easy to control
compared to the latter which is associated with the
belly and everything below it. Given this, the
charioteer need to strike a balance between the two,
in order to reach a particular destination- the World of
Forms. The image that we are presented with this
analogy is that one part of the self/soul is trying to
control the other parts- that part of which is the
rational one, given that it has the sole ability to know
what is real. Despite this, Plato regarded the spirited
part as also important for it is responsible for giving us
courage and motivates us to action. However, an
overdeveloped sense of this could lead to danger
when one acts without thinking and engaging in
causes that are not worth fighting for. Lastly, the
appetitive part, even though regarded as the most
irrational one is also equally important for if one does
not seek food, drinks or even sex, then humans will
perish as species. The only solution for this disarray
would be striking a balance and harmony and this
harmony would only be achieved when the spirited
and appetitive part follows the dictate of reason.
The Quest to knowledge is innate
o Humans can never live in isolation.
FREUD- Hardcore materialist, atheist and pessimist.
PASSIONS/DESIRES drive us into action.
Humans are not as important as they think they are.
We are not different from animals.
Humans can never be truly happy. We only minimize
our suffering and unhappiness for we must be
unhappy in order for the society to survive.
 THE TRIPARTITE PSYCHE The fable of an orphaned cub raised by the goats but
ID (beast) was awakened by the tiger.
o Guided by the pleasure principle Characteristics
o Contains all the irrational instincts/ seeks o Fusion of religion and philosophy
pleasures at all costs, no regards for o Philosophy of life- has to be lived not simply
rules/morality/others. be though about.
The ego (negotiator) o Subjective>objective; inward>outward
o Guided by the rationality principle. o Importance of intuition
o The rational part of the personality. Basic philo
SUPEREGO (preacher) o Rta- for every cause there is an effect
o Reminds us of what should we do and what o Karma- moral retributionevery deed has
should not we do. a consequence
o Making us feel guilt/shame through Determines ones future lives.
interactions with culture/society. o Samsara- birth/rebirth
THE EGO IDEAL
o The self that we are all trying to achieve, but BUDDHISM
can never achieve. Doctrine of no-self
o No permanent, enduring selves.
DARWIN- HUMANS ARE PRODUCT OF EVOLUTION o How can there be a self if we continuously
Refuted the creation story and challenged the notion change?
of man being superior to animals. o There is an x that remain the same
The importance of adaptability throughout all the changes in a lifetime.
o Natural selection (no intervention) o Is it the body, memories, thoughts,
o Artificial selection (with intervention) experiences?
Survival of the fittest? o Something that thinks, acts and suffers.
o Physical strength may be important for now SHIP OF THESEUS
but when environment change, the o After all the pieces are replaced, is it still
advantage may shift to those who are not the same?
that physically strong but are strategic. o Raises the question of whether an object
Also questioned the notion of humans born as blank that has had all of its components replaced
slates remains fundamentally the same object.
o We are pre-programmed to ac, and behave o YES. It is just a name given to a collection of
in certain ways through evolution due to parts put together in a particular way.
survival value. BUNDLE METAPHOR
o What if humans are nothing but a bundle of
WESTERN vs. EASTERN PHILOSOPHY stuff and properties? If we remove each
Western Eastern and every part of the body, feeling, thought,
Development Vertical (teacher- Parallel (equal experience, perception and memory, there
student) value) would be no soul at all.
Importance Individualism Collectivism o These parts are not permanent, it
Culture Instrument for a Offer counsel and continuously changes.
wiser life direction
SCHOOL OF LIFE
Religion Separated Instilled
o All in the world is unified by suffering.
ERB Nietzsche, Sun Tzu, Confucius,
Socrates, Voltaire Laozi
Live in moderation (middle way)
4 NOBLE TRUTHS
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY o Life is suffering
HINDUISM- SPIRIT AS THE SUPREME PERSON o The cause of suffering is self-centered
Creation story desire and attachment
o Theres a giant cobra that is floating on the ocean, with o The end of suffering- change outlook
Vishnu sleeping on it. When Vishnu woke up from his o The way that frees us from suffering
sleep, a lotus flower grew out of his naval, and in the
middle of it was Brahma. Vishnu instructed Brahma to TAOISM
create the world then vanquished. Brahma split the DAO- way of the world, path to happiness, virtue
lotus flower into three- the heaven, the earth and the and harmony.
skies. o Make time for stillness- simply experience
Reincarnation vis--vis good/bad karma the world.
Moving up the caste system WU WEI- effortless action; letting go of extreme
(Brahmins/untouchables) ideas; serene acceptance of events. (Being drunk)
 MIND-BODY PROBLEM ZEN: THE PERSONS MONKEY MIND
Three types of ignorance
RENE DESCARTES- I think therefore I am; RATIONALIST o Simple- one who knows not and knows he knows not.
We are not material things- no immateriality. o Complex- one who knows not but thinks he knows.
Could have been false vs. could not have been false o Blessed- one who knows that he knows not.
ZEN: NO MIND (Beginners mind)
o If its true that I am me, then It could not
o Dropping of the reason/intellect.
have been that I am not me.
MONKEY MIND: it is restless, jumping
o Could have been false that I am steph from one though to the other, from one
TWO SUBSTANCES concept to another.
o Res exstensa (material things) It is the criticizing, comparing and
o Res cogitans (immaterial) judging part of the mind.
Doubt everything to find something indubitable- he o Free from any bias/trace
could doubt everything except that he was thinking o To stop the mind does not equate to stopping
because doubting=thinking. He exists. the activities of the mind.
o To be in touch of true nature and authenticity,
Human senses are deeply unreliable, cannot one must drop all his/her prior knowledge.
distinguish what is real and whats a dream but the o Mirror analogy- no judgments, mere reflections
only thing that he cannot doubt is his thinking. (suchness).
Because of the cogito, he cannot doubt his mind FOUCALT vs. CHOMSKY
exists. Foucalt Chomsky
He can doubt his body but he cannot doubt his mind, Focus context Concept
thus the separation between the two. Historically and Linguistic
Leibnizs Law- similar properties (identical) material universal
MASKED MAN FALLACY Human Humans act as a Collection of
o What you think of something is not a nature shopping list and mass innate
nothing more. schematism
property of itself.
and there are
o Louis Lane- Superman can fly; Clark Kent innate
cannot fly. organizing
principles
BUDDHISM- THE CLINGING MIND (WEI WU WEI) History Look into the past to
Mind is a thinking thing. solve the urgent
GRASPING- The mind is always thinking about things issues of his time;
and by thinking, it brings these things into look at the past to
improve the
consciousness. It grasps them in order to think about
present.
them (In order to feel hate, one must think of the
Mental Before was way
person he hates.) illness better for they are
o TO TAKE HOLD OFF different rather
PROBLEM: WHEN WE BEGIN TO CLING TO WHAT WE than crazy
GRASP. Common Lack of common
CLINGING- To grasp so tightly that it is difficult to let meaning meaning
go. Knowledge Episteme
o Not being able to let go of the things (historically
completely conditioned; trust
exists In order to be
EXAMPLE: Monks crossing a river when they met a woman
known.
who is having difficulties in crossing the river. One monk Creativity The truth is not All people use
carried the woman and places her on the other side. When acquired through a it.
they reached the monastery, the other monk confronted the kind of continuous
monk who carried the woman as to the latter replied: I LEFT and cumulative
THE GIRL AT THE STREAM, ARE YOU STILL CARRYING HER? creations but rather
through a series of
RELATIONSHIPS: rules.
Grasping: love someone very deeply and wanting to spend the Government Power from states Preference for
rest of your life; vis--vis power from federated,
society decentralized;
Clinging- by being jealous and nervous every time your beloved
Not all they do
will speak to other persons. is right
War/ One wages war Instrument of
WHY WE CLING International because he wants to powerful states
Prolong the enjoyment, familiarity, drama and Law win not because it is
excitement, strong sense of self. just
 FOUCALT vs. CHOMSKY DESERVINGNESS OF BLAME OR PRAISE
1. ACCOUNTABILITY
Foucalt Chomsky Accountability is a necessary consequence of
Human Humans act as a Collection of mass freedom and intelligence.
nature shopping list and innate Responsibility as duty gives rises to responsibility as
nothing more. schematism and accountability.
there are innate 2. INCRIMINATING/EXCUSING CONDITIONS
organizing INCRIMINATING
principles o Intentionally condition (intention to do such
action and whether he/she carry out the said
FREEDOM vs. DETERMINISM action) vs. knowledge condition. (capable of
The Myth of Oedipus knowing that it is right/wrong)
o The baby was predicted to kill his own father and EXCUSING
marry his own mother. He was left in the forests o Absence of intentionally and knowledge.
and was adopted by other parents. Upon 3. MITIGATING/AGGRAVATING FACTORS
learning about his fate, he left his adoptive
Mitigate- lessen/ Aggravate- worsen
parents and killed his real father along the way
then married his real mother. o Degree of difficulty
Libertarian free will- we can act freely
greater pressure, lesser
o Event causation- no physical event can occur accountability.
without being caused by another event. o Intensity of the injury
o Agent causation- A being propelled by the mind The greater the injury, the greater
can start a whole chain of causality. the accountability.
Hard determinism- all events are caused by previous o Degree of involvement
events; world is governed by cause and effect. Greater involvement, greater
Principle of alternate possibilities- the person is free if the accountability.
person doing the thing could have done otherwise. VARIATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE
1. Real/Irresponsible Ignorance
PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT a. Real-excusing condition
Thought experiments as intuition pumps. b. Irresponsible- you should have known better
o Testing an idea by applying it to different scenario
2. Simple/Complex acts
HANS CHRISTIAN ORSTED
o Experiments are performed a priori with the use
a. Simple- one performs without performing
of reason. other actions
PLATO: Ring of Gyges b. Complex- Series of actions.
o Ring (power of invisibility) 3. Actions and descriptions
o Gyges- shepherd who work for the king. a. Given action can be described in various
o For how long can he resist the temptation to ways affect the attribution of accountability.
abuse the power? 4. Incontinent/continent actions
o We ought to do something that is good and avoid a. Incontinent- we intend to do something but
doing something that is evil. we changed our mind at the last minute
o He seduced the queen and killed the king.
o If we were shielded from the consequences of our
actions, then how are we going to act? FREEDOM AND RESPONSILITY: ZEN
DEREK PARFIT: PERSONAL IDENTITY AND The more you are lover of freedom, the more you
TELETRANSPORTER will be ready to accept responsibilities.
o There is something about us that remains the People who are bound by duty do not feel free.
same throughout time. Separate yourself from the past.
o Analogy to this is a story of Stellios who believe Drop all the conditioning.
that the tele transporters the only way to travel.
The need for awareness.
o That will scan a persons mind and transport
them to Mars. How do you get out of the bottle if the bottle is
o What makes me the same person over time? you?
THOMAS NAGEL AND BERNARD WILLIAMS:
RESPONSIBILITY AND EXCUSABILITY SELF-OTHER RELATIONSHIPS AND HUMAN ALIENATION
o Mary Mungo and Midge- defection of blame.
o Excuses for actions THE OTHER WHO IS
o If we are excused, then we avoid responsibility. VICTOR FRANKL
IMPORTANCE o THE SELF AS SUBJECT
o They invite us to look at things differently
Man is nothing but a product of
heredity and environment (life is
meaningless)
 JEAN PAUL SARTE
o Humans create their own meanings in life.
o Conflict determines the fundamental
relation between the self and the other.
ALBERT CAMUS
o Life is absurd
o Live like Sisyphus
The Self as Subject but not as the other
- We rebel against those who objectify us but in the
process, we became oppressors ourselves.
MARTN BUBER- I THOU
o I- consciousness
o It-objectified notion of experiences
o Thou-myself
o Only in partnership can my being be
perceived as whole.
o The self and the Other cannot be objectified.
o Reason has no role in proving the existence
of the self or the Other.
o I-It
Seeming- an intent to deceive the
other.
o With the intention to deceive the other of
WHO I AM, I create a barrier between
myself and the Other.
o GENUINE DIALOGUE- A relationship
succeeds when two selves reach out to each
other as another.
o DYNAMIC CENTER OF FREE INITIATIVE-
Encountering the other is more like a
realization.
o IMAGINING THE REAL- personal making
present We must focus on the person
behind the physical and psychological task.
o Presence in a spiritual sense.
GABRIEL MARCEL
o We do encounter the other as an other.
o We interpret reality so we can understand it.
o It is our nature to interpret it.
o Experience is an illumination.
EXPERIENCE AND REFLECTION
o Primary reflection- one disengages himself
from the experiences itself.
I have been disappointed by the behavior of
my friend, so I was forced to revise my
opinion. I am forced to acknowledge that he
is not the man I believed him to be.
o Secondary reflection- He stays with the
experience as he reflects on it.
o The self is illuminated by the otherness of
the other.
DAVID HUME
o We arrange ideas in a way that we deceive
ourselves in believing that the knowledge we
obtain is objective.
o Knowledge is of our own making.
o It is the habit of the human mind to connect
events that follow one after the other.
IMMANUEL KANT
o Knowledge is formulated on the fixed
unchanging principle of the human mind.
o To interpret is to arrange the received data.
EMMANUEL LAVINAS- SURPRISE
o The other as another always catches the self
totally by surprise.
o Comes with the feeling of guilt and shame-
God/Adam and Eve.
o I have been using my freedom irresponsibly
in dealing with the other.
On the possibility of questioning oneself
o Only the Other can provide him with a view
of his self, a view that is not self-centered.
Without the Other, one cannot question his
experience/
Infinity and unknown
o It is not possible to know the other. The
other is irreducible and cannot be captured
by the selfs image or idea or thought.
o The other as infinity.
Need and desire
o In need, the self reaches out to the other,
transforming the other into means by which
he can satisfy himself.
o In satisfaction, the self succeeds in returning
to himself.
o Desire- failure to return to oneself.
IT IS TO THE OTHER THAT WE OWE OUR HUMANITY.
FROM FRIEND TO LEGEND
Friendship as a means in fulfilling ones wish for
immortality.
o Why is the life of friendship absolutely
necessary for realizing the wish for
immortality?
On qualifiers and quantifiers
o Quantifiers: fame, honor, wealth/
We need them not just for
ourselves but also for others.
In order to be remembered, we
must move from quantifier to
qualifiers.
In - five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love
 On qualifiers
o Qualifiers: heroism/ statesmanship/
parenthood
The value of friendship
o Socrates- an examined life is worth our time.
o How can friendship make me the person I
want to be?
o Socrates: Know thyself.
Martin Buber: through dialogues
with friends.
o It is good, beautiful and true.
No place for dishonesty, deception,
lies, hypocrisy
Actions and intentions are
appreciated.
Friendship, self-love and the perhaps
o It brings out possibilities.
o The possibility of being remembered.
o Chinese wisdom
Plant a tree/ feed other
Write a book/ teach other
Have a son / be a parent to your
children
o BE A FRIEND.
Mike Featherstone- eradicating
boundaries.
Non-practice of marginalizing.
Martin Heidegger and Jean Paul
Sarte- life is relationships. Without
relationship, there is no life.
Friendship is the ultimate
manifestation of self-love because
it is a relationship aside from the
family, wherein loving ones own is
most concrete.
FRIENDS SERVE AS THE REASON
WHY LEGENS ARE CREATED, MADE
AND RETOLD. They help preserve
the self that passed away.
OUR BEING LINGUISTIC
Hans-Georg Gadamer- Language is never simply an
instrument that we make us of as we need to and
that we lay aside when we dont need to.
Seeking and finding words to express it belongs to
the experiences of the self.
AWARENESS, ALONENESS AND ATTACHMENT
Are we in a relationship to escape from our
aloneness?
o OSHO: Aloneness is in human nature.
o True love: when you think you are capable of
doing things by yourself; you just want to
share.
We must be aware of our wounds
o The be aware is not to dream.
o We must be aware so that we do not
become imprisoned by them, controlled by
them.
o Attachment/Possessiveness
Kills love
False love
Fear of rejection
DEATH, ABSURDITY AND AUTHENTICITY
SURVIVING ONES DEATH AND PERSONAL IDENTITY
o Two assumptions
Life after death
The person in the afterlife is
identical to the person in this
terrestrial life.
o The problem of persistence
How is it possible for us to persist
through time?
Plato: There is something in us that
makes us the same person
Lucretius: guiding principle: a force
that determines our own
intellectual/bodily functions.
Descartes: soul is what guarantees
our persistence
The problem of
persistence/ what
guarantees my belief that
the others persist through
time?
Tertullian: problem of
population; reincarnation
is not possible.
Locke: Immaterial souls: it is the
memory/consciousness.
I am the same person
yesterday if I have the
memory of being that
person yesterday.
o David Hume: The self is nothing but a
bundle of sense impressions.
o Kant: personal identity is something beyond
experience.
MARTIN HEIDEGGER: OVERCOMING INAUTHENTICTY
BEING/DAS SEIN
o DAS SEIN is always somewhere. We are
always in a place, interacting with others or
participating in something.
o Also characterized by care or involvement.
DEATH/ DAS NICHTS
o Being is alive
Not limited to the
distractions/routinely life imposed
to us by the modern world.
o Being is connected
We do not simple treat others as
means.
o Being is free and lives for himself.
 Initially, we are not free because we
are thrown in this world without
our consent.
Dichotomy between the authentic
self and inauthentic self. (they-self)
We must not be afraid of das
Nichts/death.
BEING is: Overcoming our throwness, by becoming
more conscious of das Nichts day-to-day, and use
this as a stepping stone in order to escape the
clutches of das Gerede/chatter/they-self in order
to attain the Authentic self and start living for our
own self.
FRANZ KAFKA: The metamorphosis
Gregor Samsa- woke up as a beetle, spent his life in
isolation except for his sister, Grete. But after
sometime, Grete suggested that its better to let him
go. Gregor starved himself and died.
Mr. Samsa: verbally abused Gregor for he was forced
to work again. (Gregor should only be tolerated)
Mrs. Samsa: she loves his son but cannot do anything
to stop the father.
BEETLE: He identified himself as a parasite.
KAFKASQUE- frustrating events (bureaucracy)
o Poseidon: prisoner of ego
o Gregors job: instrumental one.
o Marx: alienation from work
ABSURDITY:
Comes from anxiety and breaks the everyday
mundane of activities.
Suffering is the beginning of consciousness.
In absurd situations, we have the opportunity to step
back and reflect.
ALBERT CAMUS
Whether we commit suicide or not?
Myth of Sisyphus
o Fundamental question: whether life is or is
not worth living
o Life has no meaning.
o We have to live knowing that our efforts can
be futile.
o Sisyphus: ordered to roll a boulder even
when watching it fall down repeatedly.
o Great champion of ordinary
His death-car accident but found in his pocket is a
train ticket he decided not to use on the last minute.
ANOMIE: disconnectedness/ failure to express
sentiments.
Merzo: does not play the game.
EXISTENSIAL CRISIS-Kiekegaard, Sarte, Camus, Nietzsche,
Heidegger
Five features
o Common sense- uncanny
Why we live here and not in other
place?
o Ultimate responsibility is to ourselves, not to
the social word.
o Realization of death
o Limited information.
o Plot ourselves in the dark.
Anxiety- Human condition is to be anxious- we must
always choose without security that we have chosen
well.
SOREN KIEKEGAARD: WAKE UP AND GIVE UP OUR COZY
SENTIMENTAL ILLUSIONS
The meaning of life is to get a livelihood
You cannot have passion and stability at the same
time
Either or/ Damned if you do, Damned if you dont
The only tactical way to respond to life horrors is to
laugh at it.
LEAP OF FAITH: To have faith is to lose your mind and
win God.
JEAN PAUL SARTE: EXISTENCE PRECEDES ESSENCE
BEING IN NOTHINGNESS/ TO HELL WITH OTHER PEOPLE
1. Things are weirder than we think
2. We are free
a. Everything is highly possible because
nothing is pre-ordained.
3. We should not live of bad faith
a. When we tell ourselves that things have to
be in a certain way.
4. Were free to dismantle capitalism
a. Shutting down a lot of possibilities because
of money.
Existence precedes essence
Essence: sum of production
Man is simply what he creates of himself.
ZEN PHILOSOPHY OF A PERSON
Mind is not the right mechanism to understand
things
WHO AM I?
o Not interested in labels/names.
o Existence is nameless. All names are given
by us.
o We were born nameless and will die
nameless.
Each and every one of us is real but we willingly
submitted ourselves to names and labels.
PROBLEM: When we became the
name/description, we forget ourselves.
THE ACQUIRED SELF
Personality/Character.
The real you are not your character
o Imitation
o He who imitates is not creative.
 THE CAMEL METAPHOR:
o A camel is a believer/follower, ever willing
to be burdened and loaded with borrowed
ideas/knowledge.
o Meaningless of yes
Maturity and growing up
o Realization that you have to be who you are
and not an imitator.
o One who does not know himself is always
disturbed because his whole knowledge
consists of others opinion.
Comparison
o When the mind compares, it will judge
others as inferior and others as superior.
o Bloating of ego/causing of suffering or pain.

ACAMBEN HOMO SACEK

Bios (political) vs. Zoe (bare)