TOPIC 8
The Self in Question
Lesson outline:
Discovering the Self: Who Am I?
Human Being’s Understanding of
Himself / Herself
Human Being’s Encounter with
Existential Limit Situation
Man is always more than what he knows
about himself - Karl Jaspers
Human being's understanding of
himself/herself
´Human being
● is the source of many questions
about the existence of the world
and everything that exists in it.
● ´When he/she is confronted with
the question “Who Am I”, which
directly unveils his/her
existence, he or she is pushed to
the limit of silence.
´The question deals with his or her
concrete and specific historicity, a
question that encompasses his/her
self-being. The source of questions is
now in question.
Human being...
● Is capable of discovering all the
answers of all his/her own
questions
● Classic view of man dictates that
the nature of man is to think, to
feeland door act only those that
are inherent in his nature.
Jose Rizal
● believes that because human
being is endowed with reason,
he/she wonders and questions
everything including his/her
existence.
● he claims that disharmony among
persons occur when one does
not recognize the light of reason
of the other person.
Emmanuel Kant
● claims that “Human person has
the responsibility of respecting
other people in the same way
he/she respect himself/herself.”
Human Being's Encounter with
Existential Limit Situation
● According to Karl Jaspers
situations are boundary situation
 which are inescapable and
inevitable breaks of the ordinary
patterns of human existence,
such as death, sufferings,
conflicts, tragedy, sickness,
failures, communication,
struggles, and guilt. Situations
lead human being to a deeper
consciousness and experience of
his/her limitations and finitude.
● ´In existence, human being is
always in concrete situations, and
he or she is always confronted
with various situations.
● ´These situations are boundary
situations which inescapable and
inevitable breaks of the ordinary
patterns of human existence,
such as death, sufferings,
conflicts, tragedy, sickness,
failures, communication,
struggles, and guilt.
● “How do I deal with these
things?"
● “What is the meaning of all
these?”
● “Why am I suffering this kind of
illness or suffering?"
● “I don’t want this thing to happen,
but why is this happening to me?"
Various Ways in Dealing with the
Question Who Am I? in the
Course of History
Duality of Body and Soul
´The duality of body and soul is
the view held by those who
believe that our body is separate
and distinct from our soul.

● ´They cause pauses and give

opportunity to look into the
question “Who am I?” seriously;
and even question the usual
answers or discourse about the
question.
According to Plato
These questions are fundamental bases
for succeeding questions of The human soul, exists prior to
the body and even after the body
“WHO AM I” is long gone.

● “Why am I experiencing guilt or This doctrine is connected to his

death, or pain?" theory of Forms where the
material realm (the world we
know) is separated from the
eternal realm of norms or
essences (the world of ideas).
Unity of Body and Soul
Monism
is the metaphysical and
theological view that all is one,
that there are no fundamental
divisions, and that a unified set
of laws underlie all of nature.
● Following Aristotle’s notion
of form and matter, St.
Thomas Aquinas claimed
that body and soul are not
two entities that interact
with each other but are
one being made up of
matter and form. Although
the body is the matter and
the soul is the form, a
being cannot remain a
being if matter and form
are not united.
Christians believe that human
is created body and soul by
God.
Human Consciousness and
Existence
● Our consciousness is the
criterion for personal
identity. As a thinking
being, the self consists of
those thoughts and
sensations of which we
are conscious of. The “I” or
the self is consciousness.
PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
● A special branch of
philosophy which deals
with complexities of
thought could not be
explained by nature.
JOHN LOCKE
● Was the first to point out
that all thoughts are
conscious.
● Our consciousness is the
criterion for personal
identity.
● Notion of inner sense that
is better understood as
reflection or introspection.
INTROSPECTION is the
process of observing and
reflecting on one's
thoughts, feelings,
motives, reasoning
process and states
determine our behavior.
Human Faculty of Reason
Reason is a function of his/her mind and
soul.
 ● Humans have a mental faculty or
capacity that enables them to
think, to reason, to understand, to
compare, to analyze, to associate
ideas and so on.
● The rationalists and empiricists
both agree that there is a human
faculty called REASON.
● Rationalists discover truths by
sitting and thinking.
● Empiricists discover truths using
their senses or by observing the
world.
● Human being possesses a
faculty that enables him/her to
survive and endure life.
TOPIC 9
Human Being: A Limited Being
Reflection on «My Body»
A. The Relation of I and the body
● Human being is conscious that
he or she is limited because he
or she is constantly connected
with his or her body. He or she
thinks, feels and acts through
his or her body. The capacity of
human being to think or even
to feel is the very basis of
consciousness of the “I” of its
existential existence.
● Human being’s consciousness
of its existence is manifested
through his or her body. “My
Body” is the manifestation of
my existentiality, of who I am.
● My body is intertwined with my
subjectivity, of what I am and
of who I am. My body and I are
one in the act of expressing.
Through my body, I am
different from all the existent
bodies. My body becomes the
manifestation of my
uniqueness, my self-identity
my self-being.
Gabriel Marcel
● (December 7, 1889-October 8,
1973) •French Philosopher
● •Christian Existentialist (First
French Existentialist)
● •A playwright (wrote 30 plays)
● •His Father is an atheist and his
Mother is Jewish.
● •He was an Atheist until his
conversion to Catholicism in 1929
● • He focused on the modern
individual’s struggle in a
technologically dehumanizing
society.
● •He prefers the term “Philosophy
of Existence” to define his own
thought.
● •“The Mystery of Being ” is a
well-known two volume work by
Marcel.
The Primary Reflection:
● the process of “ob-jectum”
(“thrown in front”). This is a
Cartesian approach. The body is
analyzed, systematized and
conceptualized.
 ● the body becomes no longer my
body but a body. “A body” is an
objective idea apart from me. I
have nothing to do with it nor
does it have anything to do with
my life.
● In this manner, the body studied
in primary reflection is no longer
my body but “a body”.
● This is the body talked about in
anatomy, physiology and other
sciences.
● Because this is an objective and
universal idea, this can be the
body of anybody else, and
consequently, of nobody.
● Nevertheless, primary reflection
about the body is important.
● Had it not because of primary
reflection, there could have never
been any development in
medicine and in other sciences
as well.
The Secondary Reflection:
● the process of “sub-jectum”
(“thrown beneath”). “I am part of
the thing I am investigating.” I
have something to do with it and
has something to do with me.
● - What exist is not just “a body”
but “my body.” My body that is
uniquely mine alone. This is a
starting point of Marcel’s
philosophy of the body.
● In using secondary reflection, I
discover that what exists is not “a
body” but “my body” – my body
that is uniquely mine.
What is meant by Marcel’s
“my body” statement?
1. My body is mine and mine
alone: I own my body.
2. I have a responsibility over my
body and I take care of it, e.g.,
nourish it, let it sleep, bathe it,
etc.
3. I have control over my body: I
can do whatever I want it to do if
it can, e.g., sit, walk, etc.
4. “My Body” has two possible
connotations: I have my body and
I am my body.
B. I have my body
● The experience of oneness of my
body and I is manifested in the
claim “I have my body.” It affirms
the existence of my body, and it is
not apart from me. The claim “I
have my body” implies
possession. I own my body; it is
mine. Nonetheless, this shows
not only authority over it but also
great responsibility for it.
● Upon consideration of secondary
reflection, it does not make sense
to treat our body as an
instrument.
● Since I possess my body, no one
can claim it as his or her own. I
am only the one who has the
right to claim it, for it is “my body.”
My body and I are one; thus, I
can claim “I am my body.”
C. I Am My Body
● The union between my body and
I is not just a mere relationship of
two organisms or entities. This
union is existential existence to
my body and to myself. My body
cannot exist alone apart from me;
and that I cannot exist apart from
my body.
● “My body” as a material reality
acts and does things with
inherent power. The capacity for
my body to exist, think and act is
coming from I; my subjectivity.
This is the original source of all
my body’s powers and capacities.
On the other hand, “my body” is
the in-fleshing of my "I."
D. Transcendence and My Body
● Transcendence – the existence
that is present beyond the normal
or physical level. e.g. Spirit &
Soul
● The relationship between my
body and I reveals an encounter
with other subjectivity or I. In this
encounter with another subject
outside of myself, my body will
existentially relate with this
subject or I.
● Every time my body relate with
other embodied beings, I am
directly and immediately relate
with other subjectivities or with
I’s. Thus, in my relationship with
the Transcendence, I can only
relate with this Being through my
body. I only encounter the
Transcendence because my body
encounters it.
● My body becomes intermediary
with another subjectivity and with
the other I.
● Intermediaryconnotes two
meanings: as a bridge and as
wall.
E. Myself and the World
● My existence is existential. I
appear to the world and relate
with it through my body. I touch,
see, taste, smell, grasp and affect
the world through my body in a
particular way. I am present in the
world through my body; I am here
and now through my body.
● My constant relation with the
world through my body, the world
becomes my world. As the world
is present to me, I am present in
the world though my body in a
particular and unique way.
● As the appearance and
expression of my subjectivity, my
body has a unique value and
dignity. It directs me not only to
the world and to others but also
to God.
● Finitude and Historicity of Human
Being
A. Human Being in Time
● One of the limit situations of
human being is the situation
where he or she is in time and in
a certain place. His being in time
and in a concrete place are
always part of his/her historicity.
● Human being is constituted by
his/her past, present and his/her
future. His/her presence was, is
and will be part of his/her
historicity. The past was once
his/her present; his/her present
was once his/her future. These
three expressions of presence
unveil the temporality of human
being.
● My past situations and realities
determine my present; which in
turn determine my future situation
and realities.
● Each of my past, present and
future is not isolated from each
other.
● The past is the basis of the
present; the present bears the
past and unveils the glimpse of
the future.
● One does not exist without the
other.
Historicity of Human Being
● Human being is a historical
being. He or she is the matrix
himself/herself of the realities of
the past, present and the future.
He is capable of integrating these
three dimensions of time to
himself/herself. Human being
experiences all the boundaries of
existence through his/her body,
such as suffering, anxiety, guilt,
death and communication.
● In these situations, human being
is a conscious, creative and
responsible being that can make
the past realities exist in the
present moment, and can make
the possibilities of future come to
actuality. It is an experience of
remembering; but in the act of
remembering, the past becomes
alive in the present.
● The historicity of human being is
also established through the
shared meaning, values, beliefs,
and social or cultural worldview
with other people who live in a
specific time and place.
● Human being’s historicity reveals
that his/her way of living, of
perceiving, valuing and acting is
influenced and determined by the
society where he/she lives.
He/she becomes the
manifestation of the beliefs,
traditions; the language, the
worldview of the society; indeed,
he/she manifests the society
itself.
● For Karl Jaspers, the community
is also a context where the past,
 the present and the future events
and possibilities are unified and
harmonized.
● Human being’s historicity reveals
that his/her way of living, of
perceiving, valuing and acting is
influenced and determined by the
society where he/she lives.
1. Who you are today is a result of
all the decisions you’ve taken in
your life. That includes everything
you’ve done, thought and said in
the last few days.
2. So is the way your life looks like,
the relationships you have and
whether you’re happy or not.
3. The thing is that the little
decisions that eventually lead to
actions, are what defines how
your life will look like some day.
So with everything you do, you’re
creating your future.
Topic 10
Human Being’s Encounter with the
Environment
Harmony with Nature Human
Being’s Encounter with the
Environment
A. Human Being’s Perspective on
environment
● The kind of relationship that
human being establishes with the
environment depends on how
he/she perceives it.
● The environment is considered
as a commodity or property to be
used and disposed for one’s own
individual welfare.
● It sees the environment as
something to be exploited.
● This is the cause of on-going
environmental crisis.
● Multiple rivers and tributaries
have been converted as dumping
sites of waste.
● The conversion of mountains into
settlement areas, agricultural
● lands into golf courses have been
the cause.
Miss Earth 2017 - Karen Ibasco
"I believe that the real problem in
this world is not climate change;
the real problem is us because of
our ignorance and apathy. What
we have to do is to start changing
our ways, to start recalibrating
our minds, and redirecting our
steps, because together, as a
global community, our micro
efforts will have a macro effect to
help
save our home, our planet.
Thank you.”
B. Human Being’s Approaches to
Environment
Instrumental Approach
● Human being affirms the
protection of the environment as
long as it possesses value or
importance for human being.
● He/she takes care of the
environment because it is a
medium in establishing his/her
society and civilization.
● The problem with this approach is
that when a human being can no
longer recognize the value of
environment, it ceases to be a
Value.
Axiological Approach
● Human being recognizes the
intrinsic value of the
● environment.
● This demand him/her to protect
and take care of it.
● Beauty can be seen as the
external expression of such
intrinsic view.
● Axiological approach needs a
greater use of imagination
and reflection on the part of
human being for hi,/her to
experience the
intrinsic value of environment.
Anthropological Approach
● The primary concern of human
being is to unveil his/her being
as human or what being human
ought to be.
● The focus of establishing
relationship with the environment
is not
● environment itself but his/her
“being”.
● Such approach considers
environment as an object without
any consciousness of its own.
● It can be manipulated and
controlled for human beings
Disposal.
Utilitarianism
● This approach focuses on the
consequences of human action
weather is it wrong or right.
● Our action is ethically right when
it produces greater happiness for
the greater number of people,
otherwise the action is ethically
wrong.
● Human being uses such view to
utilize and manipulate natural
environment for human
development.
Natural Law Ethics
● There is goodness in human
nature to do good which is
rooted in the goodness of God;
the God who created everything
according to His Divine plan.
● This goodness of God in human
being can be seen and
manifested through the
expression of human intellect
and reason.
● We respect nature because God
created it for divine purpose.
Value Ethics Perspective

● The act of caring and respecting

becomes our second nature.
● This extends to non-human
especially for the environment
where he/she lives and realizes
his/her being.

C. Sacredness of Environment

● The recognition of the

sacredness of environment is
based on the creation of all
things.
● The environment as part of
creation poses an affirmation of
● Creator, who is the uncaused and
cause, who caused everything
that exists.
● Natural environment symbolizes
a possible encounter with the
Divine.
● The environment shall always
have an inherent relation with
the Creator.

Topic 11
PPT PO ITOO