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IntroductiontothePhilosophyoftheHumanPerson Villaroya Enaya Fernandez
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Al Franjon M. Villaroya
Beljun P. Enaya
Errol C. Fernandez
2020
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
Philippine Copyright © 2020 by Al Franjon M. Villaroya, Beljun P. Enaya
& Errol C. Fernandez
ISBN: 978-621-8155-07-7
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 6: Intersubjectivity I 66
Glossary I 96
References I 98
The Authors
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
Western Philosophy
Socrates
Plato
find the real. For Plato, the truth is often forgotten at birth.
However, a recollection of such truth happens when we
encounter actual objects.
Aristotle
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
Confucianism
Buddhism
Indian Philosophy
CONCLUSION
ASSESSMENT
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING
Socratic Method
the person feel that you are on the same track and not letting
the person be alone, as if nobody understands him/her.
6. When the person sees that you are on his side, you
can start the next level: exploration. You may go either
'upstream' or 'downstream'. Explore the person's original
argument, that is, either go with his/her premises or reasons,
or with the conclusions and their consequences. Suppose that
the problem is not the terms or the logic of the argument but
the propositions (or the statements themselves in the given
reasons and conclusion) that need to be investigated.
Suppose you believe that the conclusion is false. In that case,
you may take either the two paths: a) Upstream strategy is
to show the person what questionable premises or reasons
are necessary to prove his claim, or b) Downstream strategy
is to show the person what questionable conclusions entail
when the claim or conclusion is taken as a reason or premise.
7. Use options to give the person a choice. You may
provide constructive dilemmas to not let the person perceive
the inadequacy of his/her reasons.
8. You may also match your style with the personalities
of the person you are inquiring.
Dialectical Method
Phenomenological Method
Hermeneutics
CONCLUSION
ASSESSMENT
Source:https://opinion.inquirer.net/files/2020/06/Opinion58652.jpg
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 27
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
St. Augustine
Rene Descartes
John Locke
CONCLUSION
ASSESSMENT
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
ENLIGHTENED ANTHROPOCENTRISM
CONCLUSION
The human person is not an entity that could not live and
survive on its own. He/she needs supporting mechanisms to
enable him/her to live and enjoy life to the fullest. One of
these important life-supporting mechanisms is the natural
environment. The services that Mother Nature gives to
humankind are free and irreplaceable. Yet, human persons
have just taken Mother Nature for granted for quite some
time now. Nevertheless, there is always the good side of
human beings. Though they may have contributed to the
destruction of the natural environment, they also have the
54 The Human Person and the Environment
ASSESSMENT
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
FREEDOM
trying to say is that you were not free during the time of
decision-making.
For Sartre, even when somebody tells you what program
to take, you cannot deny that it is you who chose the degree
program in the end. In short, you are free what to choose. In
this case, what you chose for yourself was the choice of your
parents or friends.
Is the freedom of the human person limited? For Sartre,
the limitation of freedom is a product of our being conscious
of things; it is our choice of limitation. For example, when
you go to a mall which is located in a city that is very far
from your place, you may think that you are not free to go
there because you do not have money or you are busy with
your studies. The limitation that you think does not limit
freedom itself. Why? It is because you are still the one who
chooses that limitation. In other words, you decide to limit
yourself with those factors and that very fact means that you
are free to choose in any way. You think that those factors
can hinder you from going there. Even so, you still cannot
deny that you choose to think that way. Most often, we stop
thinking and creating possibilities, so we immediately say
that we are not free. Why do people say that poverty is not a
hindrance to success? And why do people blame poverty for
being unsuccessful? There are unlimited choices for the
person to think, but what limits is the thought of limiting our
actions.
Taylor Carman (2019) explains the example of Sartre in
a situation where the person is seemingly confronted with an
obstacle. When a person climbs up the mountain and
encounters a boulder, that person would see it as an obstacle
and perhaps say that the mountain is not climbable.
However, the obstacle in front of the person is only a
limitation as far as the person's goal is concerned, that is, to
climb up the mountain. For another person who may also
encounter the same boulder and who does not have the same
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 59
RESPONSIBILITY
AUTHENTICITY
CONCLUSION
ASSESSMENT
A
1. Set your goal in life. You may choose your goal as a
student, as a child, or just as a human person.
2. List down five (5) concrete actions that will help you reach
your chosen goal.
3. For each concrete action, list down all possible
consequences. The more list of consequences, the better.
4. In at least one paragraph, explain how you will face all the
challenges of the consequences.
B
1. Choose one person whom you think is successful in life
amidst a difficult challenge.
2. Ask permission to interview the person and record your
interview. Inquire what the successful person has done to
overcome the challenges and achieve his/her goal.
3. Write your report in a dialogue format.
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 65
INTRODUCTION
PAUL RICOEUR
of the self and the other does not compromise each other’s
representativeness. Ricoeur’s idea of the self brought
Descartes’ famous dictum “I think, therefore, I am” into the
limelight. Rene Descartes is a philosopher who lived during
the Scientific Revolution, the era of rapid advances in the
sciences. He is best known for his "Methodic doubt" and the
concept of the "Cogito". Since we are employing Descartes
here, it is best to know some of his essential works in
philosophy, i.e., the "thinking being" and the self. For
Descartes, man can doubt everything except the self. Using
doubt as a standpoint, one can attain knowledge and
certainty. When talking about the self, "I think, therefore, I
am" means that man is a thinking being, and that a thinking
being exists (Ricoeur, 1994).
Even in one of Descartes' seminal works, Meditations,
it has been written in first-person to emphasize that it is his
journey, the self's journey. Descartes lived his philosophy of
the self, and in this manner, the reader of his work is brought
to a meditation and reflection. The book reminds us of
Socrates' way of philosophizing, which leads the interlocutor
to a better understanding of things. The purpose of
discussing Descartes' ideas here is to emphasize the
importance of the self. If one knows the self well,
understands the self, then the act of reaching out for others
is not a farfetched reality (Ricoeur, 1994).
Taking into account the subject-self paves the way for
understanding the idea of the other. The self is present
because the other presupposes as a being that also recognizes
not only oneself but also the self of the other human persons.
Thus, to realize the existence of the self serves as an impetus
for reaching out to others. The self does not necessarily
mirror the other; rather it recognizes that the other also has a
self of its own.
This kind of realization broadens the horizon of not only
having a solipsistic point of view of survival. One has also
70 Intersubjectivity
to learn to take care of the self to take care of the self of the
other. Selfishness can be a temporary phase may lead one to
become a selfless human being the moment he/she realizes
the other.
MARTIN BUBER
EMMANUEL LÉVINAS
CONCLUSION
ASSESSMENT
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
believes that in this stage, people viewed the world and the
events in that world as a direct expression of the will of
various gods. In other words, ancient people believed that
everything around them was a sign of active gods
influencing their lives. For example, ancient people actually
believed that planets were gods in the sky, looking down on
Earth. Even the sun was part of the world of the gods; ancient
Greeks believed the sun was one wheel on the massive
chariot steered by Apollo. If something bad happened, like
when a community experienced bad weather or
an earthquake, people in the theological stage would explain
that such an event was a result of god’s anger to the people.
In short, the theological stage meant that people used
supernatural or divine explanations to understand society
and the world (Comte's 3 Stages of Society & Theory of
Positivism, 2013). This is one of the reasons why ancient
people built temples and churches. They were intended to
honor the Supreme Being whom people perceived as
"Greater than themselves".
Comte's second stage of society is called
the metaphysical stage. Comte argues that this stage started
around the Middle Ages in Europe, or somewhere around the
1300s. In the metaphysical stage of society, people viewed
the world and events as natural reflections of human
tendencies. People in this stage still believed in divine
powers or gods, but they believed that these beings were
more abstract and less directly involved in what happens
daily. Instead, problems in the world were due to defects in
humanity. An example of a kind of thinking in this stage was
the belief that the planets were physical objects in space but
that they influenced people's lives via astrology. The idea
here was that societies still believed in some supernatural or
magical aspects of life, but they were also rooted in the
concrete parts of life (ibid.).
80 The Human Person in the Society
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your strength, and with all your
mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And, he said
to him, 'You have given the right answer; do this,
and you will live.'
CONCLUSION
ASSESSMENT
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
the meaning of life? Others might say yes, and others no.
These mottos in life do not provide a concrete meaning of
what life is. Rather, they provide clues, insights, and
suggestions about what one must do to attain a meaningful
life. The assumption here is that there is no universal
definition of what life is, and no single statement can capture
life’s meaning.
CONCLUSION
In sum, we can say that the meaning of life does not have
one definition. It does have a lot of variables before one can
define it. It can be seen either objectively and subjectively,
depending on the person defining it. The way things appear
around us varies. Likewise, the way individuals experience
things also varies. It is noteworthy that as we try to learn the
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 95
ASSESSMENT