Philosophy

Oriental Conception of Man

Originated in the East. The main origins: India and China.
HINDUISM
-The Hindu concept of the human person can be seen in their religious and
philosophical doctrines which are found in their sacred texts especially the
Vedas and Upanishads.
Vedas- Oldest extant literary works of the Aryan people
Upanishads- Contain the teachings and concept of different ancient Indian
thinkers.
Veda- Knowledge
Brahman- Ultimate reality
Atman- Individual reality
Nirvana- Total enlightenment
Moksha- The process of Nirvana
Samsara- Cycle of death and rebirth
Maya- World is an Illusion
Karma- Law that governs human action
Yogas- Methods of attaining salvation and were taught by sages.
● Karma Yoga- “action”
● Jnana Yoga- “Knowledge”
● Bhakti Yoga- “Devotion”

BUDDHISM
-The Buddhist teaching about the human person is centered on the right
understanding of human reality in order to attain enlightenment
Siddhartha Gautama a.k.a Buddha- “Awakened one”
Asceticism- life of extreme self-denial and discipline.
Middle Way- A life which is neither in luxury nor poverty
Nirvana
- The state of bliss and detachment from the physical world.
- State of emptiness or “nothingness”
- It is a state of bliss where there is no individuality, separateness,
discrimination, or intellectualizing.
The four noble truths- contained the essence of Buddhist teaching.
1. Dukkha- Life is suffering.
2. Samudaya- The truth of the cause of suffering.
3. Nirodha- The truth of the end of suffering.
4. Magga- The truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.
TAOISM
-Taoism’s concept of man is based on its understanding of the whole of the
universe which follows certain universal and unchanging laws.

Lao Tzu, the chinese philosopher and writer who is regarded as the author of
the Taoist text Tao Te Ching, the universe viewed holistically expresses
harmony, purpose, order, and calm power. But when one attempts to separate
things just to understand the parts without understanding the whole, what
results are error, suffering, and unhappiness.
He observed that the laws that govern them are not themselves changeable
although that things that are ever changeable are changing. These laws are
called invariables, which come from the Chinese word ch’ang, which could
also be translated as eternal or abiding.

According to Lao Tzu, to be enlightened is to know the invariable law of nature.

Practicing enlightenment- the understanding and practice of this invariable

law.

Wu-wei- ‘’having no activity” or “non-action.” It could also mean lesser activity

or doing less or acting without artificiality or arbitrariness.
The goal of we-wei is to achieve a state of perfect equilibrium, or alignment with
Tao, revealing the soft and invisible power within all things and, as a result,
obtain an irresistible form of “soft and invisible” power.

If one has too much activity, they become harmful rather than good.
CONFUCIANISM
The Confucian concept of the human person is centered on the proper conduct
of a person in society. Central to the Confucian teaching is the cultivator of the
human virtues.

Literati or ju- well-rounded man and also useful to the state and the society.
Jun tzu- Gentleman
- Second only to the sage.
-Lives a simple life and can live in poverty.
-Loyal, Obedient, and Knowledgeable, Disciplined, Hardworking,
and does not engage in empty talk.
Jen- human heartedness.
-Fundamental virtue of the jun tzu
-First and foremost of the virtues. SUPREME VIRTUE
- is the perfect virtue and is the cardinal principle of humanism and it
expresses the ideal of cultivating human relations, developing human faculties,
cultivating one’s personality and upholding human rights.
MAIN VIRTUES:
REI- Benevolence
LI- Ritual Propriety
-embodies the essence of ancient culture.
-pertains to proper social behavior or conduct like filial piety, loyalty, etc.
YI- Righteousness
-”oughtness of a situation”
-This means that everyone in the society has a certain thing which
he/she needs to do, without ulterior motive.
ZHI- Wisdom
XIN- Integrity

A good description of the “perfect man” is one who “combines the qualities of
saint, scholar, and gentleman.” The gentleman is expected to act as a model of
good and moral conduct in the society like a saint.
Xiaoren- means “small person”.Is characterized as having shallowness of
thinking, being egotistic and self-interested, and being greedy and
materialistic.
 ISLAMIC
-Islam is one of the major monotheistic religions in the world.
-Muslims believe in one, unique, and incomparable God, Allah.
Qur’an- The Holy Book of Islam which contains the message of Allah given to
His prophet Mohammed, asserts that Allah is omniscient, omnipotent, and
omnipresent.
Islam emphasizes the importance of knowing oneself based on the divine
source, the one who created him/her.

Two extremes- Selfishness and worthlessness

Two origins:
1. The spiritual origin wherein God created human from dust before
breathing life into them.
2. The biological origin wherein humans came from the womb of their
mother.
The Islamic philosophers were influenced by the Greek Philosopher Aristotle in
their interpretation of their Islamic faith.

Western Conceptions of Man

In western philosophy, the development of the conceptions about the human
person is related to the search for the truth and knowledge about reality. The
western mind views reality as composed of different parts which are usually
opposed to each other.

ANCIENT GREEK CONCEPTIONS OF MAN

It is generally describes as a cosmocentric philosophy because the search for
truth and knowledge is centered on the nature of the universe- the cosmos.

THREE PROMINENT PHILOSOPHERS:

SOCRATES- known as a moralist, a philosopher who advocates moral

transformation.
-teaches self-knowledge; to “know thyself.”
-One can only transform one’s self if he/she knows himself/herself.
SOCRATIC DIALOGUES- written by his student Plato contained his teachings
and Philosophy.
SOCRATIC METHOD- Is known as “dialogue” because of the conversational
and question-answer nature of his way of teaching. The philosopher’s task is to
stir the mind of the people and make thm think for themselves, to think
critcally of their situation and the things that happen around them instead of
just following the dictates and thinking of others.
● His greatest contribution to philosophy is not a system of thought about
concepts or theories but a kind of thinking- a critical thinking that
questions the very basis of many of our beliefs.
PLATO- was a student and a follower of Socrates
-he believed there were two types of world: ideal and material
● The things that we experience or perceive in this material world are not
true reality.
 ● True reality is in the ideal world. In the ideal world everything is perfect
and good.
● Man has two components: body and soul.
● Our human soul preexisted in the ideal world, and thus has already
knowledge of the ides. The soul united with our body and forgot the
knowledge it acquired. Thus, to gain knowledge man must recall all the
ideas that the soul had already known before through experience.
Illustration: group of caveman imprisoned in the cave of ignorance. They
think their shadows are true reality but actually there are not real and
just a copy of the true ideas in the ideal world. The philosopher is the
person who is able to see beyond the cave walls.
● Man must first be able to control his/her bodily desires in order to
detach himself from the material world. What is needed is personal
virtue which consists in a hamonious and balanced relation among
the different faculties or powers of the soul.
● It is important that the mind controls the desire and passions of
the body so that it can reflect on the ideas.

ARISTOTLE- was a student of Plato and he followed the philosophy of his

teacher for a while, but soon developed his own philosophy.
-According to Aristotle, man is also composed of two components- the
body and soul. But he did not subscribe to the idea of Plato that there are two
different worlds; there is only one world and that is the physical world which
we experience.
● The ideas are products of one’s own mind or thinking.
● Man is a rational being capable of conceiving ideas.
● Aristotle defines soul as “principle of life so that every living being has
soul because it has life.”
● There are three kind of soul corresponding to the three living beings
● Vegetative- proper to the plants
● Sentient- proper to the animals
● Rational- Soul of animal
● The rational or human soul has all the powers of living beings, most
especially the rational power
● The body is the physical principle of man which enables the human
being to nourish, grow, reproduce, sense, feel and move.
● The soul gives life to the body, it is through the body that the soul can
fully operate and function.
● The body and soul are substantially united.
MEDIEVAL CONCEPTIONS OF MAN
Theocentric- the search for the truth is centered on God the Supreme
Being
St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas- two of the main philosophers
in the medieval period who followed and adapted the philosophy of Plato
and Aristotle.
● Man is being created in the image of God.
● The ultimate end of human life is salvation- to be reunited with God the
Supreme Being

ST. AUGUSTINE- First proposed the idea that humanitty was created in the
image of God.
- He said the world was created by God through His free act.
 - Described the human soul as spiritual, simple, and immortal.
The soul has three functions- being, understanding, and loving.
These functions correspond to the three faculties of man, namely,
intellective, memory, intelligence, and will- the most important
since this signfies that the most immportant function of man is to
love.
- Because the will is free, the soul tends to be restless. This
restlessness prompts the soul to searh for meaning and truth.
- “My heart is restless until it rests in thee”
- For St. Augustine, the divine spark in the human race is the
source of this restlessness and it will remain in a person until
he/she returns to God after death.
- They will only receive the grace they need in order to return to god
if they have faith in him.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS- Also adopted the Christian understanding of the man
but he enriched his understanding by following the ideas of other philosophers.
- A human person is is a spiritual being beacuse he/she is rational
which is based on his/her intellective or rational soul. It is the
rational soul that is the very basis of his/her spiritual capacities or
faculties of intelligence and will.
- Corporeal- Bodily
- Corpus- body
- The human person is made in the image of the Supreme Being
because of his/her capacity for understanding and for making free
decisions as a master of himself/herself.

MODERN CONCEPTIONS OF MAN

- Anthropocentric and rationalistic
- The search for truth is centered non man and human reasons. Human
reason is liberated from the influence of faith.
- Scientific discoveries advanced one’s understanding of the universe and
scientific laws and allowed one to explain how the physical reality
operates without reference to divine laws.
- The aim is develop his/her natural talents and reason to satisfy natural
desires.
- The moral idea is to see human being’s natural self as an individual who
is free to choose hi/her own destiny.
- Experience and reason became the foundation of knowledge and
standards of truth. The conception of the idea of the human person
centered on reason and sense experience.
- Rene Descartes- a French philosopher.
- describes man as being composed of body and spirit or mind.
- he described the relations of the mind and body as one of
interactions which opposes the idea of Aristotle and Aquinas where the
spiritual soul and body are substantially united; the body and mind are
two separate enities and therefore, they can only interact and cannot be
substantially united.
PERIOD OF ENLIGHTENMENT- the later years of the modern period
philosophy was understood to be not just an indtrument for intelligence but
also for human happiness. He/she can fight against ignorance and tyranny by
developing his/her natural powers. One can improve his/her powers through
education and this will ultimately lead to happiness.
 THE CONCEPTION OF MAN IN CONTEMPORARY
PHILOSOPHY
Existentialist and Phenomenologists, concern themselves with a new
conception of man.
- They emphasixe more man’s subjectivity, his/her freedom; and relation
with his/her fellow humans.
- Focus on the existential and practical aspect of human esixtence.
- Diverting from the traditional definitions of the human as a “rational
animal,” the Existentialist thinkers instead regard the human person as
a subject, an “embodied spirit,” or as an “incarnate subjectivit.”
- Human person is first and foremost a subjetivitty, a center or a unique
core, a well-spring initiative and meaning, and a stream of conciousness.
- Human subjectivity is not limited to reason; includes the affective and
emotional as well.
- The human person does not only think;he/she also feels and relates.
- Human person is not a mere subject that exists alone in this world.
he/she must enter into a personal relation with fellow men.
- The search for truth has become a search for meaning. The human now
has the task of discovering and giving meaning to his/her existence.
Man, the subject, is the giver or discoverer of meaning.
TWO SETS OF FEATURE OF HUMAN SITUATION:
Facticity- refers to those features that are given to us and fixed from without.
I.e gender, race, color, physical features
Transcendence- refers to the features of our existence which have been
decided and created by us; our future actions and decisions are our own
making; our attitudes toward the world and others are our own.
Intersubjectivity- either understood as a personal relationship between two
persons or subject.
- Human freedom- another aspect that existentialists focused on
- Freedom means that nothing is simply “given” and since nothing is
“given” man decides whatever he/she makes of himself/herself.
- Freedom pertains to self-creation; that man is free to determine the
person they want to be.
Depersonalization and Dehumanization
- The human being deprived of his/her personhood and degraded as
a human being.