INTRODUCTION

TO THE HUMAN
PERSON
WEEK 5 :
THE HUMAN PERSON
AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT
At the end of the module, you
should be able to;
3.1. Recognize own limitations and
possibilities
PPT11/12-If-3.1
3.2. Evaluate own limitations and the
possibilities for their transcendence
PPT11/12-Ig-3.2
“Man is not only body, but he is
something infinitely higher. Of all the
animal creations of God, man is the only
animal who has been created in order
that he may know his maker. Man’s aim
in life is not to add from day to day to his
material prospects and to his material
possessions, but his predominant calling
is from day to day to come nearer to his
maker” [Mohandas Gandhi, 1948]
 According to Plato reality is made up of
two worlds namely, the world of Forms
and the world of Sense where human
beings participate in both of these
different worlds.
The world of Sense which is proposed
and believed by Heraclitus, is the world
we see, experience, the world of objects;
a world of change, it is made up of
matter and is bound to decomposition.
Heraclitus proves this through the
statements “Cold things grow hot, the
hot cools, the wet dries, the parched
moistens.” and “We both step and do
not step into the same revers. We are
and we are not.”
The world of Forms which is proposed
by Parmenides who influenced Plato
in this type of world is a world that is
eternal, perfect and unchanging.
Parmenides proved the
world of Forms by his
statement “We can speak
and think only of what exists.
And what exists is uncreated
and imperishable for it is
whole and unchanging and
complete. It was not or nor
shall be different since it is
now, all at once, one and
continuous.
For Plato, reality is eternal and
unchanging, it is the real world, the
world of forms. Everything in the world
of senses is but an imitation or a mere
shadow of the ideal. Human beings
participate in both the senses and the
ideal world because they have a
material body and immaterial soul,
synthesis of change and permanence.
Human beings is a body and soul,
according to Plato, body is evil for it is
inclined to temporal things; objected to
temporal satisfaction and happiness.
As stated by Origen, a Christian
theologian and philosopher that is also
a Platonian “all rational beings were
once pure intellects in the presence of
God, and would remain so forever had
they not fallen away through Koros
(satiety).”
Because of koros (sin) or our
transgression and disobedience to
God we are punished by being
given a body.
To be free it is a human task to
gradually recollect the ideas the
soul used to know through
education in order for it to be
released from being imprisoned in
our body and be able to return to its
place in the world of forms, for the
soul is superior and exists eternally
even after the body evanesces
gradually.
TRANSCENDENCE
is the existence that is present
beyond normal or physical level
TRANSCENDENCE
Transcendence means that: “I
am my body but at the same time
I am more than my body. The
things that I do, all those physical
activities and attributes which are
made real through my body,
reveals the person that I am”
The study of man himself
is called philosophical
anthropology. This study
is unique in the sense
that man is the subject
as well as the object of
knowledge.
 MONISIM

Human
Composition

DUALISM
MONISIM
This theory holds that man is
composed of one basic
substance or principle as the
ground of reality. In other words,
the reality of man consists of a
single element, whether matter
or spirit.
DUALISM
This theory holds that man is
made up of two irreducible
elements – matter and spirit.
DUALISM
First View. Man’s matter and spirit are
two independent entities and they
interact with each
other. As two independent elements,
it is possible for the spirit and the
body to either temporarily or
permanently separate at a particular
period of time.
Second View. Man is matter-spirit.
Third View [Biblical View]. Man is
made up of body, soul, and spirit
The spirit is the innermost part of man. It is
a “supernatural” and “incorporeal” being
with which man communicates with God.
It is the essential part of man’s nature, the
heart of human life.
Man as the Living
or Metaphysical
Paradox
Man as Finite and Infinite; Mortal and
Immortal
 Man is finite and infinite, mortal and immortal. “Man is
flesh [and] spirit in divided union”
 Flesh and spirit are antithetical realities: the first is a
tangible and material substance while the second is just
the opposite. The flesh signifies material bodily, tangible
substance.
 The spirit or the soul signifies the immaterial, non-bodily,
invisible, reality in man. Yet the two seemingly
contradictory concepts are realized and united
intimately in man. Hence they are one yet divided,
conjoined yet disjoined.
Man as Individual and
Universal
As a living existential reality, man is invested
with individuality, i.e., with individuating,
differentiating, accidental characteristics,
such as height, weight, complexion, sex, size,
and all those qualities by which he is
physically and personally identified. As a
human being he shares the same human
nature with all other men, and is therefore a
universal human entity.
Man as Changing and
Permanent
The most undeniable fact about man is that he
constantly changes. Yet equally undeniable and
indisputable is that he remains unchanged by
change. He remains the same before, during,
and after the change.
For example, in the Law of Obligation and
Contracts, the same person who borrowed
money, say 10 years ago, is the same person to
pay despite the many changes that took place
in him in the interval—physical, physiological,
psychological, etc. [Montemayor, 1995]
THREE MAIN SPIRITUAL
PHILOSOPHIES

HINDUISM
BUDDHISM
CHRISTIANITY
HINDUISM
 Is the belief in karma and reincarnation.
 Brahman is Self-Hood Hinduism lies the idea of
human being’s quest for absolute truth, so that
one's soul and the Brahman or Atman (Absolute
Soul) might become one. For the Indians, God first
created sound and the universe arose from it.
 The Aum (Om) is the root of the universe and
everything that exists and it continues to hold
everything together, the most sacred sound in
which the universe arose from and was the first
thing God created.
Four primary values of
Hindus:
Wealth, pleasure, duty and enlightenment
Wealth and Pleasure are worldly values,
but when kept in perspective they are
good and desirable.
The spiritual value of duty, or righteousness,
refers to patience, sincerity, forgiveness,
love, honesty and similar virtues.
The spiritual value, though, is
enlightenment, by which one is illuminated
and liberated and most importantly, finds
release from the wheel of existence.
BUDDHISM
 Is the life experience and teaching of Prince
Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha -he who
achieves his aim), a tradition that focuses on
personal spiritual development, solutions is lay
in his own mind and is famous for its belief in
Nirvana; a place of perfect peace and
happiness.
 Buddhism, contained in the teachings of its
founder, Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha.
 The teaching of highborn Prince Gautama of
the Sakya clan in the kingdom of Magadha,
lived from 560 to 477 B.C, sprang the religious
philosophy we know as Buddhism
BUDDHISM
Turning away from the Hindu
polytheism and palace pleasures,
searching for answers to the riddle of
life's sufferings, disease, old age and
death.
Gautama's life was devoted to sharing
his "Dharma" or Law of Salvation; a
presentation of the gospel of inner
cultivation or right spiritual attitudes.
Buddha set about sharing his discovery
with anyone who would listen to him.
Four Noble Truths leading to the Eightfold Path
to perfect character of arhatship Gautama
taught:

Four Noble Truths:

1. Life is full of suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by passionate
attachment to desires, lusts, cravings;
3. Suffering can be ended by overcoming
attachment to desires
4. To end suffering is the Noble Eightfold
Path
 Four Noble Truths leading to the Eightfold Path
to perfect character of arhatship Gautama
taught:
Noble Eightfold Path:
1. Right understanding/belief in the acceptance of the "Fourfold Truth"
2. Right intent/aspiration for one's self and others;
3. Right speech that harms no one;
4. Right action/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 towards 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
CHRISTIANITY
Is the religion based upon the
teachings and miracles of Jesus
where there is only one God. Suffering
leads to the Cross, the symbol of
reality of God's saving love for the
human being and Evil is being
disobedient, contradicting the nature
of God and distancing to God. For
Augustine (354-430 CE), philosophy is
amor sapiential, the love of wisdom;
its aim is to produce happiness.
CHRISTIANITY
Wisdom is not just an abstract logical
construction; but it is substantially
existent as the Divine Logos. Hence,
Philosophy is the love of God; It is then
religious.
Teaching of Christianity are based of
love of God. For Augustine's
Christianity, the revelation of the true
God, is the only full and true
philosophy.
CHRISTIANITY
It aim is to produce happiness.
Wisdom is not just an abstract
logical construction; but it is
substantially existent as the Divine
Logos. Hence, Philosophy is the
love of God; it is then religious.
Teaching of Christianity are based
of love of God.
END OF WEEK 5