Human Person as Embodied Spirit PDF

can escape only after spiritual progress through the Human Person as endless series of births. B. Buddh...

can escape only after spiritual progress through the Human Person as endless series of births. B. Buddhism Embodied Spirit - Founder: Siddharta Gautama - The way of escape from pain and misery lay in the Transcendence: is the existence that is present beyond normal transformation of one’s mind and that liberation could come or physical level. only with the denial of any vain clinging of this life. - Nirvana: In this state the effect of the Law of Cause and Embodied Spirit: Effect (Karma) are overcome; the Cycle of Rebirth is - The body is not separate from the soul, just as the soul is broken. not separate from the body. Four Noble Truths: - The Human Person is the convergence between the material (body) and spiritual (soul) entities. 1. Life is full of suffering; View of the Human Person as an embodied Spirit 2. Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts, cravings; - Plato: the body is nothing but a prison- house into which 3. Suffering will cease one’s we obliterate the above causes; his real self has been locked on account of some crime 4. The eradication of such desires may be accomplished committed. only by following the Eightfold Path o Death was seen as nothing more than the moment when the soul was finally set free form the body- prison. - Aristotle: the body and soul are not to be conceived as C. Christianity two complete beings in conflict with each other, but as - is the religion based upon the teachings and miracles of two principles of being complementing each other. Jesus where there is only one God. - Suffering leads to the Cross, the symbol of reality of God's Spiritual Philosophy saving love for the human being and Evil is being disobedient, contradicting the nature of God and distancing A. Hinduism to God. - one of the oldest Eastern traditions practiced by hundreds of millions of people for about 5,000 years (Velasquez 1999). - Hindus believe that the soul is eternal but is bound by the law of Karma (action) to the world of matter, which  Existentialism -A philosophical theory or approach which FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through emphasizes the existence of the freedom The quality or state of being free individual person acts of the will. o To be free is a part of humanity’s authenticity. o “All actions have consequences” THEORY OF SOCIAL CONTRACT KEY CONCEPTS: VOLITION – the power to make your own choices or o The State of Nature: A pre-social condition. decision o The Social Contract: An agreement between: o For ARISTOTLE, human is rational and he believes ▪ (a) members of the community or in Intellectual Freedom. He believes in the power of ▪ (b) members of the community and the WILL, ACTION and REASON. Sovereign. o The Sovereign: The legitimate head of state after the WILL – a strong desire or determination to do something. Social Contract: o The will of humanity is an instrument of free choice. ▪ (a) a person or group of persons, such as a Will is borne out by… monarch or a government, or o Our inner awareness of an aptitude. ▪ (b) the people representing themselves. o Common testimony of all human beings. Theory of social contract o Rewards and punishment of rulers. POLITICAL FREEDOM o The general employment of praise and blame. o There must be a common power or government which Human Act Vs. Acts of Human the plurality of individuals (citizens) should confer all o Human acts are actions done with “will” and their powers and strength into (freedom) one will “knowledge.” (ruler). o Acts of Man are actions with the absence of either o Show situations that demonstrate freedom of choice. “will” or “knowledge.” Individual freedom o For JEAN PAUL SARTRE, human person is the desire to be God. Human person builds the road to the destiny of his/her choosing; he is the creator.  THE HUMAN PERSON IN THE ENVIRONMENT THE ENVIRONMENT Philosophers in both East and West were asking questions about the universe we live in and our place in it. Eastern sages probed nature’s depths intuitively through the eyes of spiritual sages. Greek thinkers viewed nature through cognitive and scientific eyes. Pre-Socratic philosophers represent the first intellectual and scientific attempt to understand the origins of the universe. A change from the mythical explanation of the origins of the cosmos to a more rational explanation. The pre-Socratic philosophers do represent the first intellectual and scientific attempt to understand the origin of the universe. There are different views or concepts on nature or the environment from which debates or researches can be framed and reframed. Anthropocentric model – humans are superior and central to the universe. Ecocentric model – the ecological or relational integrity of the humans provides meaning of our morals and values. Our limited understanding of our environment opens for a need for philosophical investigation of nature, applying aesthetic and theological dimensions, as well as appreciating our philosophical reflections with the concept of nature itself. o The Ecocentric model, in contrast, puts the ecosystem first and assumes that the natural world has intrinsic value. o Nature is not valued for the future survival of human species per se, but is invaluable in itself. o Human made changes threaten the health of nature. o Unlike changes in the evolutionary process, human interventions have swift and even, violent effect on nature. o The damage is not inevitable but a consequence of human choices, thus, humanity needs to develop an “ecological conscience” based on individual responsibility. o The right to live and blossom should not just be for human beings but must be valid to all forms of life because humans are dependent to other forms of life. PUTTING ORDER INTO DISORDER A. Ancient Thinkers o Early Greek philosophers, the Milesians, regarded Nature as spatially without boundaries, that is, as infinite or indefinite in extent.  ▪ Anaximander employed the term “boundless” to mean that Nature is indeterminate―in the sense that no boundaries between the warm and cold or the moist and dry regions are originally present within it. ▪ Evolution of the world begins with the generation of opposites in a certain region of Nature that eventually burst and formed the universe. o Pythagoras described the universe as living embodiment of nature’s order, harmony, and beauty and our relationship with it in terms of biophilia (love of other living things) and cosmophilia (love of other living beings). o Chinese cosmic conception, on the other hand, is based on the assumption that all that happens in the universe is a continuous whole like a chain of natural consequences. The universe does not proceed onward but revolves without beginning or end. Happiness lies in his conformity with nature or tao. B. Modern Thinkers Immanuel Kant expresses that beauty is ultimately a symbol of morality. We must ignore any practical motives or inclinations that we have and instead contemplate the object without being distracted by our desires. The beautiful encourage us to believe that nature and humanity are part of an even bigger design – an ultimate goal in which every aspect of the sensible world has its place in a larger purpose – that draws our thoughts toward a supersensible reality. Kant believes that the orderliness of nature and the harmony of nature with our faculties guide us toward a deeper religious perspective. Understanding our relationship with the environment can also refer to the human beings with ecology and nature. Herbert Marcuse believes that there can only be change if we will change our attitude towards our perception of the environment. For George Herbert Mead, human beings do not have only rights but duties as well. How we react to the community we live in and our reaction to it, change it. CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Theories that show care for the environment aside from the ecocentric model: deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism. A. Deep Ecology  Ecological crisis is an outcome of anthropocentrism. Deep ecologists encourage humanity to shift away from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism. B. Social Ecology Ecological crisis results from authoritarian social structures. Social ecologists call for small-scale societies, which recognize that humanity is linked with the well-being of the natural world in which human life depends. C. Ecofeminism Ecological crisis is a consequence of male dominance. In this view, whatever is “superior” is entitled to whatever is “inferior.” For the ecofeminists, freeing nature and humanity means removing the superior vs. inferior in human relations. The three theories mentioned value the care, conservation, preservation of nature, and humanity. The search for the meaning of life must explore not just our own survival but calls for a new socio-ecological order. Erich Fromm believes that humanity ought to recognize not only itself but also the world around it. For Fromm, human beings have biological urge for survival that turns into selfishness and laziness as well as the inherent desire to escape the prison cell of selfishness to experience union with others. Which of these two contradictory strivings in human beings will become dominant is determined by the social structure currently existing in society. PRUDENCE AND FRUGALITY TOWARDS THE ENVIRONMENT Fromm proposed a new society that should encourage the emergence of a new human being that will foster prudence and moderation or frugality toward environment. Functions of Fromm’s envisioned society: 1. The willingness to give up all forms of having, in order to fully be. 2. Being fully present where one is. 3. Trying to reduce greed, hate, and illusions as much as one is capable. 4. Making the full growth of oneself and of one’s fellow beings as the supreme goal of living. 5. Not deceiving others, but also not being deceived by others; one may be called innocent but not naïve.  6. Freedom that is not arbitrariness but the possibility to be oneself, not as a bundle of greedy desires, but as a delicately balanced structure that at any moment is confronted with the alternatives of growth or decay, life or death. 7. Happiness in the process of ever-growing aliveness, whatever the furthest point is that fate permits one to reach, for living as fully as one can is so satisfactory that the concern for what one might or might not attain has little chance to develop. 8. Joy that comes from giving and sharing, not from hoarding and exploiting. 9. Developing one’s capacity for love, together with one’s capacity for critical, unsentimental thought. 10. Shedding one’s narcissism and accepting that tragic limitations inherent in human existence. The ideals of Fromm’s society cross all party lines; for protecting nature needs focused conservation, action, political will, and support from industry.