Human Person as Embodied Spirit Lecture Notes PDF

CHAPTER III HUMAN PERSON as an EMBODIED and EXISTENTIAL Subject Lecture Notes – Senior High School Department of Philosophy – University of Santo Tomas Learning Objectives: 1. To ascert...

CHAPTER III HUMAN PERSON as an EMBODIED and EXISTENTIAL Subject Lecture Notes – Senior High School Department of Philosophy – University of Santo Tomas Learning Objectives: 1. To ascertain the different notions of the human person; 2. To discuss the phenomenological understanding of the human person; 3. To evaluate the nuances of the human person as an embodied and existential subject; 4. To reflect on the role of participation as a mode of understanding oneself and others. Lesson 1.1 A. General idea ▪ Wonder as the primary mode of inquiry and nature as the central object of investigation B. Main preoccupation ▪ To observe and explore the cosmos, nature, and anything that surrounds man C. Basic question Pre-Socratic ▪ What is the fundamental element that constitutes the Period universe? D. Epistemological approach Timeline: 624-370 B.C. ▪ It is centered, not on man, but on the cosmos. ▪ Such approach is called cosmocentrism. ▪ Cosmology is the center of philosophical study. E. Fundamental framework ▪ To be attuned with and maintain a delicate balance and harmony with nature. Lesson 1.1 Proponents: ▪ Thales – Water is the basic element which originates everything. ▪ Anaximander – Apeiron is the unoriginated primary substance of things. ▪ Anaximenes – Air is the primary substance which constitutes all physical reality. ▪ Heraclitus – Fire is the creative and transformative element that makes up reality. ▪ Anaxagoras – Natural causes, not the gods, determines and shapes reality. ▪ Parmenides – Reality, as plurality, is an illusion. The universe is One. ▪ Pythagoras – Number is the First cause of existence. ▪ Empedocles – Play of opposites is the only thing that is constant in life. ▪ Democritus – The atomic universe is what constitute reality. Lesson 1.1 These are thinkers that were born and active before the time of Socrates or lived as his contemporary. Only a few written traces and allusions from subsequent philosophers and historians exist In other from their writings. They are commonly called ‘Natural Thinkers’ words… but not Philosophers in the strictest sense. They view the world as a ‘Mythology.’ The operative theme was ‘Cosmocentrism.’ These thinkers are looking for the ‘Arche’ (origin) of things. Lesson 1.1 Socrates (469-399 B.C.) – Greek philosopher; ‘Father of Western Philosophy;’ teacher of Plato Plato (429-347 B.C.) – Greek philosopher; came from an Socratic Period Aristocratic family; a devout student of Socrates; wrote more Timeline: 500 - 200 B.C. than 20 books and are all written in dialogue form; founded the school: The Academy Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) – Greek philosopher; well-known student of Plato; a logician, scientist, and metaphysician; tutor of Alexander the Great; founded the school: The Lyceum Lesson 1.1 Socrates and Plato– The human person is essentially is his soul, not his body. As such, one should cultivate the soul (psyche) and achieve a life of excellence (arête). For them, the proper cultivation of the soul is by studying philosophy. The good life is a rational life, and the rational life is What is their grounded in philosophy. Aristotle – The human person is a hylomorphic view of the being. It is the composition of the body and soul. For him, the body is as valuable as the soul. human person? The human person is an individual substance of a rational nature. In this context, he puts premium on the rational life of the human person, but such life is a life of virtue. For him, a virtuous life is a happy life. A happy life is a life which constitutes wisdom and virtue. For him, the end goal of human life is happiness (Eudaimonia or Human Flourishing). Lesson 1.2 Medieval Period Timeline: 500 - 1500 A.D. A. General idea: ▪ The predominance and supremacy of Christianity in Europe. ▪ Philosophy became the handmaid of religion. ▪ It puts premium on the role and function of faith over reason but not entirely to diminish or supersede reason but rather to make faith reasonable. B. Main preoccupation: ▪ To realize and contemplate God and His creation. ▪ Man’s action should ultimately conform to the natural moral law as mandated by reason. C. Basic question: ▪ How can one be worthy of God’s love?  Lesson 1.2 St. AUGUSTINE of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) Propagation of Christian Platonism An exposition of a philosophical system that employed neo-platonic elements in support of Christian orthodoxy. His method is “Credo ut intellegiam” (“I believe in order that I may understand”). It is the notion that human reason in general and philosophy in particular are useful only to those who already have faith. “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” The human person is described as an ‘imago dei.’  Lesson 1.2 St. THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274 A.D.) Also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis of the Catholic Church He attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity. A foremost proponent of classical Natural Theology He believed that revelation could guide reason and prevent it from making mistakes, while reason could clarify and demystify faith. Faith and reason are both complementary in perceiving and proving the existence of God. “To one who has faith, no explanation is The human person is an individual necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” substance of rational nature.  Lesson 1.3 Motto: Sapere Aude (Age of Enlightenment) MODERN PERIOD Timeline: 1600 C.E. – 19TH C. Age of Scientific Discovery and Enlightenment o Scientific method was introduced and scientific attitude was enhanced It sternly criticizes and rejects the Traditional conception of Truth and Authority It puts more emphasis on the role and power of reason Truth can be known in and through the use of REASON alone The object of philosophical study is centered in MAN (as a rational being). o Specifically, it focuses of the nature and role of CONSCIOUSNESS or RATIONAL WILL in knowing and interpreting reality.  Lesson 1.3 A French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer in the Age of Reason Rene Descartes Also known as the "Father of Modern Philosophy" (1596 - 1650) Philosophical Approach: Methodic doubt (systematic and rigorous) Famous dictum: “Cogito, ergo sum” -- “I think, (therefore) I am.” Main idea: primacy of Consciousness (Cogito) in understanding reality. Truth: clear and distinct idea Lesson 1.3 For Descartes, the human person is a ‘res cogitans’ (thinking thing), not a thinking being.  Lesson 1.3 A German philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. Immanuel Kant Regarded as one of the most important thinkers of modern Europe. (1724 - 1804) Stern rejection to the Traditional conception of Truth. Best known for his ‘Categorical Imperative’. Truth can be known via REASON alone. Lesson 1.3 Kant’s philosophy can be addressed in three questions: - What can I know? – Epistemology - What ought I to do? - Ethics - What can I hope for? – Religion ⃟ For Kant, the human person is a rational being with intrinsic value (dignity) that needs to be preserved and respected. ⃟ This idea is based on the Second Principle of the Categorical Imperative, i.e., the Principle of Humanity (Ends) – that we should treat others not as means but as end in themselves. Lesson 1.3 Søren Aabye Kierkegaard A Danish theologian, critical writer, and religious author; Known as the first existentialist philosopher; As a theologian, he focused on Christian ethics; As an existentialist philosopher, he emphasized on individual existence and human subjectivity.  Lesson 1.3 Truth must be known objectively but must be understood subjectively. For him, human beings will undergo three STAGES of human existence: o Aesthetic life – subject to mundane activities o Ethical life – seek the right kind of life o Religious life – the ultimate end of human beings “Leap of faith” is crucial in understanding oneself. For him, the human person is a spirit. A spirit is a self. A self is always in relation with oneself. A relation of two factors: a self and a not yet self – meaning a synthesis of the finite and the infinite; of freedom and necessity. Lesson 1.4 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 –1900) A German philosopher, social critic, and classical philologist Pronounced the ‘death of God’ – a metaphor for the meaninglessness utterance of God Will to Power – to overcome human weakness and attain the highest possible life Übermensch – a superior man, an ideal person Lesson 1.4 For Nietzsche, as a philosophical trope, the “child” represents the notion of the present life and saying “yes” to the fullness of life since a “child” looks at life affirmatively in a humble and simple way. It is affirmative in the sense that it chooses life and life-affirming values. A “child” avoids anything nihilistic since one looks refreshingly at life dynamically and creatively, not just out of necessity. Lesson 1.4 Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) A French philosopher and phenomenologist Husserl and Heidegger had a big impact on him. He puts premium on the meaning of human experience as “lived-experience.” He explained the philosophy of perception as pivotal in “lived-experience” of the world. In this context, the relation of the body and the world plays a dialectical role in perceiving and creating meaning in the world. Lesson 1.4 For him, the meaning of human life finds its full expression and realization when one encounters the world and involve oneself in the dynamic role of one’s lived- experience. Through the body, one perceives the world with meaning and meaningful gestures. For him, the “world” and the “I” (self) forms an intrinsic connection with one another. Our experience (lived-experience) is the basis of one’s knowledge, not the intellect alone. Lesson 2.1 Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) A German philosopher and mathematician. Known as the “Father of Phenomenology.” His philosophy is based on transcendental phenomenology. He rejected Descartes’s philosophy (Cartesian method) and logical positivism. We must transcend one’s experience in order to find meaning in one’s existence. We can achieve this if we make philosophy as a ‘rigorous’ science. This means we can achieve a transcendental understanding of reality if we follow the three (3) phenomenological steps he proposed. Lesson 2.1 Three (3) phenomenological steps: 1. Epoché means the act of suspending or bracketing one’s judgment. 2. Eidetic Reduction means the reduction of the object of inquiry or observation to its essence. 3. Transcendental Reduction means the psychological reduction of the object of inquiry in the consciousness in relation to the intersubjective realm of meaning. Lesson 2.2 Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) A French philosopher, phenomenologist, and a Christian existentialist thinker. He criticized the Cartesian model of thinking. He is best known as the philosopher of the concrete. He puts emphasis on the concrete experiences of human beings rather than identifying or discussing abstract ideas. For him, active involvement and participation in the world is crucial in providing meaningful existence.  Lesson 2.2 Primary Reflection is a way of thinking that examines its subject by applying abstraction, generalization, impartiality, and analytic assessment. Its primary function Phenomenological is to identify, analyze, and solve problems objectively, without being involved in the Steps: actual process. Secondary Reflection is a way of thinking that understands a subject while using concrete examples, representative models, tangible objects, and synthetic assessment. Its primary objective is to unite or recover the original and authentic experience. For him, the human person is an embodied subject (or subjectivity). Lesson 3.1 Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980)  Lesson 3.1 “Man is condemned to be free.” - Sartre For Sartre, man does not have freedom… he is freedom. One is only free if and only if he is responsible for his actions. In this context, freedom is defined as responsibility. To be free means to be responsible for one’s actions. To do otherwise, one becomes inauthentic, and one may experience bad faith. Lesson 3.1 For the EXISTENTIALIST, is value subjective or objective? For the ATHEISTIC existentialists, value is subjective. Value always presupposes a subject who values. Value is always value-for-me. Human being is the ultimate source of value, according to Jean-Paul Sartre. We are responsible for what we commit to ourselves. Value spring from our freedom to realize ourselves and no outside source can be attributed to them. Values are not absolute, they are relative. We alone are responsible for our own actions and decisions. We cannot depend on any absolute being. Freedom is defined as responsibility. Lesson 3.1 For the EXISTENTIALIST, is value subjective or objective? For the THEISTIC existentialists, value is objective. Value is relative to an Absolute being – a being who grounds them. The subjective value of value is human freedom, but it is limited unless it participates in Someone greater than oneself. Value needs to be grounded in an Absolute (God). Lesson 3.1 What is the meaning of life? Both camps agree that the meaning of life is ultimately a search from within. Human being as a subject is a meaning-giving being. The search is a lifelong task, a never-ending quest for truth and meaning in life.