NATIONAL SERVICE

TRAINING PROGRAM1
Ms.Viray (Module 5)

The Meaning of Man as a Person

The term „person‟ cannot be exclusively attached to human beings since not all
persons are considered human beings and vice-versa. A business enterprise is a person,
although, it is not a human being, but he is not a person by virtue of his being divested
of all his rights as a human being – although he is still a human being. In this case, a
slave is not considered as an existing subject but a mere object.
Man as a person, then, means that man is unique, a who, a subject, and a self;
man is never alone in his existence in the world; man has that indelible trademark of his
„being-with‟ existence in the world.
Since man is person, his “being-with” existence should not be confused with a
“being-for” kind of existence. “Being-for” is the opposite of “being-with” in the sense
that the latter is heading in a direction of treating man as a person. Thus, in man‟s
intersubjectivity, man is called to treat his fellowman as a person; this is made possible
only in the context of man‟s “being-with” existence.
Man‟s “being-with-others” can be viewed from two standpoints, viz.: general
and specific. General, man‟s being-with-others as a person is his intrinsic “being-with” to
both things and fellow human being. Specifically, man‟s being-with-others as a person is
his irrefutable “being-with” his fellowmen only. In the specific sphere, man‟s “being-
with” his fellowmen is treated in the existential perspective because things do not exist,
man alone has the capacity to co-exist with fellow, human beings.
Man‟s co-existence or intersubjectivity, on the one hand, does not require a
learning process or experience, since man‟s “being-with” is a priori and intrinsic in his
being a person. On the other hand, man‟s “being-with-others” requires a learning
process in the context of the quality or mode of man‟s being-with since human
relatedness is not immediately given but needs to be established.
Man‟s personhood should not be contrasted to man‟s humanity and
individuality. The personhood (pagkatao) and man‟s individuality (pagiging siya sa
kanyang pagkatao) manifests man‟s individual unique personhood, inasmuch as the
individual is the person, and the person is the individual.
Personalism, is a philosophical movement, founded by Borden Parker Browne
and was developed later by Max Scheler, Emmanuel Mounier, Henri Bergson, and
Martin Buber, As a philosophical movement, personalism is a study of man as a person.
Thus, it pays much interest on the personhood of man and not so much on his nature.
Since personalism takes man as its main concern, it rejects the legalistic
connotation of the term person that refers to anything or any reality which is endowed
with rights. This definition treats a person both in the context of things, establishments, or
institutions and human beings. Thus, in personalism the term person is solely attributed to
man inasmuch as it requires freedom and rationality as defined by Beothius.
 The Self
Everybody has an obligation to himself, but there are times that we are facing
difficulties in understanding these obligations. One of the reasons is how we understand
what „self‟ is.
One way to understand this selfhood is to conceive it as a personal role that is
played in the general drama of life. In the totality of human history, anybody could
have a unique role to play because of the presence of individual differences. It is a role
that may include responsibilities that are to be faced, decisions that are to be made,
relationships and involvements that are to be lived and work that is to be performed.
In understanding our selfhood there are certain moral obligations that arise. If a
person has a particular life to live then he has a basic responsibility toward that life. He
has the obligation to see that life is „lived‟ to its fullest. He should play his role as well as
he can and not neglect it.

Where Values Come From

Our personal values are formed in early childhood and are affected strongly by
both the values of our parents, the environment, the school, the church and the
government. The place and time of the first few years of our lives have a great effect
on the formation of our values.

Activity
1. How do you define values?
2. Write at least 10 values that you possess and rank them according to what you
think is important to you.
3. Explain the following briefly:
a. Using “po” and “opo” and kissing the hands of elders should be
preserved.
b. “Kung ano ang puno siyang bunga”
c. “Values are caught and not taught”