Ethics | Midterms

Lesson 1 - Introduction of the human mind and can be experienced

through the senses or confirmed to exist.
Content
Characteristics
I. Philosophy
II. Branch of Philosophy • Exists in the real world.
• Has actual existence.
• Independent of human thought or
1. Philosophy
imagination.
• Can be living or non-living.
- Philosophy is the rational and critical study
of fundamental questions about existence, Examples:
knowledge, values, reason, mind, and Human being, dog, tree, mountain, book, sun,
language water

Etymology 2. Potential Being

- The word "philosophy" comes from the - A potential being is something that does not
Ancient Greek term philosophía. It yet exist in its present form but has the
combines phílos (meaning "loving" or capacity or possibility of becoming actual. It
"friend") and sophía (meaning "wisdom"). possesses the potential to exist or to
Literally, this translates to the "love of develop into something else under the
wisdom" proper conditions.
Characteristics:
Science
• Does not yet fully exist in its intended
form.
- Science is a systematic, evidence-based
• Has the possibility of becoming actual.
method of building and organizing
• Requires certain conditions or causes to
knowledge about the universe through
become real.
observation and experimentation.
Originating from the Latin word scientia • Represents future existence or
(meaning "knowledge"), it drives human capability.
progress by creating testable explanations Examples:
and predictions
• An acorn that can become an oak tree.
• A seed that can grow into a plant.
Being
• A child who has the potential to become
a doctor.
- "Being" primarily refers to existence, life, or • Iron ore that can become steel.
the fundamental nature of something that
• A student who has the potential to
lives. It can be used as a noun to describe a
become an engineer.
person, creature, or entity (e.g., a "human
being").
3. Logical Being
Types of Beings
- A logical being is something that exists only
1. Actual Being in the mind through thought, imagination, or
- An actual being is something that truly and reason. It has no independent existence in
presently exists in reality. It has actual the physical world.
existence, meaning it exists independently

Kyle Tamayao | 1
 Ethics | Midterms

- Logical beings are created by the intellect to He argued that everything in motion must
help us think, understand, compare, or ultimately be caused by a first cause that itself is
imagine. unmoved.

Characteristics: • St. Thomas Aquinas – God

He identified God as the First Cause, Necessary
• Exists only in the mind. Being, and ultimate source of all existence.
• Depends on human thinking or
imagination.
• Has no physical existence. Ultimate Cause
• May represent concepts, relationships, - The ultimate cause is the final or deepest
or fictional objects. reason why something exists or happens.
It is the first cause or highest explanation
Examples: that goes beyond immediate or observable
causes to explain the origin of all things.
Concept of justice, time, mathematical ideas

In philosophy, the ultimate cause answers

questions such as:
Ultimate Principles
• Why does this exist?
• What is the first cause behind everything?
- The ultimate principle in philosophy refers
• What is the origin of the universe and all
to the most fundamental cause, source,
beings?
explanation, or truth upon which
everything else depends. It is the highest
principle that explains the existence, nature, As Known by Human Reason Alone
and order of reality.
- "As known by human reason alone" means
In other words, it answers questions such as:
that philosophy seeks knowledge by using
• What is the origin of everything? human reason, logic, and critical thinking
• Why do things exist? without relying on divine revelation, faith, or
• What is the foundation of reality? religious authority.
• What is the highest truth? Example:
Question: Does God exist?
How do you know that you know?
• Philosophy: Uses logical arguments (such
as Aristotle's Unmoved Mover or Aquinas's
Examples: Five Ways) to reason about God's
existence.
• Parmenides – Being
• Theology: Accepts God's existence based
He taught that true reality is unchanging, eternal, on faith and divine revelation (e.g., the
and one. Change is only an illusion. Bible, the Qur'an, or other sacred texts).
• Plato – The Form of the Good
He considered the Good to be the highest reality 2. Branches of Philosophy
and the source of all truth and knowledge.
1. Logic
• Aristotle – The Unmoved Mover 2. Cosmology

Kyle Tamayao | 2
 Ethics | Midterms

3. Rational Psychology structure, order, nature, and ultimate

4. Ethics destiny.
5. Epistemology
6. Metaphysics Etymology
7. Theodicy
- It comes from the Greek words kosmos
Logic (universe or ordered world) and logos
(study or reason). Thus, cosmology literally
- Logic is the branch of philosophy that means “the study of the universe.”
studies the principles and methods of
correct reasoning. It teaches us how to
Famous Philosophers
distinguish valid arguments from invalid
ones and sound reasoning from fallacies
(errors in reasoning). • Thales – believed water is the fundamental
- Logic is the science and art of thinking principle of the universe.
correctly. • Anaximander – proposed the apeiron (the
boundless) as the origin of all things.
Why is Logic important?
• Heraclitus – emphasized constant change
Logic helps us: in the cosmos.
• Parmenides – taught that true reality is
• Think clearly and systematically.
unchanging.
• Analyze arguments objectively.
• Identify mistakes in reasoning (logical • Aristotle – described the universe as an
fallacies). ordered cosmos moved by the Unmoved
• Solve problems rationally. Mover.
• Make sound decisions based on evidence
rather than emotion or bias. Rational Psychology
Fallacy - Rational Psychology is the branch of
philosophy that studies the human soul,
- A fallacy is an error or flaw in reasoning that mind, or self using human reason alone,
makes an argument weak, misleading, or
rather than through scientific experiments
invalid. A fallacy may sound convincing, but
or religious revelation.
it does not provide a logically sound basis
for its conclusion. - It seeks to understand what a human
person is, the nature of the soul,
Bandwagon Fallacy consciousness, intellect, free will, and the
- The bandwagon fallacy (also called the relationship between the body and the soul.
appeal to popularity or argumentum ad
populum) is a logical fallacy that assumes What does Rational Psychology Study?
something is true, good, or correct simply Rational psychology attempts to answer questions
because many people believe, do, or such as:
support it. • What is a human person?
• What is the soul?
Cosmology • Is the soul immortal?
• What is the relationship between the body

- Cosmology is the branch of philosophy that and the soul?

studies the universe as a whole—its origin, • What is consciousness?
• Do humans have free will?

Kyle Tamayao | 3
 Ethics | Midterms

• What makes humans different from • Are our senses reliable?

animals? • What are the limits of human
understanding?
Ethics Main Concerns of Epistemology
- Ethics is the branch of philosophy that
studies morality, human actions, values, 1. Nature of Knowledge
and principles of right and wrong Knowledge is “justified true belief”
conduct. It seeks to determine what
actions are good or bad, right or wrong, 2. Sources of Knowledge
and what kind of life a person should live. A. Rationalism - argues that knowledge
primarily comes from reason and logical
Etymology thinking.
- The word "ethics" derives from the Ancient B. Empiricism - argues that knowledge
Greek word êthos (ἦθος), meaning primarily comes from experience and
"character," "custom," or "habit". This observation through the senses.
evolved into the Greek adjective ēthikos C. Reason and Experience - argue that both
(ἠθικός), meaning "of or for morals". reason and experience contribute to
knowledge.
3. Limits of Knowledge
4. Truth and Justification
Epistemology
- Epistemology is the branch of philosophy Major Views About Knowledge
that studies knowledge, including its 1. whether humans can achieve certain
nature, origin, limits, and validity. It knowledge.
investigates how human beings acquire 2. Realism - The belief that reality exists
knowledge, how we know something is true, independently of human thoughts and
and what makes a belief justified. perceptions.
Etymology 3. Idealism - The view that reality is closely
connected to the mind, ideas, or
- epistemology stems from the ancient consciousness.
Greek words epistēmē (meaning
"knowledge" or "understanding") and logos
Metaphysics
(meaning "reason", "argument", or "study").
Combined, it translates literally to "the - Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy
study of knowledge". that studies the fundamental nature of
reality, existence, and being. It seeks to
understand what exists, why things exist,
What Does Epistemology Study? and the principles that explain reality
Epistemology asks fundamental questions such beyond physical appearances.
as: Etymology
• What is knowledge? - The word metaphysics comes from the
• How do we know something is true? ancient Greek words metá (meaning "after,"
• What is the source of knowledge? "above," or "beyond") and physiká (meaning
• Can we be certain about what we know? "physics" or "the natural world"). It literally

Kyle Tamayao | 4
 Ethics | Midterms

translates to "what comes after the

physics" or "beyond the physical realm".
Major Concerns of Metaphycis
1. Being and Existence (Ontology) - a major
part of metaphysics that studies being
itself.
2. Ultimate Reality - searches for the ultimate
explanation or foundation of reality.
3. Cosmology - studies the universe as a
whole.
4. Rational Psychology - studies the human
person, soul, and mind through reason
5. The Nature of Reality

Theodicy
- Theodicy is the branch of philosophy that
studies and attempts to explain the
existence of evil and suffering in relation
to the existence and goodness of God.

Etymology
- Theos (θεός), meaning "God"
- Dike (δίκη), meaning "justice" or
"righteousness"

Kyle Tamayao | 5