Chapter 4 Advanced Philosophy

Chapter 4 – MAN: HIS NATURE, DEVELOPMENT AND
DESTINY
Modern Perspective About Man
- to look at man in terms of the elements that
constitute him, his origin, nature and develop-
ment, his attributes and other traits and charac-
teristics which distinguish him from other
creations.
Compositions of Man:
Monism – one view about the manner of how
man was composed.
Dualism– man is made of two irreducible
elements: matter and spirit of soul.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas. The soul in
the “first principle of life in things where we
live”.
Two Views about the Composition of Man:
- one view is premised that man is
matter-the substance of which any physical
object consists or is composed.
- other view is the spirit-the incorporeal
part of man such as the mind or the soul.
 For the Christians, using the Bible as their frame
reference, man is made up of body, soul and spirit.
 The Origin of man revolves on two (2) theories:
the theory of divine origin
the theory of evolution
Man is by nature, good. His innate goodness,
though is subject to the influences and molding
power of his dominant environment
 TRAITS MAKE MAN DISTINCT:
1. Man has the ability to communicate.
2. Man’s highly developed brain enables him to invent
or create.
3. Man as a social and political being passes laws,
establishes rules of conduct and develop policies.
4. Man is conscious of history, branch of knowledge
dealing with past significant events that effect the
lives of people.
5. Man has aesthetic taste and appreciation.
6. Man values right and wrong to promote order in
the society, one of his social needs.
7. Man is a religious being, engages and worships a
Super Being.
Man as a Biological Being

Man as a biological being is innately good. When a
man and a woman fall in love and eventually get
married, their biological endowment will fuse.
The Reproductive System of Man…
 Man as a Social and Rational Being:
Man is a product of the social and
psychological factors that assist from the result of
the interplay of the various variables: e.g. heredity,
environment-geographical, social, economic and
cultural.
Norms of Society
The role of social institutions, e.g. the family,
the school, the church and the media immensely
influence the moral thinking and development of
man.
 MAN: A Modern Perspective
 Themodern upright man, as perceived today, is
a man who participates actively in the total
processes of social interaction in the society to
be a better place to live in.
 The modern virtuous man is never wanting in
dedication, commitment and involvement to the
ideals of the institution in which he belongs.
 The modern virtuous man epitomizes the virtues
of prudence, temperance and fortitude.
 Moral Assumptions of Man’s Nature
Man as a social being, is born into a company of
others and attain his full stature only by engaging
in activities in the society.
The educators maintain that the distinguishing
characteristic of man is his “rational faculty”, and
therefore, all educational purposes should lead to
the development of his power to reason, to
discriminate between what is right and what is
wrong.
 One assumption is that, since man is created in
the image of God, and God is infinitely good with
a noble intention about his creation, man’s
nature is inferentially unquestionably good.
 Rousseau, who asserts that, by nature man is
good. If he becomes evil, perhaps it is because he
virtually succumbs to the forces of evil that
influence him.
 Since man has the power of the will, judgement
will depend on him. It is the nature of man to
make and remake himself by his free acts of
choice.
Man relies on his consciousness to determine the
degree of his responsibility for his acts and on his own
conscience to judge good or evil.
Another view that man’s nature is essentially
tainted with evil is the doctrine that the first man and
woman, Adam and Eve have sinned.
The Highest Good

Some consider the highest good as being at peace
with oneself, with one’s fellowmen, and with God.
Other regard as clarity of mind, being of service…
 Man’s Search for Happiness
What is the meaning of happiness? Do all men
seek happiness? We may infer that the root meaning
of happiness is that of someone favored by fortune,
one to whom good things happen.
According to some Philosophers, happiness is not
a passing feeling or emotion such as gladness, but is
a lasting state of being. Happiness is a conscious
state of satisfaction or fulfillment.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas, happiness is the
perfect good which lulls the appetite altogether.
 DISCOVERING PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS
 Why does man work at the expense of health.
 Why is love complicated.
 Why do people have to die.
 Why can’t my parents understand me.
 Why do people say that “forever” is not altogether real in love
and relationships.
 What philosophical questions have you asked in the past or
is still asking right now.
 What makes your questions personally significant.
WHICH EXPERIENCES DO YOU THINK EXPRESSES
MOMENTS OF BEING IN THE WORLD OF PHILOSOPHY
 1. Your mother asked you to go to the market and you asked her what
items you need to buy.
 2. Your mother asked you to go to the market and you asked how much
is the budget to take with your.
 3. Your mother asked you to go to the market and you asked why it is
wise to buy in the wet market than in supermarket.
 4. Your mother asked you to go to the market and you asked her why
your family is buying meat when a vegetarian’s life is more ideal.
 5. Your mother asked you to go to the market and you asked yourself,
“why do people have to buy things when God created nature where
these goods come from.

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Chapter 4 – MAN: HIS NATURE, DEVELOPMENT AND

Man as a Biological Being

The Highest Good

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