MAN, CHURCH, SOCIETY
MAN AS A SOCIAL BEING
Introduction
What is a Human Person?
• The notion of what a human person has been the most
problematic concept since time immemorial. Philosophers and
theorists have come up with different ideas of what a human
person is or should be. Yet, time and again, our common
dissatisfaction and growing consciousness have pushed us to
greater heights of life. We are faced with a linear dilemma: the
more we know ourselves, the more abstract our ideas become;
the deeper we understand life the more utilitarian we treat each
other, the harder we work for the betterment of our society the
more chaotic and death-dealing the results become. Experience,
however, makes us wiser than ever enabling us to understand,
love, and hope for a peaceful and humane world.
Man and His Self
• Personality means the physical appearance or features of a
person; that is his abilities, his emotions, his social traits and his
interests and attitudes. In other words, personality means the
whole of a person's outstanding features.
• This refers to the characteristic ways in which a person reacts to
situations in life. It is also a sum total of how one individual differs
from another.
• For all of us to be able to relate well with others, there is a need
for us to know what we are made up of. This way, we will be able
to tolerate each other, live and work together in peace to develop
our homes and society at large.
• If we can stay together as a family, to love ourselves and promote
peace; it will be very useful for us to understand the concept of
individual differences. Being aware of our individual differences,
we will be able to understand ourselves better and accept
ourselves the way we are.
• Knowing our individual differences, we can give attention to them,
understand other people's problems and try to tolerate them.
• If we get to know what we are made up of, we will not promote
unhealthy competition but rather try to promote a cordial
atmosphere where people can feel happy and comfortable to
work efficiently and effectively.
• In fact, the self-concept portrays who a person is; courageous,
wicked, intelligent, brave, timid, lazy, honest, and popular and so
on. This is also known as the real self and the ideal self also talks
about how a person will become in future, for example his level of
education or his position in the society. Many a time, most people
wish they were somebody else.
• This kind of attitude breeds hatred, jealousy, envy, competition,
bitterness, and at the end of the day nothing gets done = no
development!!! For this reason, it is best to be aware of yourself
and accept yourself the way you are so that you can tap your
potential to develop yourself and your nation.
• But if you know your level and you are humble, there is likely to
be some encouragement which will lift you up instead of you
staying at the bottom and challenging your boss at the top.
• It is very true that all human beings are the same, having blood,
nose, eyes, hands, legs and so on, but as a separate person on
your own, you may have your educational level, different
attitudes; that is your likes and dislikes, the way you think, the
way you react to situations, the way you feel, the position you
occupy in society and having your own name. This uniqueness is
what makes one an individual.
• The Individual traits therefore stem from the growth and
development of man from the time that the ovum of the woman
and the sperm of the man fuse together in the womb up to
adulthood.
• These genetic factors from both parents make the individual
short, tall, beautiful, intelligent, ugly, or dull. However, heredity
factors can change due to environmental influences. Education
and religion can also contribute to mold innate factors the
individual has inherited from the parents. Both heredity and
environmental factors combine to make the individual unique.
• The uniqueness of the individual is very important in the life of the
person.
• Because of the different classes of people that we have and what
we have acquired and inherited, these differences show up in
every aspect of our lives and we therefore need to be tactful in
dealing with people to avoid conflict.
• For instance, in the family, we may have members who are shy,
slow, dull, intelligent, easy going, reserved, etc. therefore each
member should be treated separately.
• By so doing each member's nutritional needs can be taken care
of according to their various differences. A parent must be able to
observe her children and know their likes and dislikes.
• A child may like cool environments and so will be found constantly
sleeping on the bare floor. The parent of such a child must not
force him or her to sleep on a bed, but rather ensure that they are
clothed properly so that they do not contract pneumonia.
• Some children are fast while others are slow but they are able to
perform their duties well. If parents start to compare them, it may
result in rivalry. Parents need to know the differences in their
children so they can protect, guide and encourage them.
• Just as we have different behaviors in the family, so do we have
them in the larger society.
• People behave differently everywhere; in the neighborhood, in
the church, in the school, at market places, at work places, in
queues, and in commercial vehicles, different people are seen
and they behave differently due to what they have acquired and
inherited. To be able to cope for peace and harmony to prevail
and also for development to take place, there is the need for each
and everyone to know what makes him or her different from the
other.
Images of the Self
“Knowing thyself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle
BLOCK 2 | 2ND YEAR – 1ST SEMESTER (A.Y. 2021 – 2022)

• This model can be looked upon as a communication window
through which you give and receive information about yourself
and others.
The First Pane – Open
• Things I know, things they know
The Second Pane – Blind
• Things I don’t know, things they know
The Third Pane – Hidden
• Things I know, things they don’t know
The Fourth Pane – Unknown
• Things I don’t know, things they don’t know
Self-Identity
• Refers to the global understanding a person has of themselves
• Self-identity is composed of relatively permanent self-
assessments, such as personality attributes, knowledge of one’s
skills, and abilities, one’s occcupation and hobbies, and
awareness of one’s physical attirbutes.
• The self-identity is not restricted to the present. It includes past
and future selves.
Self-Concept
• A person’s self-concept is his knowledge about himself.
• Self-concept is simply the informational side of things, where you
know facts about what you are like.
• They can be influenced not only by observing one’s own self and
behavior objectively, but also by observing the reactions that
other people have to you and your behavior, or imagining what
other people might think of you, or what you would think of
yourself if you saw yourself from the outisde.
Confidence
• Confidence is a pretty broad term and can be difficult to define.
• Confidence is a really personal thing that isn’t the same for
everyone.
• Different people have different levels of confidence, but there are
some signs of a confident person which can give insight into
where confidence comes from.
Self-Image
• The way you think about yourself and your abilities or
appearance.
• One’s conception of oneself or of one’s role.
Man as a Social Being
“Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each
other and, in the process, care for ourselves.” – Diana, Princess
of Wales
Man’s Role in Society
Social Aspect
• There would have been no need for special ethics if man were
simply an individual with an individual purpose; but man is also a
member of society and as such, he has social aspect which
requires ethical considerations.
• The social dimensions of man is founded on nature.
• Man needs society in order to live life comfortably and safely.
• Against natural and other dangers, he needs protection.
• Alone, he cannot arrive at the height of art, music, literature,
history, philosophy, and religion.
• But the overwhelming proof of man’s natural tendency towards
social life is his capacity of speech.
Obligations
• The social obligation, however, is a general not an individual
command.
• The species of mankind has the obligation to socialize or to form
social units, but the individual as individual is exempted from this
general obligation.
• Under normal conditions, however, the man need society and not
as a mere convention.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• The social contract claims that when man enters into a society,
he contracts his freedom because he has to live with other free
beings.
Thomas Hobbes
• The Leviathan claims that man’s need for society is physical.
• However, because of the lurking dangers that such a social
convention can cause, Hobbes proposes that the monster who
will exact obedience and inspire fear among citizens be created,
somewhat similar to the biblical monster, Leviathan.
• What Aristotle wrote in the politics is still true: that man needs for
society, and if he does not, because he is sufficient unto himself,
that man is either a beast or god.
• Theoreticians, however, have pushed the idea of man as a social
being to an extreme, thus, the concept of socialism and
communism.
Socialism
• A system of society or group living in which there is no private
property; a system or condition of society in which the means of
production are owned and controlled by the state.
• Socialism’s mortal enemy is Capitalism.
Capitalism
• Has led to abuse because capitalists could pocket the profit to the
disadvantage of the workers who, after all, were instrumental
inproducing the goods sold in the market.
• As an offshoot of this abuse is the concept of Socialism.
It must be stressed at the outset that Socialism is a beautiful theory:
• It is humane
• Pro-poor
• Worker-oriented
• Very Christian in its perspective
• Peddled the idea of all forms of production so that the profit
accruing from could go to every citizen and not to the private
capitalist.
BLOCK 2 | 2ND YEAR – 1ST SEMESTER (A.Y. 2021 – 2022)
 Communism explaining the many aspects of our perception, feeling, thinking
• It is a doctrine, philosophy before it is a way of life. and behavior.
• A way of organizing a society in which the government owns the
things that are used to make and transport products (land, oil,
factories, ships, etc.) and there is no prvately owned property.
• It is more than mere ownership of goods.
• It is a complicated doctrine which includes a complex of atheism,
evolutionism, and historical materialism.
• It has a methodology all it’s own according to which the future
ideal state can be attained through revolution, dictatorship,
suppression of freedom, etc.

Fundamental importance but not known to many is the capital

difference between: communist means and communist ends.

Communist Ends
• Are situated in distant, very hazy, and no less mythical future.
• At that time, they claim, men will have become so well educated
they will no longer strive for their individual welfare.
• There would be no more state, no police, no coercion, no ned for
an international organizaion to make people live in peace.
Communist Means
• The final result or goal is a classless society where there is no
poor class.
• Where there is no entanglement between capitalist and workers
for they would now be co-equal.
• Where there is no need for the police because no one would steal
or grab.
• Everyone having what he needs.
• All citizens would own the wealth of the country.

Society in its smallest unit is the family.

• The father provides.
• The mother suprvises.
• The children prepares themselves for life.
• There is one authority and there are subjects of that authority.
Social Being
“Every man is three men: the man he thinks he is, the man
others think he is, and the man he really is.”
Real Self
• That which a person must rationally admit to be the actual
Ideal Self
• That which a person would aspire to become

In an effort to understand himself, man must understand heredity,

environment, and the self since these three shape him into the
recognizable mold of human beings.

Heredity
• Human life really begins at conception when the egg cell of the
female is fertilized by the sperm cell of the male. At that point,
the human being receives a genetic inheritance which provides th
basic potentialities for this development and behavior.
Environment
• Man’s physical and socio-cultural environment heavily influence
the extent to which his genetic potentials are realized.
The Self
• When psychologists refer to the self, they do not think of “little
person” sitting in the brain, but rather a concept necessary for

BLOCK 2 | 2ND YEAR – 1ST SEMESTER (A.Y. 2021 – 2022)