#philo11

1. Why did the young listen to Socrates in the first place?

2. What values did Socrates think was important?

3. “A life without examination is a life not worth living” Why did we have to examine everything according to Socrates?

4. How did Socrates tell if a person is wise or not?

5. Why did Socrates not try to save himself from death?

6. What did Socrates relate death to in a positive manner or way?

7. What was the root of anger that made the men of Athens go against Socrates?

8. How did Socrates clearly know his life’s mission from the Gods?

9. What is the difference between divine things and divinities?

10. Can divine things and divinities oppose each other?

11. Why did Socrates not care about the danger he is in?

12. Why did the men of Athens believe the points of the three men which are not reliable? 13. What are the three kinds of people Socrates sniffed out and examined?

14. Why didn’t he beg the jury to let him live?

15. What thing did Socrates say he would do when he dies and finds out there is life after death?

16. Why did Socrates think that judgment in the afterlife would be fair?

17. What was the reason for the condemning of the men of Athens to people who think differently?

18. Why did the craftsmen and poets seem so confident that they were wise?

19. What did the oracle say about Socrates?

20. Why did the Athenians care about material things instead of satisfying their souls?

21. What did Socrates’ teaching revolve on or about?

22. Why didn’t Socrates consider not being a philosopher to save himself?

23. Did Socrates not think of his children losing a father when he dies?

24. When did people realize that Socrates was a good person?

25. Why didn’t he have bitterness towards the ignorant men of Athens?

26. How does the book show that it is important to not follow the crowd and make your own life decisions?

27. What caused Socrates’ devotion to what he believes in from a very young age?

28. Why did Socrates live in poverty, when he was smart enough to be able to make a living for himself?

29. What created Socrates’ negative image in Athens?

30. What kind of behaviour did Socrates’ not want the men of Athens to be involved in?

31. How did this injustice influence change to the men of Athens?

32. How did they kill Socrates?

33. Did Socrates believe in reincarnation?

34. What did Socrates think would happen to him in the afterlife?

35. Up until now, why is having a high reputation important for people?

36. Isn’t it better to have self-peace rather than keeping up this reputation?

37. Even if Socrates’ beliefs didn’t affect the men of Athens, why were they so determined to get him punished?

38. Where did Socrates learn all of the things he knows and now teaches to everyone who is interested?

39. Is death penalty still legal in Athens?

40. If these men of Athens put themselves in Socrates’ shoes, do you think the jury would reconsider their decision?

41. How would we know if the people in the court were credible enough to make such decision?

42. How did Socrates become infamous in the first place?

43. Why did other people bring their relatives such as children to court?

44. Was it necessary to end Socrates’ life?

45. Why were there no credible witnesses’ that prove that Socrates corrupted the children’s minds?

46. Did Socrates corrupt the young people in any way?

47. If yes, was this corruption intentional or unintentional?

48. Did Socrates’ death effect to something good or bad?

49. What is the basis of morality in the book?

50. Why was Socrates’ not keeping to himself considered a crime?

By: Rocky Concepcion

The creation of the earth, life and the universe in general have different versions. Today, we will be discussing two stories about this. The first version is Genesis, the story from the bible and the second version is The Igorot’s Creation Story. These will make us understand the perspectives of different people who believe in a certain story and why they live by these said beliefs until the present time.

I will be providing a short summary for each story to use as background information so that I can provide a clear analysis of each story.

Lumawig, from the the Igorot’s creation story is a god who came down to the empty earth, cut reeds and turned them human. These humans were distributed around the world, creating their own languages and were commanded to marry one another. Lumawig taught each and everyone how to live by giving them certain things to do for a living, such as pottery. This God developed the people’s strengths and weaknesses for them.

In Genesis, God created light, the planets and life in a matter of seven days. He started with nature on earth before he created us, humans. He created the first man, Adam from clay which he also created Eve with, the first woman.  He gave us free will which means we are able to do what we want.  We can choose which direction to take in living our lives, able to develop our talents and skills.

I can already see the differences in the stories. The earth was already made according to the Igorots, while in Genesis there was nothing and God created everything from darkness, which took him 7 days including the creation of the first two people Adam and Eve.

In Genesis, there was one language that eventually evolved and branched out later on. In contrast, in the Igorot’s story, the languages were already branched out and they had to find one universal language to understand one another.

We know that Lumawig gave the people their way of living --- what they are excellent at and the aspects that they need improvement on. This is the opposite of what God in Genesis did. On the other hand The humans in Genesis have free will, They are in charge of what strength and what weaknesses they have, and what they have to develop.

My last point is that Lumawig commanded the people to marry. There was no clear saying in the Roman Catholic Bible that Adam and Eve got married especially that there were no rules and regulations at the time. It was just clearly stated that a man and woman were meant to be there for each other.

Despite these differences, we can compare the two stories in various ways because they are somewhat similar. Both Gods in the story guide the humans’ way of life that gave them their strengths, weaknesses, skills and talents that until now we use to our advantage. The formation of people came from earthly things, Reed in The Igorot’s Story and Clay from Genesis. Marriage and reproduction are important aspects in order for humans to survive and live their life.

By: Rocky Concepcion

As I remember it, I enlisted in Philosophy 10 under Sir Caslib’s name due to a recommendation that I got from various internet websites. I was supposed to take Philosophy 11, thinking that logic would be an interesting topic but then, at the last day of pre-enlistment in the CRS, I changed it to Philosophy 10 because I read that, “it was one of the best.” And so, I got Philosophy 10 under Sir Caslib.

This experience taught me philosophy for the first time and dare I say, it truly exercised my capacity to think critically and to understand, speculate and philosophize on the different readings that were required in this course. It gave me a whole new set of knowledge on a different area of study. It was not something that you can get anywhere but rather, it is in the uniqueness of Sir Caslib. It taught me to think outside of my senses. It taught me to think logically and to find the truth, of what exists or if it really does. It taught me to look on a grander perspective of how I see the things that surround me, whether they are objects or imitations of the forms. I learned how to doubt the impressions that my senses transmit to my brain. This course also improved my patriotism as a Filipino with how we studied Filipino Philosophy and was even accompanied with an excursion in Antipolo, Laguna and Quezon. It was even an overnight field trip! I’m glad that I took this course because I think that it has provided me with the foundation needed in learning philosophy. It has given me the knowledge of different philosophers, ranging from Thrasymachus, to Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and down to Thomas Aquinas. I also learned about empiricism, utilitarianism, methodic doubt, imperatives, etc. These concepts made me think of how humans act based on whether they are utilizing or they have good will. These concepts may seem intimidating at first, but when learned, it wasn’t so hard after all. My brain was also exercised by how I thought of the meaning of my life. And lastly, I was amazed of how love was tackled in this course because it changed the way I define love. It was my first time reading chapters entitled, “Philosophy on Flirting” and “Hitting the Bars with Aristotle.” It was really a new set of information that I think I will never get anywhere else. I am truly amazed because I was even able to apply outside of class the things I learned. It affected the way I observe things that happen around. I think that this course made me a think like a philosopher, though not in a high degree as compared to the real philosophers but compared to how I think before I took Philosophy 10.

Also, it wasn’t only the knowledge that I got from this course but also the experiences and the friendships that I gained from my classmates. The field trip and the charity was a one of a kind experience that I think I won’t experience in any other classes of the university. If I will compare this class to the other classes that I took, I believe that the fun I had was best in this section. Sometimes, it seems as if I am more attached to my Philosophy 10 class than my block mates and it is probably because of the “nights” and days I had spent more with my WFU classmates. The way Sir Caslib teaches, speaks and cracks jokes is also one of the reasons why this course, even though mind blowing at first, is the most exciting experience so far in my university life. Sir Caslib stirred the creativity in our minds through the different presentations he required from us. The first thing that he tasked us to do was to dance a song that interpreted a topic on Philosophy. The next thing was to sing with songs from the Magic Sing that Sir Caslib brought. And then came the skits and other presentations. Those were also one of the reasons why the attachment with my Philosophy classmates were deeper than a usual GE class would have.

This experience makes me think of how lucky and blessed I am to receive such kind of course. Mid-semester, I was already recommending this class to my block mates and friends who are also in UP Diliman. And now that the semester is ending, I’ve thought that it would’ve also been better if my friends from the other universities would also have this kind of class. I wondered if in UST they are taught about Thomas Aquinas’ philosophy, maybe they are. Also, I felt lucky because my friends from DLSU doesn’t get to experience a class like this. It was a unique kind of feeling that I get in learning from this class and it really makes me want to encourage the people I know to take this kind of class.

Altogether, it was both the class, Sir Caslib himself and the teachings that he taught us which made my Philosophy 10 experience the best GE class experience. I am so thankful that I enlisted in this course. All the hard work in reading, highlighting and taking notes of the readings were worth it. All that I got from this course, the knowledge, experience, friendships, are all worth it. I will surely miss this kind of atmosphere that can exist only in Sir Caslib’s class. Thank you, Sir Caslib, for the philosophy journey that you triggered in me.