INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

Pursuing Wisdom and Facing Challenges in the Twenty-First Century

PHILOSOPHY - Greek words Philo- “to Love”, and Sophia “wisdom”
- Originally meant “love of wisdom”
- Wisdom is the goal of Philosophy
- Unending quest for knowledge
- Also defined as the science that by natural light of reason studies the first causes or highest principles of all
things.
- Science, Natural Light of Reason, Study of all Things, First Cause or Highest Principles
SCIENCE – it is because the investigation is systematic. It is an organized body of knowledge just like any other
sciences.
Natural Light of Reason – philosophy investigates things, not by using any other laboratory instrument or
investigative tools, neither on the basis of supernatural revelation, otherwise it becomes theology; instead, the
philosopher uses his natural capacity to think or simply, human reason alone or the so-called unaided reason.
Study of all Things - This sets the distinction between philosophy and other field of sciences. All other sciences
concern themselves with a particular object of investigation.
- a philosopher studies human beings, society, religion, language, God, and plants, and other concerns.
- Is not one-dimensional or partial. It is multidimensional or holistic.
First Cause or Highest Principle – a principle is that from which something proceeds in any manner whatsoever.
- Principle of Identity – whatever is is; and whatever is not is not; everything is what it is. Everything is its own being,
and not being is not being
Principle of Non-Contradiction – it is impossible for a thing to be and not to be at the same time, and at the same
respect
Principle of Excluded Middle – a thing is either is or is not; everything must be either be or not be; between being and
not-being, there is no middle ground
Principle of Sufficient Reason – nothing exists without a sufficient reason for its being and existence.
- Early Greek philosophers studied aspects of the natural and human world that later became separate sciences –
astronomy, physics, psychology, and sociology.
- Certain basic problems: nature of the universe, the standard of justice, the validity of knowledge, the correct
application of reason, and the criteria of beauty – domain of philosophy from its beginnings to the present.
EMPTYING - a need in order to attain wisdom.
- Intellectual/spiritual/physical

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

PHILOSOPHY
What is real? Are we able to perceive and understand reality and everything in it?
How do we know what we know? Are the things that we know are true?
What is the ultimate cause of all things? What is our purpose in this world?
To what extent are our choices and actions considered “free”?
PHILOSOPHERS
Pythagoras (570 BCE to 495 BCE) – a mathematician and scientist, who was credited with formulating the
Pythagorean theorem. His work earned him many followers, and he established a community of learners who were
devoted to the study of religion and philosophy.
Heraclitus (535 BCE to 475 BCE) – he proposed that everything that exists is based on a higher order or plan which
he called logos. For him, change is permanent aspect of the human condition as he was credited with the saying, “No
man ever steps in the same water twice”.
Democritus (460 BCE to 370 BCE) – devoted to himself the study of the causes of natural phenomena. He was among
the first to propose that matter is composed of tiny particles called atoms.
Diogenes of Sinope (412 BCE to 323 BCE) – he was a known advocate of living a simple and virtuous life.
- One should not only talk of virtue but should show it in words and actions
- Emphasis on austerity and simplicity often went to the extreme, and he was said to have lived like a beggar
- His teachings and views were later developed by his followers and influenced the development of several
schools of philosophy such as Cynicism and Stoicism.
Epicurus (341 BCE to 270 BCE) – believed that philosophy could enable man to live a life of happiness. His views
gave rise to Epicureanism – a school of philosophy which believes that wisdom and simple living will result in a life
free of fear and pain.
Socrates (470 BCE to 399 BCE) – considered as the foremost philosopher of ancient times. He made great
contributions on the field of ethics. Socrates was a known critic of intellectuals during his time, but he himself did not
claim to be “wise” and merely considered himself a “midwife” that helped inquiring minds achieve wisdom. He also
believed that philosophy could enable a man to live a life of virtue. He was credited with formulating the Socratic
Method – a means of examining a topic by devising a series of questions that let the learner examine and analyze his
knowledge and views regarding the topic.
Plato (427 BCE to 347 BCE) - a student of Socrates who wrote down his mentor’s teachings and incorporated some
of his own ideas into them. His teachings and writings were considered the foundation of Western philosophy. Plato’s
most significant ideas included his Theory of Forms – everything that exists is based on an idea or template that can
only be perceived in the mind; these nonphysical ideas are eternal and unchanging
- He also focused his studies on the ideal society and proposed an ideal model of government and society which
is ruled by wisdom and reason
- Plato’s lasting contribution to learning was his founding of the Academy, an institution of higher learning
which was the first of its kind in the Western World.
Aristotle (384 BCE to 322 BCE) – he attended the Academy, and was a prominent student of Plato. He disagreed with
Plato’s theory of forms and took a different stance in interpreting reality. For him, ideas and views are based on
perception and our reality is based on what we can sense and perceive. This view greatly influenced the study of the
physical sciences.
Aristotle was involved in a great variety of disciplines such as zoology, psychology, ethics, and politics. He also
proposed a system for the classification of plants and animals. His studied in logic led to the formulation of a formal
procsss of analyzing reasoning which gave rise to Deductive Reasoning – the process by which specific statements
are analyzed to reach a conclusion or generalization.
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1.) Metaphysics – only an extension of a fundamental and necessary drive in every human being to know what is real.
- to explain that part of our experience, which we call unreal in terms of what we call real.
- Plato asserts that nothing we experience in the physical world with our five senses is real. Reality, in fact, is
just the opposite.
2.) Ethics – explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions. A study of the nature of moral
judgments.
- How do we tell good from evil or right from wrong.
- For Socrates, to be happy, a person has to live a virtuous life.
3.) Epistemology – deals with nature, sources, limitations, and validity of knowledge. It addresses varied problems:
the reliability, extent, and kinds of knowledge, truth, language, and science and scientific knowledge.
a.) How we know what we claim to know
b.) How we can find out what we wish to know
C.) How we can differentiate truth from falsehood
Two ways to acquire knowledge:
- Induction – one organizes in his mind what he learns. through the senses, by seeing, hearing, touching.
General ideas are formed from the examination of particular facts. Real knowledge is based on what senses
dictate, not by what people make up their mind.
- Empiricist/ ex. John Locke
- Deduction – to find a general law according to which particular facts can be understood or judged is essential.
Real knowledge is based on logic, laws, and the methods that reason develops.
- Rationalist/ ex. Rene Descartes
4.) Logic – comes from Greek word logike and was coined by Zeno, the Stoic. It means a treatise on matters
pertaining to the human thought.
- Reasoning is the concern of the logician
- As human, we use it when we make decisions or when we try to influence the decision of others or when we
are engaged in argumentation an debate.
5.) Aesthetics – the science of the beautiful in its various manifestations – including the sublime, comic, tragic,
pathetic, ugly. To experience aesthetics, therefore, means whatever experience has relevance to art, whether the
experience be that of the creative artist or of appreciation.
- Things to consider:
a.) It vitalizes our knowledge – it makes our knowledge of the world alive and useful.
b.) It helps us to live more deeply and richly – a work of art – whether a book, a piece if music, painting, or a
television show – helps us to rise from purely physical existence into the realm of intellect and the spirit.
c.) It brings us in touch with our culture - things about us change so rapidly today that we forget how much we owe to
the past
Hans-Georg Gadamer, a German philosopher, argues that our tastes and judgements regarding beauty, work in
connection with one’s own personal experience and culture.
Diversity – is the difference that makes each person unique – biology, ethnicity and culture, family life, beliefs,
geography, experiences, and religion.
WESTERN AND NON-WESTERN TRADITIONS
Three great original centers of philosophy in the world:
- Greek (or Western), Indian, Chinese
- arose as critical reflections on their own cultural traditions
- Asian classics of the Indians and the Chinese predate the oldest of Western classics. There was more philosophical
activity in the East than in the West. Before the Greek period, there was hardly an activity in the West. Greeks before
Thales did not have philosophy.
WESTERN AND NON-WESTERN TRADITIONS
Three attitudinal imperatives to consider to appreciate the Oriental or Eastern thought
1.) West thinks in a linear manner/ Oriental thought runs in a circular manner
- nothing begins absolutely or ends absolutely. A man is born in a specific time and may die at a precise time, and
after one’s death, life continues in another form.
Samsara/rebirth – there is a cycle of rebirths within the various spheres of life, the vegetative, animal, and human.
2.) On the assumption that the East does not make a rigorous distinction between religion and philosophy.
- basic philosophical concepts are shrouded in religious beliefs and myths.
- in the East, Philosophy is Religion and Religion is Philosophy. The Oriental does not cut off philosophy that is
thought, from religion that is life in action.
3.) The acceptance of the validity of intuition and mysticism, the readiness to revert to extra logical, if not logical
modes of thinking.
- Oriental thought does not follow structured mode.
- the West theorizes and speculates; no application to life is necessary.
FILIPINO THINKING: FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL
- for Filipinos, there has to be a “Filipino thought” or none at all.
- “the Filipino must take consciousness of his own particular life and his world, his society and his gods in the light of
Truth, and thereby realize his proper being (Reyes 1990).
- “the pioneering attempts to formulate a Filipino philosophy share the fate of most pioneering works: the lack of
refined tools and the lack of predecessors upon whom to stand (1992).
1.) Loob: Holistic and Interior Dimensions
- kagandahang-loob, kabutihang-loob, and kalooban are terms that show sharing of one’s self to others.
- “interiority manifests itself in freedom. Loob puts one in touch with his fellow beings. Great Philippine values, in
fact, are essentially interpersonal. The use of intermediaries or go-betweens, the values of loyalty, hospitality,
pakikisama (camaraderie), and respect to authority are such values that relate to persons”.
- “The Filipino looks at himself as holistic from the interior dimension under the principle of harmony. The Filipino
looks at himself as a self, as a total whole – as a “person”, conscious of his freedom, proud of his human dignity, and
sensitive to the violation of these two (Mercado 2000).
2.) Filipino Philosophy of Time
- “A Filipino proves that he believes in the gulong ng palad (literally “wheel of fortune”) and hence, looks at life as a
series of ups and downs (Timbreza 1992).
- Filipino Time is mistakenly interpreted as always delayed in the committed time of arrival. This notion can be
misleading since the Filipino farmers are early risers to go to their field and waste no time for work.
3.) Bahala Na
- the pre-Spanish Filipino people believed in a Supreme Being, Batula or Bathala. However, in this regard, the
originality of Filipino thought will probably be precisely in his personalistic view of the universe (Timbreza 2002).
- Bathala is not an impersonal entity but rather a personal being that keeps the balance in the universe.
- the Bahala na philosophy puts complete trust in the Divine Providence.
- Bahala na is one of the most outstanding Filipino virtues. It is one aspect perceived as courage to take risks.
4.) Filipino Thought and Values
- utang na loob (indebtedness to patrons) – reciprocating debts of gratitude between others. A Filipino gives great
value to endurance and hard work as means to economic self-sufficiency.
 - Bayanihan – helping others in time of need. Whatever good one has done will redound to one’s benefit because a
Supreme Judge will dispense just compensation whether in this life or in the next.
PHILOSOPHY: AIMING FOR A LIFE OF ABUNDANCE
- abundance comes from the Latin term, “abundare” meaning, “to overflow nonstop”. It is outflowing than incoming.
It is not amassing material things or people but our relationship with others, ourselves, and with nature (Aguilar 2010).
- abundance is not what we gather but what we scatter
- abundance is not what we keep but what we give away
- abundance is not what we hold but what we share
- abundance comes to the one who has money but it also comes to those who have heart, values, relationships, and
deeper happiness.
- abundance is a choice
- abundance is to evolve into a higher being

METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING
Phenomenology: On Consciousness
- founded by Edmund Husserl
- focuses on careful inspection and description of phenomena or appearances, defined as any object of conscious
experience that is, that which we are conscious of.
- a method for finding and guaranteeing the truth
- phenomenon is derived from Greek word phainomenon - appearance
- the scientific study of the essential structures of consciousness
- consciousness is intentional
- intentional acts of consciousness and the intentional objects of consciousness
- the phenomenologists interest are the contents of consciousness, not on things of the natural world as such
- ideas, for Husserl, distinguishes between the natural world and the phenomenological standpoint
- there is a need for inspection and description
- To uncover experience and its object // Done through “reductions”
- The main goal of a phenomenologist is to arrive to a certain truth by “bracketing” the contents of the consciousness
Existentialism: On Freedom
- is more of an outlook or attitude supported by diverse doctrines centered on certain common themes:
- The human condition or the relation of the individual to the world;
- The human response to that condition;
- Being, especially the difference between the being of the person (which is existence) and the being of other kinds of
things;
- Human freedom;
- The significance (and unavoidability) of choice and decision in the absence of certainty and;
- The concreteness and subjectivity of life as lived, against abstractions and false objectifications.
- The existentialists share a concern for the individual and personal responsibility
- Existentialism is often thought to be antireligious
- Soren Kierkegaard, the first existentialist, insisted that the authentic self was personally chosen self, as opposed to
the public “herd” of identity.
- “I think, therefore I am”.

Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher - emphasizes the importance of free individual choice, regardless of the
power of other people to influence and coerce our desires, beliefs, and decisions.
-Sartre argues that consciousness is such that it is always free to choose and free to “negate” (or reject) the given
features of the world. One is never free of one’s situation, but one is always free to “negate” the situation and try to
change it.
- To be human, to be conscious, is to be free to imagine, free to choose, and responsible for one’s life.
Existentialism asserts for man to live freely which is attained by being authentic.
Authenticity of the self – means the genuineness of one’s thought and actions. S/He seeks not mere opinion but
knowledge, self-knowledge in particular, and prescribed not only action but virtue, being “true to oneself”
Postmodernism: On Cultures
A viewpoint that holds a general distrust of theories, narratives, and ideologies that attempt to put all knowledge into a
single framework
A holding pattern, perhaps a cry of despair
To arrive at truth, humanity should realize the limits of reason and objectivism
Adheres to a relational, holistic approach
Value our existence in the world and in relation to it
Jean-Francois Lyotard “Knowledge is produced to be sold”
METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING
Analytic Tradition
Philosophers of this tradition assert that language cannot objectively describe the truth
Man can understand the world solely in terms of language games – that is, our linguistic, social constructs.
Truth, as we perceive it, is socially constructed.
There is a need for logic to discover what is true
Ludwig Wittgenstein – “the limits of my language, are the limits of my world”

THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT: Transcendence in the Global Age

GLOBAL AGE - to understand what it means by the Global Age, we have to understand globalization. Globalization
is a term used to describe how trade and technology have made the world into a more connected and interdependent
place.
-So to say, Global age is the continual progress and rise of technology that makes men connected globally as what we
all experience during this era.
TRANSCENDENCE - It is a state wherein a human person moves from one’s physical need to the spiritual need. It
means overcoming oneself or being in control even if the body reminds us of certain tendencies. Although these
tendencies are felt, the person can govern them and ensure that they are exercised within the bounds of reason. Each
individual carries the possibility of transcending his limits by exerting enough effort and perseverance. Philosophy
gives us useful tools to explore our limits and possibilities. The essence of transcendence is to acknowledge our
limitation, identify possibilities for development and change ourselves for the better. Our capacity for transcendence
gives us the opportunity to work toward becoming better versions of ourselves. It is possible due to the fact that we
have a soul that is capable of coming to life and experiencing profound and hidden values, which the flesh and the
senses can never discover alone. This spirituality in us is identified with the divine image in our soul. According to
Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, there is no other way for us to find who we are than by finding in ourselves the
divine image. We have to struggle to regain spontaneous and vital awareness of our own spirituality.

HUMAN PERSON - a human person is typically a being with a body which is tangible and has a three components
composed of soul, mind, and spirit. Also, he or she is entitled and granted rights and privileges by the state where he
or she legally belong.
SOUL - causes the body to live and animates the body. It is your inner-life in relation to your own experience your
mind, heart, will, and imagination
SPIRIT - aside from the physical characteristics, another aspect of the human that defines us as persons is the spirit,
and this is the intangible element that enables us to exercise thought, possess awareness, interiority and the capacity to
reach out to the world and to other persons. The spirit speaks of the same inner-life in relation to God: your faith,
hope, love, character, and perseverance.
EMBODIMENT OF THE SPIRIT - refers to the inseparable union of human body and soul. Means, the body and soul
work together at all times. Because of the human embodiment, physical acts are no longer purely physical acts,
because the body conveys something from a person’s inner world.
EMBODIED SPIRIT - an animating core living within each of us. It is known to be the driving force behind what we
actually think, do and say. As an embodied spirit, the human person demonstrates self-awareness, externality, self-
determination, and dignity. As human, we have the unique power to change ourselves and things for the better.

The Human Person as an Embodied Spirit

Evaluate own limitations and the possibilities for their transcendence
Limitations and the Possibilities for their Transcendence
1. Forgiveness
When we forgive, we are freed from our anger and bitterness because of the actions and/or words of another. On the
other hand, the hardness of our heart is reinforced by whole series of rational arguments.
Limitations and the Possibilities for their Transcendence
2. The Beauty of Nature
There is perfection in every single flower; this is what the three philosophies believed. For a hug, for every sunrise and
sunset, to eat together as a family, are our miracles. These kinds of experiences can be truly moments of grace. They
touch us deeply and the human heart is spontaneously lifted. During this experience, we need to offer praise.
Limitations and the Possibilities for their Transcendence
3. Vulnerability
To be invulnerable is somehow inhuman. To be vulnerable is to be human. Supermen or superheroes are hiding from
their true humanity. The experience that we are contingent, that we are dependent for our existence on another is
frightening. To work in the office or study in school, without acknowledging the help of others, is to live without
meaning and direction. We need to acknowledge the help of other people in our lives. Such moments of poverty and
dependence on others are not a sign of weakness but being true with ourselves.
Limitations and the Possibilities for their Transcendence
4. Failure
Our failures force us to confront our weaknesses and limitations. When a relationship fails, when a student fails a
subject, when our immediate desires are not met, we are confronted with the possibility of our plans, and yet, we are
forced to surrender to a mystery or look upon a bigger world. Such acceptance of our failures makes us hope and trust
that all can be brought into good. Even if we have sinned, as Augustine had, there is hope and forgiveness.
Limitations and the Possibilities for their Transcendence
5. Loneliness
Our loneliness can be rooted from our sense of vulnerability and fear of death. This experience is so common.
However, it is our choice to live in an impossible world where we are always "happy" or to accept a life where
solitude and companionship have a part. With our loneliness, we can realize that our dependence on other people or
gadgets is a possessiveness that we can be free from.
6. Love
To love is to experience richness, positivity, and transcendend Whether in times of ecstatic moments or struggles, the
love for a frien between family members or a significant person, can open in us somethin in the other which takes us
beyond ourselves. Life is full of risks, fears an commitment, pain and sacrificing and giving up thing/s we want for th
sake of the one we love. In a Buddhist view, the more we love, the more ris and fears there are in life (Aguilar 2010).
Recognize the Transcendence Human Body Imposes Limits and Possibilities Transcendence
Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma
Nirvana - means the state in which one is absolutely free from all forms of bondage and attachment. It means to
overcome and remove the cause of suffering. It is also the state of perfect insight into the nature of existence.