Human as an

Embodied Spirit.
 Philosophy define the Human
Person
• Philosophers also think about upon the
concept of the Human Person and what makes
him or her a different in nature and entity.

•“Human Person” refers to the individual, and

all the attributes and characteristics that set
him or her apart from other human beings.
•Like all other animals, human beings posses
SENTIENCE –The ability to feel and experience
and perceive things.
 The Body As Intermediary
• Intermediary Connotes two meanings: as
bridge and as wall
• Because of my body, and encounter and
agreement occur between myself and the
world. Though my body, my subjectivity is
opened to the world and the world is opened
to me.
• On the other hand, because also of my body, I
experience the world as separate from me. I
am hidden from the world, and the world is
hidden from me.
 The Body As Intersubjectivity
• • My body is not only an intermediary
between me and the world but also between
me and others. I show myself to the other and
the other also shows himself to me through
my body.
• Yet it’s also my body that I hide myself from
them , and they hide their selves to me.
 The Value of The Body
• As the appearance and subjectivity , my body
has a unique value and dignity. It directs me
not only to the world and others but also to
God.
 According To The West

The Notion of The Human Person

As Embodied Spirit.
 Aristotle’s Concept of Man
• While Plato thought of a dichotomy between
the body and soul, according to Aristotle,
there is none
• The body and soul are in state of unity – in his
so-called hylomorphic doctrine.
• Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) explains to us the four
orders of beings in this world which are
properly called hylomorphic namely, non-
living bodies, plants, animals, and men.
• Hylomorphic derived its etymology from two
Greek words, hyle which means “matter” and
morphe which means “form”.
• The soul acts as pure actuality if the body
while the body Is a material entity that posses
the potentiality for life.
 Aristotle presented the concepts of
the kinds of soul:
• Rational Soul – Ranks the highest for it takes
responsibility the functions of vegetative and
sensitive souls. It is capable of thinking,
reasoning, willing, reflecting, and deciding
apart from sensing and growing.
• Sensitive Soul – It feeds itself, it grows, it
reproduces, and it has feelings
• Vegetative Soul – Capable of feeding, growing
and reproducing itself.
 A.) Man Rational Animal
• Man as rational animal. He can cognize things
sensitively and intellectually. He is called
animal because he is no different from any
other animals
• Man can see things as it is and then undergo
an intellectual process – called ideogenesis –
to give its meaning.
Scholastic (Thomaistic) Concept of the
Human Person
• He was regarded of Christianizing the philosophy
of Aristotle
• St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was significantly
influenced by the thinking of the great Greek
philosopher Aristotle.
• The presupposition that the body and the soul
are 2 distinct entities of totally different natures,
having completely distinct casual powers rooted
in its different natures, in which has become
accessible to us for observation in thoroughly
diverse ways.
• The universal element common in all living
beings is the soul.
• The body and the soul are distinctive parts of
the same entity. St. Thomas would often
reiterate unum convertitur cum ente (there is
one entity, absolutely speaking, at any time
there is a being having one act of existence,
even if the being in query is composed of
numerous parts).
• Both Aristotle and St. Thomas studied them as
a function of the whole of which it is a part
 Alasdair MacIntyre’s Dependent
Rational Animal
• There are three aspects of human existence to
consider a successful ethical theory: We are
dependent, we are rational, and we are
animals.
• From Aristotle’s idea of human telos (purpose
or end), MacIntrye rintroduces the conception
of a telos or good of a whole human life
conceived as unity.
• He presented that for a virtue to really become a
virtue, it is important to practice it in a small
community.
• The central virtue of this acknowledged
dependence is what MacIntyre calls “Just
Generosity” which is a combination of Justice and
Generosity.
• Alasdair Macintyre (1929-present) is one of the
most renowned Thomistic political philosophers
today.
 Rene Descartes
• Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was the father of
modern philosophy and analytic geometry.
• He contended that all extended beings (meaning,
bodily beings) including man’s body, are subject
to change and hence, uncertain
• To get rid of illusion in order to secure that which
is certain as the foundation of any inquiry, he
introduced a methodic doubt in which he subject
every extended being into doubt and claimed
that whatever is that which will pass the test shall
be held as certain and real.
• • He realized that even if almost everything
can be doubted, there is one thing that cannot
be doubted.
Primary and Secondary Reflection
• Primary reflection is when we look at a
particular thing objectively.
• In this mater, the body studied in primary
reflection is not my body anymore but only “A
Body”.
• This is the body talked about is physiology,
anatomy and other sciences.
• It is very important that we study Primary
reflection.
 HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY:

From the “I” to the “Other”

 “The law of I”
• is a thinking that starts from myself, goes out
to the other, and returns to myself.
 “The Law of the Other”
• is a thinking that moves from the I to the other
without returning to the I.
 The Autonomy of the Self
• the act of preservation that describes itself as
a being – the going out of being from the
“self” to the “other” but return to the “self”
again.
 The Heteronomy of the Other
• what is most important is not the self/ego but
the neighboring/other.
• there is ethical responsibility for the “other,”
that the “other” must not be taken for granted
anymore.
• always consider the ethical responsibility of
the “self” to the “other,” for the “other”
 Man as “Capable Human Being”:
• Man has the capacity to tell a story in order to ascertain that
there are things in life left undone.
• The narrative of our life must use the capacity of both to
understand its hidden possibilities
Narrative Identity
• -the dynamic way of interpreting identity
• -The hermeneutics of the self- a transition from man’s servile
way
3 things to be highlighted in our life in quest of the narrative
• Not to see life as something routinary| mechanical
• To find its meaning again and again
• To accept things in life as they are, but one should go beyond
• I. Not to see life as something routinary/mechanical -
identity is not just keeping the same, but changes in time
and always in the making -to see life as routinary or
mechanical is to make it tautologous -for Paul Ricoer, ‘the
enemy of memory is repetition’ -always see life everyday as
a new beginning
• II. To find its meaning again and again -MEANING in
Filipino is kahulugan Ka| kaputol or kapatid, binds or
connect something Hulog| put into a deeper level in order
to grasp the real essence of being -In our life, there is a
tendency to see it as routinary\mechanical leading to its
absurdity -Paul Ricoer is suggesting to us the idea to always
anchor our lives to the ultimate source of meaning
• III. To accept things in life as they are, but one
should go beyond these lived human actions -
To struggle with the text is tantamount to
saying to struggle with the reality of life - For
Paul Ricoer, struggling with life is finding its
true meaning -struggle is inevitable in life, but
to experience the reality of life is for human to
grow and go beyond the lived experience in
order to find its essence
 The Formation of the Human Being
• the aim of self-formation is to make each
human being becomes what God wants him to
be
• Man must free himself from mere conformity
and imitation
• Self- formation is very essential in life where
we realize the plan of God in us
• Life is an endless search for meaning
Transcendence in
Global Age(East)
 Transcendence
• An act of rising above something to a superior
state
• State of excelling or surpassing or going
beyond usual limits of material experience
• Comes from the Latin prefix trans-, meaning
“beyond”, and the word scandare, meaning to
climb.
 Hinduism
• • Hinduism is one of the oldest Eastern
traditions practiced by hundreds of millions of
people for about 5,000 years
• • At the heart of Hinduism lies the idea of
human beings' quest for absolute truth, so
that one's soul and the Brahman or Atman
(Absolute Soul) might become one
 The Aum
• • It is the root of the universe and everything
that exists and it continues to hold everything
together
Human beings possess dual nature:
• The spiritual and immortal essence (soul)
• Empirical life and character
Karma (कर्म)
• It refers to intentional actions that affect one's
fortunes in this life and the next.
• Humanity's basic goal in life is the liberation
(moksha) of spirit (jiva).
 Transmigration/Metempsychosis
Hindus believe the atman repeatedly takes on a
body until moksha.
If a person has led a good life, the soul goes
upward the scale. The soul of an evil person,
on the other hand, may pass into the body of
an animal.
• Moksha
It is the transcendent state attained as a result of
being released from the cycle of rebirth.

Hinduism's Primary Values

1. Wealth
2. 2. Pleasure
3. 3. Duty
4. 4. Enlightenment
 Brahman
• Places a lot of emphasis on the attainment of
self-knowledge
• Most Hindus believe that Brahman is present
in every person as the eternal spirit or soul,
called the atman.
Brahman contains everything: creation and
destruction, male and female, good and evil,
movement and stillness
These are expressed in the trimurti and are:
Brahma, the creator
Vishnu, the preserver
Shiva, the destroyer
Dharma is an important term in Indian religions.
In Hinduism it means 'duty', 'virtue',
'morality', even 'religion' and it refers to the
power which upholds the universe and
society.
• The Upanishads are a collection of texts that
contain some of the central philosophical
concepts of Hinduism; and is also considered by
Hindus to contain utterances concerning the
nature of ultimate reality and describing the
character of and path to human salvation.
Nirvana
The highest state that someone can attain, a state
of enlightenment, meaning a person's individual
desires and suffering go away
 Buddhism: From Tears to
Enlightenment
• • Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn, Like
bubbles on a fast moving stream, Like morning
dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass, like
a candle flickering in a stormy wind, echoes,
mirages, and phantoms hallucinations and like
a dream.
- The Buddha, Eight Smiles of Illusion
 Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
He turned away from Hinduism to seek for answers to the
riddle of life's sufferings, disease, old age, and death.
Four Noble Truths
1. Life is full of suffering;
2. Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts,
cravings;
3. Only as these are obliterated, will suffering cease;
4. Such eradication of desire may be accomplished only
by following the Eightfold Path of earnest endeavor.
 Eightfold Path
1. Right belief in and acceptance of the "Fourfold Truth";
2. Right aspiration for one's self and for others;
3. Right speech that harms no one;
4. Right conduct, motivated by goodwill toward all human
beings;
5. Right means of livelihood, or earning one's living by
honorable means;
6. Right endeavor, or effort to direct one's energies toward
wise ends;
7. Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought; and
8. Right meditation or concentration to the point of complete
absorption in mystic ecstasy.
States of Sublime Condition
•Love
•Sorrow of others
•Joy in the joy of others
•Equanimity as regards one's own joy and
sorrows.
Samsara
It is the beginning-less cycle of repeated birth, mundane
existence and dying again that all beings pass through.
Samsara is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and
painful, perpetuated by desire and avidya (ignorance), and the
resulting karma.
Axioms
• Cease to do evil
• Learn to do good
• Purify your own mind
 The Biblical God and Humanity
• in the 5th century, Augustines writing is considered to be
the most influential in the early medieval period.
-this section looks at the reasonableness of belief in Gods
existence.
-Theistic Hypothesis treating the statement "God exists" as a
hypothesis
-Religious people do not treat Gods existence as a hypothesis.
-The religious problem in the Old Testament narratives is not
Atheism the denial of God but Polytheism the worship of
too many gods.
-in the new testament the reality of God is unquestioned
because the Jesus of Nazareth the eternal God became
flesh and dwelt among human beings.
For Augustine(354-430 CE)
-Teachings of christianity are based on the love
of God which Augustine's, Aquinas', and
Anselm's arguments rooted.
-Christianity as presenting the full revelation of
the true God, is the only full and true
philosophy.
-When comes the knowledge of God? It starts
with faith and made perfect by understanding.
-philosophy is "amor sapiential", the love of
wisdom. Hence it is the love of God it is then
religious
-All knowledge leads to God so that faith
supplement and enlightens reason that may
proceed to ever richer and fuller
understanding.
"Human beings alone, without God, are bound
to fail"
 Evaluate Limitations (East)
1.FORGIVENESS- we are freed from our anger
and bitterness. - the hardness of our heart is
reinforced by whole series of rational
arguments.
2.THE BEAUTY OF NATURE- Theres is perfection
in every sinble flower; this what the three
philosophies believed. - these kinds of
experiences can be truly moment of grace and
need to be praise.
3.VULNERABILITY- to be invulnerable is somehow
inhuman. To be vulnerable is to be human. -
without acknowledging the help of others is to
live without meaning and direction. -Dependence
on others are not a sign of weakness but being
true with ourselves
4.FAILURE - it force us to confront ouf weaknesses
and limitations. -such acceptance of our failures
makes us hope and trust that all can be brought
into good.
5.LONELINESS- our loneliness can be rooted
from our sense of vulnerability and fear of
death. -this is a common a experience. -with
our loneliness we can realize that our
dependence on other people or gadgets is
possessiveness that we can be free from.
• 6.LOVE - to love is to experience fichness,
lositivity, and transcendence. -Life is full of
risks, fears and commitment,pain and
sacrificing and giving up things we want for
the sake of the one we love. - in a buddhist
view "the more we love, the more we risks
and fears there are in life"