MODULE 1: DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM

I. ESSENTIAL QUESTION/S:

I. How can philosophy be used to critically reflect on concrete experiences?

a. What is philosophy?
b. What is wisdom according to Socrates?
c. What are the differences between knowledge and wisdom?
d. How one can achieve/cultivate wisdom?
e. What are the concrete situations in your life where you can practice wisdom?
f. How to critically examine one’s self?
g. What is the difference between theoretical and practical wisdom?

II. REQUIRED VIEWING:

1. What is philosophy for? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N98Am5AprY

2. Featuring Socrates/The Philosophy of Socrates (10 minutes)?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n_zitj_FI8

III. REQUIRED READINGS:

1. First chapter of the book (page 1-17)

2. First 30 pages of the novel, Sophie’s World

IV. ACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES (ASSIGNMENTS/GROUP ACTIVITIES):

A. Students will answer the following questions based on the first 30 pages of the novel, Sophie’s
World and First Chapter of the reference book :

1. What is philosophy?
2. Where did the word “Philosophy come from?”
3. What is required to be good philosophers?
4. Why is it that although philosophical questions concern us all, we do not necessarily become
philosophers?
5. What motivates people to philosophize?
6. What is the difference between philosophy and science?
7. What is the connection between myth and philosophy?
8. Is there any difference between knowledge and wisdom? Explain your answer.

B. Knowing and Wisdom

The students will be grouped into two. The first group will answer guide questions number 1 and
2, while the second group will answer guide questions 3 and 4. Each group will also portray
situations that show the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
 Guide questions:
1. What have you learned about the life of Socrates?
2. Why was he regarded as wise?
3. If Socrates claimed that he knew nothing, how can it lead to wisdom?
4. What is then the difference between knowledge and wisdom (please make a table)?

V. CONTENTS

1. What is Philosophy?
Philo and Sophia means “Lover of Wisdom”

2. What is the difference between “having philosophy” and “being philosophical”?

Having Philosophy is adopting a general guideline for life while being philosophical is adopting a
systematic and disciplined way of examining point of views and advocating to an attitude of
humility to realize that there are things that we do not know (refer to Socrates’ quote).

Being philosophical means putting assumptions and taken for granted truths into question. It’s
also about being calm, future oriented and reflective on events that happened in our lives.

3. What is the nature of philosophy?

Philosophy asks big or deep question. It aims to discuss, in a disciplined and rational way, the
meaning of everything.

4. What do you mean by “having a philosophy”?

1. Having personal motto or guideline about life, or specific aspect thereof

2. An institution being guided by its mission-vision which states its purpose, method and
output
3. Having a particular way of looking at things or thinking about things

5. What is the difference between theoretical and practical wisdom (phronesis)?

Aristotle differentiated two kinds of wisdom- the 1) theoretical wisdom and 2) practical wisdom.
Practical wisdom (phronesis) is an intellectual virtue, a virtue of practical reasoning. Aristotle draws a
distinction between theoretical reason and practical reason (§1). Roughly, theoretical reason
investigates what we can’t change and aims at the truth. Practical reason investigates what we can
change and aims at making good choices. Reasoning about what we can change is deliberation, so
practical reason is expressed in deliberation. To make good choices, not only must our reasoning be
correct, but we must also have the right desires.

WHAT PRACTICAL WISDOM INVOLVES: Practical wisdom differs from other sorts of knowledge both
because of its complexity and its practical nature. Aristotle claims that it involves 1. a general conception
of what is good or bad, related to the conditions for human flourishing; 2. the ability to perceive, in light
of that general conception, what is required in terms of feeling, choice and action in a particular
situation; 3. the ability to deliberate well; and 4. the ability to act on that deliberation.

Theoretical wisdom is, according to Aristotle, “scientific knowledge, combined with intuitive reason, of
the things that are highest by nature”