Philosophical Wonder

 Why does man have to philosophize?

 Bakit kinakailangang mamilosopiya

ng tao?
 Plato and Aristotle claimed that
philosophy begins in wonder
 Wonder is the feeling of a
philosopher; pholosophy begins in
wonder because Iris, the messenger
of heavenly wisdom, is the child of
Thaumas or wonder
 Existential Paradox
 Mystery of human existence
 Human life is a great paradox,

incomprehensible contradiction
and dreadful tragedy
 For existentialist human life is an

unasked-for existence; a great

paradox
 Human existence is
incomprehensible contradiction
because the moment he is born,
he already begin to die. Life is a
journey towards death
 Human existence is a great
tragedy because man is born to
suffer and die
 Buddha’s Experience
 Paradox of Life: we don’t know
when, why, where and how we are
going to die?
 Why does man still have to be

born if only to suffer and finally to

die?
 Filipino Experience
 Filipinos also awed by the mystery
of life; hence, they philosophize
 They would like to know and

understand the meaning of

human existence
Intellectual Search for
Meaning
 Inevitable as man is always
bewildered by the paradox of
human life
 To philosophize means to search

for meaning
 Philosophy is man’s intellectual

search for the meaning of human

existence
 Characteristics of Philosophical
inquiry
 Freedom
 Intellectual Openness
 Critical Thinking
 Rationality
 Endless search of truth and
meaning
 Freedom in Philosophy
 Free Philosophical inquiry is a way
an individual can freed himself
from belief and customs that have
long imprisoned him
 You shall know the truth and the

truth shall set you free. Many

people know the truth but do not
live for the truth. They remain
slaves to evil
Intellectual Openness and Critical
Inquiry
 Philosophy is an open, intellectual
process of unfolding new
knowledge about human
experience
 Philosophical quest is interacting

philosophy of the past, present

and future. It is sharing
experience of other people from
other parts of the world
 Experience and situation are
interconnected in the sense that
your experiences derives from
your situation
 We must not judge, condemn,

punish or denounce an individual

just because he espouses a
different view or belief in life
Rational Philosophical Reflection
 Philosophical analysis is the
instrument of reason that’s why it
is guided by reason and will end
up in reason
 To understand man we need to

know his sociocultural interaction,

childhood, family, schooling and
other factors
 Endless quest for Meaning
 Human life is philosophy and
philosophy is life because human
life is a struggle for survival and
meaningful existence
 Philosophy is a ceaseless search

for ultimate meaning of life