Intro-to-Philosophy-Module-4

WHO IS
THE
HUMAN
PERSON?
OBJECTIVES
• recognize your own
limitations and
possibilities
• explain the theories
on human nature
• reflect upon the
human condition of
freedom
WHO IS THE
HUMAN
PERSON?
Throughout history,
philosophers have come
up with explanations of
who the human person is.
Ontology is the area of

metaphysics concerned
with the study of the
nature and relations of
OXFORD
Human being is “a man,
DICTIONARY:
woman, or child of the
species Homo sapiens,
distinguished from other
animals by superior mental
development, power to
articulate speech, and
upright stance.
Why is it necessary
to study the nature
of the human
person?
Human Nature has three
aspects:
• Somatic –refers to the body, material
composition, or substance of a human
person.
• Behavioral –refers to the human

person’s mode of acting.
• Attitudinal –refers to the human

Theories of Human
Nature
1. Human Person as an
Immortal Soul
2. Human Person as a
Composite of Body and
Soul
3. Human Person as a
HUMAN PERSON AS AN
• IMMORTAL
In one of the dialogues
SOUL of Plato,
Socrates asserted “Every soul is
immortal, for that which moves itself
immortal, while that moves, and is
moved by something else stops living
when it stops moving…this is the very
essence and principle of a soul, for
every bodily object that is moved
HUMAN PERSON AS AN
• IMMORTAL SOUL that the soul is
Socrates is asserting
immortal. The key reason he gives is
that the soul moves itself. Anything
that has the power to move on its
own is, by nature, immortal, because
it does not rely on anything external
for its movement or life.
HUMAN PERSON AS AN
• IMMORTAL SOUL
He contrasts the soul with things that
are moved by something else. If an
object or entity requires something
external to set it in motion, it will
cease to live or move once that
external force is removed. Thus, such
things are not immortal.
HUMAN PERSON AS AN
• IMMORTAL SOUL
Thus, the human person, in the
Platonic account, has an immortal
soul that is the source of movement.
Therefore, you, as a human person,
have a soul because you are moved
from within. No outside force compels
you to have life or to have motion.
HUMAN PERSON AS A COMPOSITE OF BODY
• Aristotle’s psychology involves the relation between
the psyche (or soul) AND SOUL
and the body.
• Aristotle argues that a human being is not just a
body or just a soul, but a combination of both. The
body and soul are intertwined, forming a single,
unified entity.
• Aristotle sees them as inseparable. The soul cannot
exist without the body, and the body without the
soul is just a lifeless matter.
• For Aristotle, the soul is the "form" of the body. This
means that the soul gives life to the body and
determines its purpose or function. The soul is what
makes a body a living organism, rather than just a
HUMAN PERSON AS A
• While“THINKING
Plato believed that THING”
the human person is
an immortal soul and Aristotle claimed that the
human person is a composite of body and soul,
Rene Descartes asserted that the human
person is a thinking thing.
• "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am").
• Descartes believed that the very essence of

what it means to be human is the capacity for
thought. By "thinking," he didn't just mean
logical reasoning, but all forms of
HUMAN PERSON AS A
• In his“THINKING THING”
quest for certainty, Descartes famously
doubted everything that could possibly be
doubted. However, he realized that while he
could doubt the existence of the external world
or even his own body, he could not doubt that
he was thinking. The very act of doubting
required a thinking entity. Therefore, the one
thing he could be absolutely certain of was
that he was a "thinking thing.“
• The mind, as a thinking thing, does not depend
on the body for its existence. Even if the body
HUMAN CONDITION
Human Condition is defined as the
inevitable positive and negative
events of existence as a human being.
Through human condition, a person
realizes how it is to be human.
While the three aspects of the human
nature define or characterize the
human person, one will understand
how to live according to this nature
through human condition.
MAN AS FREEDOM
• Jean Paul Sartre, a French philosopher,
published Being and Nothingness: A
Phenomenological Essay on Ontology –a
book about existentialism.
• Sartre asserted that the human person has
no fixed nature –that his or her reality is his
or her freedom. He claimed that the human
person has free will and he or she has to
exercise this capacity because it is only in
choosing that the human person’s existence
MAN AS FREEDOM
• Sartre believed that human beings are
fundamentally free. This freedom is not just
the ability to make choices but the
inescapable fact that we are always making
choices, whether consciously or
unconsciously. Even the decision not to
choose is, in itself, a choice.
• Unlike objects, which have a fixed nature or
essence, humans do not have a
predetermined essence. Sartre famously
MAN AS FREEDOM
• We are entirely responsible for who we
become. This responsibility can be
overwhelming, leading to feelings of
"anguish" or "dread" as we realize the
weight of our freedom.
• Some people may try to escape this
responsibility by falling into "bad faith",
where they deny their freedom and act as if
their actions are determined by external
factors. This might involve blaming others,
MAN AS FREEDOM
• By making choices, especially those that
align with our values and desires, we
actively create our identity and essence. It is
through this process of choosing that we
give meaning and direction to our lives,
thereby achieving an authentic existence.
• If a person refuses to acknowledge their
freedom and instead lives according to the
dictates of others or societal norms without
reflection, they live an inauthentic life. Their
NOTHINGNESS
• "Nothingness" refers to our capacity to think
about and recognize what is not there. For
example, if you're waiting for a friend who
doesn't show up, you experience their
absence, their "nothingness." This ability to
conceive of things that aren't present or don't
exist is unique to human consciousness.
• Sartre believed that because we can imagine
what isn't (like alternative futures, missed
opportunities, or different choices), we are not
NOTHINGNESS
• "Nothingness" is closely tied to human
freedom. Because we can imagine different
possibilities, we can choose between them.
This means that we're not bound by the
current state of things—we can envision and
pursue new paths, even if they don't yet exist.
• Sartre believed that life doesn't come with
any inherent meaning; we have to create it
ourselves. "Nothingness" is the space where
we can create meaning by making choices.
NOTHINGNESS
• Realizing that there's "nothing" determining
who we are or what we should do can lead to
existential angst or anxiety. This is the
discomfort that comes with knowing that we
have to create our own meaning and make
choices without any guarantees or
predetermined paths.
• Sartre suggests that this "nothingness" is both
a challenge and an opportunity. It can be
unsettling to confront the void of meaning,
REFLECTION
TIME!

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WHO IS

Ontology is the area of

• Behavioral –refers to the human

• Attitudinal –refers to the human

• Descartes believed that the very essence of

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