Chapter 2: The Nature of the Human Person PDF

Chapter 2 THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN PERSON by Jonavil N. Malnegro,RN,MMPA  LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of this chapter, the learners are expected to: GOALS describe the nature of the human person; identify the...

Chapter 2 THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN PERSON by Jonavil N. Malnegro,RN,MMPA  LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of this chapter, the learners are expected to: GOALS describe the nature of the human person; identify the importance of a person’s ability and capacity; and describe a person’s unique qualities that make him/her a productive social being.  THE HUMAN PERSON WHAT IS? Estañol (2007) defines the human person as having physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual attributes. St. Thomas Aquinas describes the human person as having physical and spiritual substance because he/she has a soul and is created by a Superior Being with a divine purpose. Dictionaries define human person as a “self- conscious animal.” CHARACTERISTICS OF A HUMAN PERSON Babor (2007) in his book, The Human Person: Not Real, But Existing, discusses the several characteristics of a human person, namely: A human person is a A human person is rational being. unique. A human person is born Each person is intrinsically a social free. being and cannot detach him/her from other creatures in the universe. All living things are sexual by nature, but the uniqueness of expression of a person’s sexuality makes him/her different.  BIBLICAL VIEWS The human person has superiority and dignity inherited from the Supreme Being. According to book of Genesis, chapter 1, verses 26 to 27, God created man and woman in His own image and likeness and made them masters of the fish of the sea, the birds, the heaven, the earth, the wild beasts, and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.  BIBLICAL VIEWS The Supreme Being entrusted to the human person the care of creatures on the earth, aware of the possibilities, challenges, and difficulties he/she will encounter in his/her life.  BIBLICAL VIEWS Agbuya (1997) states that “He/She (human nature) is designated by God to exercise dominion over other creatures in his/her everyday use of freedom, search for happiness, and openness to the world around him/her. And what makes him/her human is his/her being a true person, which includes the special gifts and talents of thinking, loving, longing for happiness, and making decision. The human nature was patterned after the image of God.”  PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS According to Protagoras, a human person is the measure of all things that exist and of all things that do not exist. Plato claimed that the perfect human being does not exist in this world because what is in this world is just an imperfect copy of humanity’s original self in the realm of ideas. Parmenides posited that a person has knowledge of something that exists, for a person who does not exist is nothing.  PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS OF HUMAN PERSON Maguigad (2006) in his book, Philosophy of the Human Being, explains the different philosophical views of human person. 1.CONSERVATISM The conservative view is not entirely positive and definitely non-egalitarian. All human persons may not be of equal value to society; some men are intended to rule, the rest to obey. This is in line with one of the Confucian ethical ideas which states that the superior man must rule and the commoner must bow before his authority.  PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS OF HUMAN PERSON Maguigad (2006) in his book, Philosophy of the Human Being, explains the different philosophical views of human person. 2.LIBERALISM Liberalism has a more egalitarian view of human nature. It believes that all men are capable of reason and rational action and have the capacity to live satisfactorily and productive lives if given the opportunity. Reason is common to all human beings and this fact raises them above level of beasts and enables them to know the principles of suitable living. According to Mencius, “Every human being can become a sage king, that is, anyone can gain the wisdom to rule.”  PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS OF HUMAN PERSON Maguigad (2006) in his book, Philosophy of the Human Being, explains the different philosophical views of human person. 3.SOCIALISM Marx believes that man is driven primarily by desire for economic gains. In his Das Kapital, he considers the human person as social animal; if he/she fails to relate actively with others and with nature, he/she loses himself/herself and becomes alienated. His/Her drives lose human qualities and assume animal qualities.  PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS OF HUMAN PERSON Maguigad (2006) in his book, Philosophy of the Human Being, explains the different philosophical views of human person. 4.FASCISM Fascism holds that what matters most is the country itself. The human being can prosper only when the nation prospers; his/her fate is merely secondary when it comes to the country. Like the conservatives, the fascists contend that some human being are naturally and racially better than others.  CLASSICAL GREEK VIEWS Early classical Greeks define the human person as “a rational animal.” An animal’s vegetative sensory and rational element is integrated within his/her being; thus he/she is a material (body) and spiritual (soul) being. As a vegetative creature, the human person needs to have food to grow, develop, and reproduce. As a sentient being, he/she needs sensory perceptions to gain knowledge. As a rational animal, he/she needs the power of thought, reason, and cognition.  CLASSICAL GREEK VIEWS Because the human person is given free will to choose, decide, or shape his/her life, he/she is always responsible for his/her action. A human person is capable of knowing, loving, and believing, which leads him/her to be fully aware of his/her humanity.  SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWS A perspective is a particular way of looking at and seeing something. Salcedo (2004) states that people look at this social world or at the various ways that human beings behave in a social way. Hence, when we talk about society or the social world, we are really referring to the behavior of human beings.  SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWS San Juan (2007) proposes some common ideas about human person. These are the following; The human person’s social behavior Human person are social is learned, not instinctive. We animals. We need to have to learn, from the moment we cooperate with others in were born, how to be not just a some way to create the human being but also recognizable social world in which to member of the society into which live. we happen to have been born. To understand the human person’s Sociology is a discipline that looks into the behavior, we have to focus to our totality of relationships in an individual’s life. attention on the groups which Sociologists do not restrict their studies to single dimension of an individual’s life people belong. The largest group to (economics, politics, history, geography and which people belong is a society. psychology dimension).  SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWS EXAMPLE In our society, people work (economic dimension), have the opportunity to vote in elections (political dimension), and live in different areas of the country (geographic dimension). What interests sociologists in this regard might be the relationship between these three dimensions – how does the area in which people live will affect the type of work they do and how does the type of work they do will affect how they vote in elections? The basic insight of sociology is that human behavior is shaped by the groups to which people belong and by the social interaction that takes place within those groups. We are who we are and we behave the way we do because we happen to live in a particular society at a particular point in space and time. People tend to accept their social world unquestioningly, as something "natural." But the sociological perspective enables us to see society as a temporary social product, created by human beings and capable of being changed by them as well.  HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Human being lives according to their interest. If you feel hungry or thirsty you will find ways to satisfy your stomach or your dry throat. That is what we call motivation. Abraham Maslow an American psychologist proposed that healthy human beings have a certain number of needs. And that these needs can be arranged in a hierarchy. This hierarchy of needs suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving to more advanced needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs includes five levels of human needs that allow an individual to feel fulfilled.  MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS A person cannot Maslow’s theory points appreciate out that a person needs intellectual to satisfy first the and easthetic lower needs before learning when realizing his/her self- he/she is worth and potential. hungry or if he/she feels unsafe. Accordingly, when the lwer needs are not met, a Self- person cannot actualization completely devote can only be his/her time to achieved after deceloping all other his/her full needs are potential. satisfied.  A self-actualized person allows his/her innate goodness to transform further. Only by understanding himself/herself first can he/she effectively relate to others. Furthermore, every person must understand that he/she only exists in this world transitorily. As such he/she should utilize hes/her gifts and talents to reach his/her goals and to help others realize their own worth as a person. He/She must take on the challenge that the Supreme Being has posed upon hi/her. THANK YOU