Nature of Man

Man

• Man is rational animal.

• He is alive-seen in his ability to
perform various acts.
• He is body-composed of material
parts (body and soul).
 Man in relation to self
A. Has Intellect and Freewill
• Everyone is endowed with natural
capacities and abilities. Primary
among them is the ability to reason
and to decide freely. The person has
the ability to choose among options:
to work for or disregard truth and
goodness.
 Man in relation to self

B. Has Dignity (Psalms 8:5)

• Everyone is bestowed with
dignity. It is not something that
can be given or taken away at
will. It cannot be destroyed even
if recognition is being denied.
 Man in relation to self
C. IS CREATED IN THE IMAGE AND
LIKENESS OF GOD (Gen. 1:26)
• This underlines the freedom and dignity
of the human person. There is in each
person “God-likeness” for God “breathe life-
giving in His nostrils. (Gen. 2:27)
• The person therefore is a co-creator, co-
worker and co-savior of God Creation and
Salvation is an ongoing process; and we are
all part of it. We are called to engage
ourselves in it. In the process, we affirm that
the self neither is nor alienated form the
 Man in relation to self
D. AMBIVALENT 
• The person is primarily good in
him/her and has the ability to work
for selfless interest and to work for
justice and goodness.
• On the other hand, the person has
the tendency toward evil and the
capacity of selfishness and
oppression. His/her desires maybe
drawn to a false well, which the
 Man in relation to self
D. AMBIVALENT 
• This implies that there is a great
danger in empowering a person with
absolute authority and influence.
There is a need for checks and
balances if we are to help a person
from succumbing to natural
weakness.
 Man in relation to self
E. IS LIMITED
• Though endowed with great
capacities and potentials the person
is limited.
• Firstly, the limitation in life
spans. But we see that the
significance of death lies on how life
is lived- whether we constantly opt
for the good or not. The meaning of
one’s life extends to one’s death.
 Man in relation to self
E. IS LIMITED
• Secondly, the person is limited in the
capacity to know, in actual
knowledge, and in capacity to do.
The truth unfolds, and we can know
so much at a given time. This implies
the need for an ongoing questioning
of personal values, for openness to
criticism, for sharing and
communications- because there is no
 Man in relation to self
F. IS UNIQUE
• Everyone is singular, no two persons
are alike. Everyone has his/ her own
personal story or history worth
listening to.
• Because of the uniqueness of each
one, we cannot put any person in a
box and have it labeled or
stereotyped.
 Man in relation to self
F. IS UNIQUE
• The uniqueness of the person has to
be respected. The emphasis of
collectivity should not be made at
the expense of the uniqueness and
dignity of each person.
 2. In Relation to fellow Humans
 

IS A SOCIAL BEING

• God did not create the person as a ‘’ solitary being ‘‘ but wishes
him/ her to be a ‘’ social being’’. (Gen. 2:18-23)
• Every individual is oriented towards other people and needs their
company. No one came to this world by him/her self-alone; our
being here is made possible through others in the very
phenomenon of conception and birth. The person fulfills the self
with and through others. Through and with other’s help, a person’s
limitations are filled up and potentials furthered. Thus, it is
imperative that people cooperate with each other in order to better
the quality of their lives and society. The person can only grow and
realize his/her vocation in relation with others that he/she can still
stand alone. But there is a need for reciprocal bonds governed by
truth and justice-not self-sufficiency nor absence of relationships.
 2. In Relation to fellow Humans
 

IS OF EQUAL VALUE WITH OTHER PERSONS

• Many of our values and structures operate
on an implicit “ postulate of inequality “
(the hidden assumptions that some
people are naturally inferior to others).
But while natural inequality exists among
people, God has gifted all with equal
dignity. We are all equal in basic rights
and basic needs on a person level and on
a nation—to-nation level. 
 2. In Relation to fellow Humans
 

IS OF EQUAL VALUE WITH OTHER

PERSONS
• This equality is not synonymous to
uniformity, but equality amidst
uniqueness. Thus all persons are to
be treated as equals; regardless of
status and sex-which calls for gender
equality. The relationship must be
just and suffused with love.
 In Relation to Society
• The person’s relationship to society is not only to
other people or to groups of people but to
structures as well. Structures mirror the
dominant values of people.
• Are a crystallization of a people’s political
attitudes, way of life and economic relationships?
• Are organized pattern of interrelated rights and
obligations of persons and groups in a society
analyzed in terms of status, roles, social norms
and social institutions that bind a person
together?
 In Relation to Society
AS INTERVENOR

• Persons create social structures to respond to similar

needs and for the good welfare of all. The persons affect
structures and structures affect the person.
 
• Failure to analyze and criticize existing structures means
agreeing with or sanctioning them. Since the structures
were put up by people- the people have the capacity to
maintain, stabilize and strengthen just-structures. On the
other hand, people have also capacity to change and
create a new, if the structures are unjust. But this can only
be achieved through each person’s active participation.
 In Relation to Society
AS INTERVENOR

A person is part of and shaped by the

past. But because history is still being,
made, the person also shapes future
events. The person, therefore, can help
change and direct society and the
history of the nation.
 In Relation to Society
IS A PATRIOT
• The country is considered a
person’s bigger family, since
he/she inextricably linked with
others and society. We are
responsible and accountable to
the future generation for the
situation they will face
  
In Relation to the Material World
IS A MATERIAL BEING
* The person needs the resources of
the material world for his/her personal
and social fulfillment. This is a
manifestation of the bodily dimension
of the person.
  
In Relation to the Material World
IS A WORKER
• The person interacts with the world
through his/her work. In doing so, the
Lord’s mandate to have “ dominion
over the earth “ is exercised. Work
means to fulfill one’s personhood and
to glorify God-our Creator. Andin as
much as the worker has dignity, so
does his/her labor.
  
In Relation to the Material World
IS A CARETAKER
 
• The things of this world are for all people to use. They are to
be used, not adored, nor amassed. We are caretakers of this
world- not its owner. Ownership is only secondary right to
use.

• All the earth’s resources must benefit all- today’s and the
succeeding generations. As caretakers, we are responsible
for the preservation and development of the earth. When the
earth is abused. Life itself is endangered. No one has the
right to destroy the earth, as if it were their own: no do they
have the right to decide what the next generation needs.
  
In Relation to the Material World
IS ABOVE MATERIAL THINGS
• There is a need for simplicity – to live
only according to what we need to
survive and enhance our personhood.
The things of this world given to us
help us know, love and serve God.
Anything that is a hindrance, such as
wealth should be rejected.
 In Relation to God
IS TRANSCENDENT
• The person needs to relate a Greater Being. The
materiality and temporarily are transcended of
the touch of the drive in each person.
• The person has but one final goal: God.
• He/She is called to know, and serve God. And to
constantly choose that which would help in
fulfilling this, everyone has a God-given mission
to fulfill. And we must work here and now for
the thereafter.