Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise

San Jose, Cebu City

DLP LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET # 9

Subject Title : Philosophy

Type of Activity : Concept Notes/Exercise
Activity Title : The Human Person: Body and Soul
Duration : 120 minutes
Learning Target : To define man as a composite of body and soul, and to know his powers
(intellect and will)

I. CONCEPT DIGEST

Man is a hylomorphic creature, that is, a composite of body and soul. It has a body which has
irritability, metabolism, growth, reproduction, and individuality. The body is informed of itself and of
the bodies of other living as well as non-living creatures through sensation. Man as a s ensient being
react to stimuli through the use of his external senses. Man has five external senses: sight, hearing,
smell, taste, and touch; which use sense organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. These react
primarily to proper sensibles in the sensed objects: color, sound (or vibration), odor, flavor, and
temperature. These senses also react to common sensibles, or qualities that two or more senses can
experience.
Sensation allows for man’s basic knowledge, sense knowledge. Through perception (the
internal sense that integrates the different data provided by the external senses) and the other
internal senses of imagination, memory, and the estimative sense, man is able to get a first crack at
the knowing the world around him. With the power or faculty of the intellect, man then begins to
acquire a deeper knowledge and understanding of himself and the world in which he operates. Man’s
use of his intellect makes him not only aware of himself, but also understands that his awareness of
himself is gained through interaction with the world, and his knowledge develops, changes, and
improves through time.
Man also learns that he is not only a creature as like other living beings, but is of a higher
(intelligent) level. He understands that he has an individual identity even as he knows that he belongs
to a particular group of creatures. His unique physical features, mental attributes, experiences,
memories, and ideas gives his this identity. As he builds on all that makes him an individual, he
recognizes that he is indeed a distinct entity, a person. A person who is autonomous, having the
ability to determine his own life through his powers of reasoning and understanding, and who can
develop more fully with his actions, for himself or for the sake of and with others.

The Intellect and the Will. Man’s rational powers are the intellect and the will. These
faculties differentiates him from the others; these are essential for his personhood. The will cannot
desire the good that is not known by the intellect and presented to the will. Knowledge comes first.
However, the person also cannot act upon the truth, if the will does not give its assent or approval.

II. EXERCISE

How is the human being similar to other creatures? What sets apart the human being as a
person from all other creatures?

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