AN EMBODIED

SUBJECT

CS 12 – PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON (GROUP 7)

AN EMBODIED SUBJECT
• Is rationality what makes us a human?
• Is rationality the fundamental characteristics that separates us from all other
beings?
• If someone loses the capacity to perform rational activity, does this make him less
human?
Separately, they mean:
Embodied
 To represent something in a clear and obvious way; to be a symbol
 to be an expression of or give a tangible or visible form to (an idea, quality, or
feeling)
Subject
 A being who has a unique consciousness and/or unique personal experiences
Together, they mean:
Embodied Subject
 An entity that can never be objectified or known in a completely objective sort of
way
 Is someone who is intimately who is connected in the world and not some
detached inquirer
 The Human Person
On the other hand,
Embodied Spirit
 Refers to the inseparable union of body and soul. We mean that the body is not
separated from the soul, just as the soul is not separated from the body.
Reflections
 Something that shows the effect, existence, or character of something else.
 Can be through perceiving, thinking, doubting, believing, reasoning, knowing,
and willing.
• Reflective Activity
 A consequence of a disturbance in the chain of our daily routine.
  Existentialists call it existential break, shakes us and forces us to pause and think
about what had happened.
2 Ways of Reflection:
a. Primary Reflection
b. Secondary Reflection
Primary Reflection
 Occurs when we inquire about things in a distant or objective manner.
 proceeds with an investigation of the problem at hand that will not involve the
subject making the inquiry
 Inquiry
 An official effect to collect and examine information about something.
 Objective
 Based on facts rather than feelings or opinion.
Secondary Reflection
• Cannot occur without involving the inquirer into his inquiry.
• An example of inquiry wherein you cannot detach yourself from the question.
Both primary and secondary reflections stem out of an existential break. The only
difference between the two is that Primary Reflection has the character of detachment in
terms of the inquiring subject in relation to the object of inquiry, while secondary
reflection cannot proceed without involving the inquirer himself in the inquiry.
Gabriel Marcel
 A philosopher, drama critic, playwright, and musician.
 A French existentialist that considered the two ways of reflection, primary and
secondary reflection.
 He believes that this traditional essentialist and dualistic manner of thinking is
proper to scientific inquiry but not to philosophical inquiry.
Dualism
 The division of something into two opposed or contrasted aspects (e.g. the body
and the mind, the rational and the animal)
Existentialists
 reject absolute truths about human beings. They focused instead in the subjective
element of knowing oneself starting from one's own concrete existence.
Body
 The most fundamental source of our daily experience as human beings. It is
obviously different from a rock or other inanimate objects.
When we get angry at someone, we don’t get angry at just the body of someone but
at the person. When we love someone, we don’t love just the body of someone, but the
person.
Having a body implies ownership. Nobody can claim ownership to your body other than
yourself. You are responsible for the well-being of your body; for it will be unusual for
someone owning something to destroy his own property. You own your body because
you can control it.
Idea of Ownership
 Owning a body does not merely mean possessing a body but rather it means a
special way of treating the body, not just a mere body but as my body. It also
entails conditions and responsibilities.

MARTIN HEIDGGER
 German philosopher that calls human beings Dasein, a German word which
literally mean being there. This tells us that our very being is to be the ─ to be in
the world ─ being-in-the-world. “To be in the world” means that our experiences
are always situated in our world.
Being-in-the-world
 Means that we live with things, with other people, and within a particular place
and time.
 To be with things
It would be impossible for someone to live without any relation to things. We
seldom look at the things around us as objects of inquiry and investigation but simply as
things that we use. We don’t pay attention to the reality that the things around us affect
the definition of who we are.
 To be with other people
The moment we are born, we are already connected with people ─ our parents
primarily. Our relationship with other people shapes us.
  We are situated in place and time
No one can detach us from culture, language, and social structures. We are born in a
particular era.
Our being-in-the-world is always in time, and we move with time.
The place where we are situated plays a big role in shaping who we are (climate,
surroundings, and environment)
QUIZ

1. To represent something in a clear and obvious way; to be a symbol

Answer: Embodied
2.-3. Two types of reflection
Answer: Primary Reflection and Secondary Reflection
4. The most fundamental source of our daily experience as human beings.
Answer: Body
5. A German word which literally mean being there.
Answer: Dasein
6. The division of something into two opposed or contrasted aspects.
Answer: Dualism
7. Means that we live with things, with other people, and within a particular
place and time.
Answer: Being-in-the-world
8. Occurs when we inquire about things in a distant or objective manner.
Answer: Primary Reflection
9. Refers to the inseparable union of body and soul. We mean that the body
is not separated from the soul, just as the soul is not separated from the
body.
Answer: Embodied Spirit
10. An entity that can never be objectified or known in a completely
objective sort of way
Answer: Embodied Subject