Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person PDF

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON LESSON #1: DOING PHILOSOPHY PHILOSOPHY GREEK “PHILOS” LOVER OF/ FRIEND OF AND “SOFIA” WISDOM, THUS, LOVER OF WISDOM AN ACTIVITY PEOPLE UNDERTAKE WHEN THEY SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS SIX BRANCHES...

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON LESSON #1: DOING PHILOSOPHY PHILOSOPHY GREEK “PHILOS” LOVER OF/ FRIEND OF AND “SOFIA” WISDOM, THUS, LOVER OF WISDOM AN ACTIVITY PEOPLE UNDERTAKE WHEN THEY SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS SIX BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY LOGIC - THE ART OF CORRECT THINKING EPISTEMOLOGY - THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE ETHICS - THE THEORY OF GOOD LIFE, DEALS WITH THE STANDARD OF NORMS OF MORALITY METAPHYSICS - THE STUDY OF ULTIMATE REALITY POLITICS - THE THEORY OF AN IDEAL STATE, DEALS WITH THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT ANTHROPOLOGY - ON THE THEORY OF MAN, DEALS WITH THE QUESTION OF MAN'S ORIGIN, NATURE AND DESTINY REVEALING THE WHOLE DISCOVERING PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION - WE ARE PUZZLED MOSTLY ABOUT THINGS WE CANNOT FULLY KNOW OR UNDERSTAND BECAUSE WE CAN ASK UNIVERSAL AND PARTICULAR - PARTICULAR REFERS TO THE PART OF THE WHOLE, WHILE THE UNIVERSAL PERTAINS TO THE WHOLE TRUTHS AND DIALECTICS - THROUGH THIS RATIONAL CAPACITY, THEY ARRIVED AT A TECHNIQUE TO RESOLVE PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS. THIS IS CALLED DIALECTICS DIALECTICS - AN ART OF REFUTATION THAT DATES BACK TO THE ANCIENT GREEKS SOCRATES - “SOCRATIC METHOD” ONE HAS TO GIVE GOOD REASONS AS A BASIS FOR ANY CLAIM AND THE CLAIM MUST BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND FURTHER SCRUTINY AND EXAMINATION (DIALECTICS = TRUTH) THE SOCRATIC LEGACY “KNOW THYSELF” THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING” “VIRTUE IS KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND BAD”  LESSON #2: METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING (OPINION/KNOWLEDGE) EPISTEME MEANS “KNOWLEDGE” YOU KNEW THIS BECAUSE YOU TAUGHT ABOUT IT (RESEARCH) MORE OF A JUSTIFIED AND TRUE BELIEF DOXA MEANS “OPINION” “HEARSAY” YOU KNEW THIS BECAUSE SOMEONE TOLD YOU ABOUT IT COMMON BELIEF/ POPULAR OPINION VIEWS OF PHILOSOPHERS ON OPINION AND KNOWLEDGE PLATO - KNOWLEDGE IS CERTAIN, OPINION IS UNCERTAIN ARISTOTLE - SYLLOGISM ( A DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT OF A CERTAIN FORM WHERE A CONCLUSION IS INFERRED FROM TWO PREMISES “MAJOR AND MINOR PREMISE”) RENE DESCARTES - NOTION OF INDUBITABLY (STATEMENTS THAT ARE FALSE, DOUBTFUL OR UNCERTAIN, CANNOT BE USED AS BASIS FOR KNOWLEDGE JACQUES DERRIDA - DECONSTRUCTION (IT CHALLENGED TRADITIONAL VIEWS IN PHILOSOPHY BY LOOKING AT STRUCTURES OF LANGUAGE TO OPEN UP LIMITLESS INTERPRETATIONS METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING SOCRATIC METHOD DIALECTIC METHOD SCIENTIFIC METHOD HISTORICAL METHOD TYPES OF REASONING DEDUCTIVE REASONING - A CONCLUSION COMES FIRST, FOLLOWED BY MAIN POINTS, AND THE LAST WILL BE THE SUPPORTING DATA, FACTS, EXAMPLES, AND EVIDENCES. GENERAL IDA COMES FIRST BEFORE THE SPECIFIC OR PARTICULAR IDEA. INDUCTIVE REASONING - SUPPORTING DATA, FACTS, EXAMPLES, AND EVIDENCES COMES FIRST FOLLOWED BY THE MAIN POINTS AND CONCLUSION WILL BE THE LAST PART. THIS IS VICE VERSA OF THE DEDUCTIVE REASONING BECAUSE PARTICULAR IDEA COMES FIRST BEFORE THE GENERAL IDEA.  LESSON #3: THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT HUMAN PERSON - A LIVING BEING THAT CONTAINS A REAL EXISTING POWER TO DIRECT ITS DEVELOPMENT TOWARD FULFILLMENT THROUGH PERFECT, UNCONDITIONAL, AND INFINITE TRUTH, LOVE, GOODNESS, BEAUTY, AND UNITY, AND WILL DO SO IF THE PROPER CONDITIONS ARE MET (ALEX RAY, 2016) NON BODILY COMPONENTS OF HUMAN PERSON SOUL MIND SPIRIT EMBODIED SPIRIT - PARTICULARLY IS AN INSEPARABLE UNION OF THE HUMAN BODY AND SOUL. QUALITIES OF AN EMBODIED SPIRIT PERSON SELF-AWARENESS - REFERS TO THE PERSON HAVING A CLEAR PERCEPTION OF ONESELF, INCLUDING HIS THOUGHTS, EMOTIONS, IDENTITY, AND ACTION EXTERNALITY - REFERS TO THE CAPABILITY OF A PERSON TO REACH OUT AND INTERACT WITH OTHERS AND THE WORLD SELF-DETERMINATION - REFERS TO THE CAPABILITY OF PERSONS TO MAKE CHOICES AND DECISIONS BASED ON THEIR PREFERENCES, MONITOR AND REGULATE THEIR ACTIONS, AND BE GOAL-ORIENTAL AND SELF DIRECTED DIGNITY - IS THE RIGHT OF THE PERSON TO BE VALUED AND RESPECTED FOR THEIR OWN SAKE, AND TO BE TREATED ETHICALLY TRANSCENDENCE - OVERCOMING ONESELF OR BEING IN CONTROL EVEM IF THE BODY REMINDS US OF CERTAIN TENDENCIES  LESSON #4 HUMAN PERSON IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY - THE DISCIPLINE THAT STUDIES THE MORAL RELATIONSHIPS OF HUMAN BEINGS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT HUMAN BEING’S APPROACHES ON ENVIRONMENT INSTRUMENTAL APPROACH - HUMAN BEINGS AFFIRM THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AS LONG AS IT POSSESSES VALUE FOR HUMAN BEINGS AXIOLOGICAL APPROACH - HUMAN BEINGS RECOGNIZE THE INTRINSIC VALUE OF THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS DEMANDS HIM/HER TO PROTECT AND TAKE CARE OF IT. IT NEEDS A GREATER USE OF IMAGINATION AND REFLECTION TO SEE THE VALUE. ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH - THE PRIMARY CONCERN OF A HUMAN BEING IS TO UNVEIL HIS/HER BEING AS HUMAN OR WHAT BEING HUMAN OUGHT TO BE. THE FOCUS OF ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ENVIRONMENT IS NOT THE ENVIRONMENT ITSELF, BUT HIS “BEING” UTILITARIANISM - FOCUSES ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN ACTION. WHETHER IT IS WRONG OR RIGHT. OUR ACTION IS ETHICALLY RIGHT IF IT PRODUCES THE GREATEST HAPPINESS FOR THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE, OTHERWISE THE ACTION IS ETHICALLY WRONG. NATURAL LAW OF ETHICS - WE RESPECT NATURE BECAUSE GOD CREATED IT FOR DIVINE PURPOSE. THE ENVIRONMENT IS CREATED AND CONTINUOUSLY BEING RECREATED FOR HUMAN BEING'S WELL BEING. (BUT SUCH PROCESS MUST NOT JEOPARDIZE THE DIVINE PLAN TO MAKE THE ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABLE FOR THE CONTINUOUS EXISTENCE OF HUMAN RACE) VIRTUE ETHICS PERSPECTIVE - THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR VIRTUE AND CARE AND RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IS A HABITUAL PERFORMANCE OF CARING AND RESPECTING NON-HUMAN BEINGS. THE ACT OF CARING AND OF RESPECTING BECOMES OUR SECOND NATURE. ANTHROPOCENTRISM - The ethical belief that humans alone possess intrinsic value.  LESSON 5: THE COMPLEMENTARITY BETWEEN HUMAN BEING AND ENVIRONMENT THE SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP - Stewardship, according to Oxford Languages, is the job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization or property. - Human beings are part of creation. He/she is not the author of his/her existence. His/her existence comes from his/her Creator; he/she is not the master of his/her existence. According to Timbreza, the human being has the responsibility to take care of, protect, and cultivate his/her potentialities, faculties, and functions. But this responsibility is not limited to his/her self, but it extends to his/her external world, the environment (Timbreza 1982). HUMAN BEING AS THE SUMMIT OF CREATION - Rationality makes human beings different from other created beings. The capacity to think unveils the inherent nature of human beings as the peak of creation for he/she is created after the image and likeness of the Divine Creator (Gen. 1:6). - As the Summit of creation and image of the Divine Creator, he/she has a moral responsibility to take care of and respect the environment. He/she participates in the Divine Creator’s creative acts in the environment. In this context, he/she recognizes the “otherness” of the environment. - Emmanuel Levinas believes that a human being’s action is for the good of the “other” and not for his/her own good. - Being the summit of creation does not give him/her authority to manipulate and control the environment, but unveils his/her moral responsibility to care and not to manipulate the environment. As a being with intelligence and reason, human beings must use environmental resources with love and care. This is a responsibility, and it shall be infinite. DEVELOPING ENVIRONMENTAL VIRTUE ETHICS - Virtue ethics can be particularly helpful for any kind of leadership because they nurture the formation of character, and the lasting habits of the heart and mind necessary to effect positive change in the world. Developing personal and community virtues can  provide a framework for sustained engagement with the ethical life. Given the seriousness of our environmental crises and the challenges these pose to human societies, the need for environmental virtues is all the more crucial. PRUDENCE - The intellectual habit that wisely assesses the means necessary to accomplish the end at which you are aiming. - Another more common word for this might be wisdom. Prudence and environmental ethics invite us to consider those means, to have the capacity to make wise judgments in complex trade-offs. This is a critical habit to develop for those seeking a more sustainable world. - The virtue of prudence is paramount in addressing climate change. This virtue is not only a necessary one for individuals to lead morally good lives but is also vital to the moral health of the larger community. Prudence is the intelligence applied to our actions. FRUGALITY - Temperance or frugality can best be understood as restraint or self-control in the use of resources. This virtue exists in tension with our culture’s appetite and materialistic values. THE SPIRIT OF NON-COEXISTENCE - The non-coexistence between human beings and the environment when one is being objectified by the other makes the other an object. Since the human being has the capacity for reasoning, he/she has the power to control the environment as an object. This is the wall that hinders to establishment harmonious relationship between the two. - The problem with non-coexistence between human beings and the environment is not coming from the environment but from the human being. - Another source of the problem of non-coexistence between human beings and the environment is when a human being focuses on development and progress at the expense of the environment. He/she can get natural resources for profit. But, if profit becomes the basis of development and progress, human beings use the environment as a mere commodity. The environment is not seen and recognized as a community. THE SPIRIT OF COEXISTENCE - The spirit of coexistence between human beings and the environment is shown every time a human being recognizes his/her dependence upon the latter. - As a human being becomes aware of the consciousness and the natural systems of the environment, he/she cultivates a more understanding and caring relationship with it.  - The care and love that human beings give to the environment is, in the end, beneficial for his/her survival. Human beings should establish harmonious relationships with the natural environment to experience goodness in life. This kind of relationship brings balance to the environment. Mercado asserts that: The Filipino wants to be in harmony with nature through equilibrium – -maintenance (pagkakapantay-pantay, di pagkakatalo). If this balance is upset, the Filipino expects suffering and other forms of misfortune (Mercado 1974,110). FREEDOM - The ability to make choices and perform those choices. - The ability to be what we want and to decide and create oneself. Two concepts that will help us fully understand freedom: 1. FREEDOM ITSELF According to Merriam's Dictionary, it is the quality or state of being free. We can choose what we want and have an inner awareness of what is right and wrong that is traced to our free will according to Aristotle. It is also an intrinsic and essential property of a human person which means, it is a part of our human nature. Example: Think of yourself as a student, your teacher told you to study your lessons for the day so you will have a long quiz at the next meeting. However, as you reach home you find yourself having a good time doing Facebook and online chatting with your friends. Using your freedom, you can either choose to follow your teacher’s advice to study your lessons for your quiz the next morning or continue doing the thing that you find enjoyable. 2. FREE WILL Our free will allows us to decide on things we do depending on the situation. We can choose between two different possible courses of action, independently. Simply put, free will is our ability to choose things according to our moral reasoning. To sum it all up, our freedom then could be traced down to a person’s exercise of his rationality/intellect and free will. Simply individual actions as it is freely chosen by an individual then define who and what kind of person one is. We all are free to choose, to be a good person and act on it accordingly or be a bad person and act in a bad way. Our actions and choices reflect us doing what is good and acting on it is what makes you a good person on the other hand doing the negative will also give a negative impression of an individual. This has been tackled in the previous lesson self-determination or the ability to choose what is right and wrong, that a person’s action determines what kind of person he or she becomes