INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Quarter 1 – Module 4

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 LESSON 4
THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT

Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Recognize and evaluate one’s own limitations or possibilities for one’s full mental, emotional,
spiritual, physical, and financial maturity.
2. Recognize how the human body imposes limits and possibilities for transcendence;
3. Distinguish the limitations and possibilities for transcendence; and
4. Practice prudence.

Sensitivity Check
INSTRUCTION: Read the text and answer the following questions below.

AKO AY AKO
Anonymous

Kaya kong itapon o waskin ang hindi akma at panatilihin ang mga naaakma at lumikha ng mga
bago, kapalit ng mga itinapon o winasak. Ako ay nakakikita, nakaririnig, nakadarama, nakaiisip,
nakapagsasalita, at nakagagawa. Ako ay may kakayahan upang mabuhay at maging malapit sa kapwa.
Maging kapaki-pakinabang at makaimpluwensya sa mga tao at mga bagay. Ako ay nag mamay-ari sa
akin, samakatwid kaya kong pamahalaan ang aking sarili, ako ay ako at ako ay okay.

a. What do you think is the message of the poem in relation to the human person’s relationship to a
supreme being/God, his neighbor, and his society?
b. Cite verses that define a human person’s character.
c. What is the significance of “okay” in the last line?

Introduction: Transcendence in the Global Age

Is life in our contemporary world dictated by technology? Are selfies any indication that we are
not zombies? Are we pushing the responsibility for our existence in the society, instead of facing the
questions of who we are? In this Information Age, there is an imbalance between human existence and
different conditions. We are beset with problems without precedent in human experience. This imbalance
makes is think of what our future should be and thus, we should look at our past.

This lesson will discuss issues such as globalization and technology otherwise philosophy will be
seen to retreat from the leading aspects of daily life and experience in an attempt to explore how
technology facilitates the practices lying at the heart of technology the study seeks to envision a global
community that laid emphasis on non-violence as we aspire for transformation reconciliation genuine
development and most importantly on rethinking our existence in this fast-changing world

According to Thomas Merton (1948) “There is no other way for us to find who we are than
finding in ourselves the divine image.” The divine image he was referring to was the design, purpose and
mission God made in our lives. The divine image was the original purpose God intended for man and
woman. We had to struggle to regain spontaneous and vital awareness of our own spirituality. Merton
talked about a continual movement away from inner and outer idols and told union with the God of the
desert of his Christian faith.
 Prior to k to 12, most high school students had no chance to read or encounter philosophical tests.
While college students who were as a regarding the concept of “transcendence” would usually answer. “I
cannot believe in invisible existence. To see is to believe.” However, there are still a majority of college
students have strong convictions concerning their faith that which transcends what is seen or touched by
bodily senses.

In philosophy, the adjective “transcendental” and the noun “transcendence” convey the basic
ground concept of the word's literal meaning (from Latin) of “climbing or going beyond,” with varying
connotations and it's different historical and cultural stages. Appreciating art has transcendent existence.
Knowledge and laws also require transcendence. Scientific knowledge and laws are transcending, from
simple, phenomenal things to abstract; we have a soul capable of coming to life and experiencing
profound and hidden values, which the flesh and its senses can never discover alone. This is spirituality in
us is identified with the divine image in our soul.

As mentioned, there are many beliefs of transcendence specifically Taoism, Kant’s transcendental
idealism, or the existentialist authentic existence; however, this lesson shall focus on three main
philosophies: Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. These three major religions a focused not only on the
mental, emotional and physical aspects of humans, but also on man’s spirit and soul. Spirit and soul
represent the deepest essence of humanity.

THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT

In this section, the student is expected to understand the human person as an embodied spirit
seeking union with the divine respecting all forms of life and living a meaningful life.

HINDUISM
Brahman is selfhood

At the heart of Hinduism lies the idea of human beings’ quest for absolute truth, so that one’s soul
and the Brahman or Atman (absolute soul) might become one. Brahman or Atman is what Indians
consider as the god from which all reality and all souls ultimately came from and will return. For the
Indians, God first created sound and the universe a arose from it. As the most sacred sound, the Aum
(Om) is the root of the universe and everything that exists, and it continues to hold everything together.
This implies that for Indians, sound, not sight, is the basis of reality and existence.

According to Hinduism, human beings have a dual nature: one is the spiritual and immortal
essence (soul); the other is the empirical life and its traits. Between the two natures, however, it is
maintained that it is the soul that is ultimately real. The existence of the body, in fact, is considered as
nothing more than an illusion and even an obstacle to an individual’s realization of one's real self. In other
words, the soul of a person is true reality, while a person's body is only temporary and ultimately an
illusion that should be discarded so that the soul can be set free to return to Atman - The Indian god for
all.

Hindus generally believe that the soul is eternal but is bound by the law of karma (action) to the
world of matter, which it can escape only after a spiritual progress through an endless series of birds. God
allots rewards and punishments to all beings according to their karma (Puligandla, 2007). If a person
commits good, he gets good karma and this karma will give him rewards, but if he commits wrong to
himself and others, he gets bad karma and this will lead to punishment and bad results. Similar to a
prisoner enclosed within the wall of his prison, a human being’s soul can be said to be temporarily and
case in his body. For this reason humanity's basic goal in life is the liberation of spirit.
 Hinduism holds that humanity's life is a continuous cycle (samsara.) While the spirit is neither
born or dies, the body, on the other hand goes through a transmigatory series of births and deaths.
Transmigration or metempsychosis is a doctrine that adheres to the belief that a person's soul passes into
other creatures, human or animal. Transmigration of soul means a person's soul moves from animal to
human or human to animal after dying and getting born again depending on the person's good karma or
bad karma. A man will die and will be born again changing from body to body until his soul achieves
purity and he escapes this cycle. If a person has led a good life the soul goes upward the scale. The soul of
an evil person, on the other hand, may pass into the body of an animal.

There will be no end to the cycle unless the individual exerts a real effort to break away or
liberate one’s spirit from the monotonous cycle through good deeds to one's family, friends and to society
in general. Different Hindu schools and sects have different views about the method of release (moksha)
from this transmigration.

Ultimate liberation, that is, a freedom from rebirth, is achieve the moment the individual attains
that stage of life emancipation, from which inevitably arises a total realization by the individual of
spiritual nature as well as the transient character of the body. In other words, only after a series of good
acts done over a long period of time, perhaps decades or even centuries, can a person achieve escape from
the cycle of death and rebirths. The problem is that a person does not know when this will be achieved.
He must keep on doing good acts until it happens. Moksha, thus, is an enlightened state wherein one
attains one's true self-hood and finds oneself one with the One, the Ultimate Reality, the All-
Comprehensive Reality: Brahman.

In summary to understand enlightenment for Hinduism one must understand the law of karma the
law of sowing and reaping. All of us, through what we do or not do, supposedly determine our destiny.
The wheel of existence turns until we achieve enlightenment after which we are released from the series
of free rebirth.

BUDDHISM
From tears to enlightenment

Nothing exists without a cause. More importantly, there is no independent, categorical and
permanent self. All beings have a Buddha nature, every individual is a potential Buddha and should be
taught the equality and brotherhood of human beings. The buddha regards this world as a fleeting.

Like stars fading and vanishing

At dawn,
Like bubbles on a fast-moving stream,
Like morning dewdrops evaporating on
Blades of grass,
Like a candle flickering in a
Stormy wind,
Echoes, mirages, and phantoms
Hallucinations and like a dream.
-The Buddha
The eight smiles of illusion, Prajna Paramita Sutras

Another major Eastern tradition is Buddhism, contained in the teachings of its founder,
Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha. Out of the life experience and teaching of highborn Prince Gautama of
the Sakya clan in the kingdom of Magadha, who lived from 560 to 477 BC, sprang the religious
philosophy we know as Buddhism. Turning away from Hindu polytheism and palace pleasures, Gautama
began searching for answers to the riddle of life’s sufferings, disease, old age and death. He explored
Brahminic philosophies, then tried the rigors of asceticism, but all to no avail. Finally, while resting and
meditating in a grove of trees, he came to a clear realization that the solution lay in his own mind
(Puligandla, 1997)

From here on, Gautama’s life was devoted to sharing his dharma or way to salvation - a simple
presentation of the inner cultivation of right spiritual attitudes, coupled with the self-imposed discipline
whereby bodily desires would be channeled in the right direction. The transcendence of the Buddha
ommitted any appeal to the gods as currently conceive rejecting philosophical speculation; and spend all
recourse to ancient scriptures, outmoded rituals, or priestly incantations. Convinced that the way of
escape from pain and misery play in the transformation of one's mind and that liberation could come only
with the sloughing off of all vain clinging to the things of this life which means having no earthly desire
for money, ambition, wealth or sexual feelings. Buddha set about sharing his discovery with anyone who
would listen to him.

Reduced to its simplest form, the teaching of Buddha has been set for traditionally in the “Four
Noble Truths” leading to the “Eightfold Path” to perfect character or Arhatship, which in turn gave
assurance of entrance into nirvana at death. The Chinese character represents all things in constant
change, and thus, one should not become attached to impairment things. All beings are subject to
suffering; we are all reduced to ashes.

In the “Four Noble Truths,” Gautama taught

1. Life is full of suffering;

2. Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lust and cravings caused by the bodies and
emotions of people
3. Only as these emotions, desires and wants are obliterated will suffering cease; and
4. Such eradication of desire may be accomplished only by following the Eightfold Path of
earnest endeavor.
5.
Briefly, these eight steps are:

1. Right belief in an acceptance of the Fourfold Truth

2. Right aspiration for one’s self and for others
3. Right speech that harms no one
4. Right conduct motivated by goodwill toward all human beings
5. Right means of livelihood or earning once living by honorable
6. Right and the boar or effort to direct one's energies toward wise ends
7. Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought
8. Right meditation or concentration to the point of complete absorption in mystic ecstasy

The way to salvation, in other words, lies through self-abnegation, which means the denial of self
or fighting against one's emotions and desires, the rigid discipline of mind and body a consuming love for
all living creatures and the final achievement of that state of consciousness which marks an individual's a
full preparation for entering nirvana or the enlightened wisdom of complete selflessness - which means an
obligation and total removal of the self - the distinct and unique individuality that each person possesses
disappears, becoming an embodied spirit. In this state, the effects of the law of cause and effect (karma)
or overcome; the cycle of rebirth is broken; and one may rest in the conference of having attained a
heavenly bliss that will stretch into all eternity.
 Before long, the Buddha found himself surrounded by and increasing number of followers - men like
himself, willing to leave the comforts of home, don the robe of a monk and, with a staff in one hand and
begging bowl the other, follow their leader as wandering mendicants. At first the order lived under the
Buddhist princeps. As time went on many, more rulers were embodied in the Buddhist book of monastic
discipline. The following precepts represent the first steps that one can take after reading, hearing and
pondering Buddhist teaching and establishing some confidence in it. However, it is important not to view
these precepts as a set of rules for Buddhism stress as the cultivation of wisdom and discernment
(Velasquez 1999). These precepts include:

1. Refrain from destroying life

2. Refrain from taking what is not given
3. Refrain from a misuse of the senses
4. Refrain from wrong speech do not lie or deceive and
5. Refrain from taking drugs or drinks that tend to cloud the mind

In other words, blind obedience to the precept is not encouraged. A person must willingly choose this
way of life and accept it as the truth of life so that even if there is pain and struggle, he will not give up.

Buddhists practice the four states of sublime condition: love, sorrow, father's joy in the joy of others
and equanimity as regards one's own joy and sorrow. Buddhism, similar to Hinduism and other religions,
is a matter of repeated practice over a long period of time.

A certain unity prevailed in the order and in the interpretations is given to the dharma during the
buddha’s lifetime. However, after his death a need to put buddha’s sayings into writing or at least have
them fixed in the oral tradition was recognized. In ca. 477 BC, about 500 disciples gathered in the First
Council at Rajagaha and together, recited and chanted the precepts now found in the Tripitaka.

ACTIVITY
In your Philosophy notebook, answer the following comprehensively.
1. In one of your previous lessons, you had a fund-raising activity or donated goods to victims of
calamity. How will you relate this experience to compassion?
2. Based on the Eightfold Path, which is the most applicable to cultivate in your family and friends?
For example, upon graduation, how can you apply the right means of livelihood or earning one’s
living by honorable means?
3. Read some lines from Mahabharata pointing to the essence of the Braham. Share which lines in
the text you find meaningful and interesting.

CHRISTIANITY
The Biblical God and Humanity

This section discusses a new body of philosophical writings that sets forth new problems. In the
fifth century, Agustin writing was considered to be the most influential in the early medieval period. This
section looks at the rationality of belief in God's existence. In doing so we shall treat the statement “God
exist” as hypothesis, which we call the theistic hypothesis. This means we shall ask whether or not the
existence of God provides the best explanation of the existence of the world as we know. In addition we,
will seek to know if the physical world provides evidence that there is god out there who created the
universe and all of existence.
 Religious people definitely do not treat God's existence a hypothesis because for them, God is a
constant presence rather than a being whose existence is accepted as the best explanation of available
evidence. Neither in the Jewish nor in the Christian Bible is there any argument for God's existence. For
the biblical writers, proving God's existence would be as pointless as trying to prove the existence of the
air we breathe. The religious problem reflected in the Old Testament narratives is not atheism but
polytheism; not the denial of God but the worship of too many gods. Likewise, in the New Testament the
reality of God is unquestioned due to the conviction that in Jesus of Nazareth the eternal God became
flesh and dwelt among human beings.

For Augustine (354-430), philosophy is amor sapiential, the love of wisdom; its aim is to
produce happiness. Hapiness means fullness of leaving a feeling and state of goodness experience not
only in the body and mind but also in one's finances and relationships. However, for Augustine, wisdom is
not only an abstract construction but it is also substantially existent as the divine Logos or the very
knowledge of god manifested on earth among human beings. Hence, philosophy is the love of God: it is
then, religious teachings of Christianity are based on the love of God from which Augustine, Aquinas and
Saint Anselm of Canterbury’s arguments are basically rooted. Love means faith in his existence, goodness
and commands and his plans to bring salvation and good among human beings.

For Thomas Aquinas, another medieval philosopher, of all creatures, human beings have the unique
power to change themselves and the things for the better. His philosophy is best grass in his treatises
Summa Contra Gentiles and Summa Theologica. Aquinas considered the human being as a moral agent.
We are both spiritual and body elements; the spiritual and material. The unity between both elements in
did helps us understand our complexity as human beings. Our spirituality separates us from animals; it
differentiates the moral dimension of our fulfillment in action. Through our spirituality, we have a
conscience. Thus, whether we choose to be “good” or “evil” becomes a responsibility.

HOMEWORK: Independent Project, Learning Journal

1. Choose a time and place where you can spend a short time to reflect.
a. Read a brief quotation from the Bible. Reflect on a verse about compassion or generosity. Turn it
over in your mind and picture a loving, caring God speaking these words to you personally.
b. When you are ready, write your reflection then pray.
2. How can faith be translated into action?

EVALUATING ONE'S OWN LIMITATIONS AND THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THEIR

TRANSCENDENCE
Based on the preceding section, how we are able to transcend our limitations can be based on
many experiences that emerge from deep within and from a sense of being in tune with the mystery of our
own being, and with the mystery of life that transcends us consider these examples (Edwards, 1983).

A. FORGIVENESS

When we forgive, we are freed from our anger and bitterness because of the actions and/words of
another. On the other hand, the hardness of our heart is reinforced by a whole series of rational arguments.
For Sebatu (2009), negative minds, feelings and attitudes are signs of masochism. They are our own
enemies. Hatred is a form of anger that is directed inward. It is a suicidal act. It goes against our physical,
psychological and spiritual welfare, causing as more harm than our opponent.
 Negative feelings are hated but we do not let them go. We claim that the negative feelings are gone,
but they keep coming back and cause our physical and emotional problems. Relaxation and imagery can
help in healing our body.

B. THE BEAUTY OF NATURE

There is perfection in every single flower; this what the philosophies of Aquinas, Anselm and Taoists
believed. For a hug, for every sunrise and sunset, to eat together as a family or our miracles. These kinds
of experiences can truly be moments of grace. They touch us deeply and the human heart is a
spontaneously lifted. During this experience, we need to offer praise. For Aquinas, the existence of God
or the Unmoved Mover originates change, and the fact that there are degrees of excellence to infer the
existence of a perfect being. Unmoved Mover means that the universe did not begin in motion.
Everything that exists must have had a source. Aquinas argued that since nothing cannot become
something on its own, he then stated that there must be a Being who caused the big bang and humanity’s
creation, the Unmoved Mover, the One who caused everything to exist.

C. VULNERABILITY

From Book Nine of his Confessions, Augustine’s lamentations pointed toward a Mystic Love.

“How lovely I suddenly found it to be free from the loveliness of those vanities, so that now it was a
joy to renounce what I have been afraid to lose. For you cast them out of me, O true and supreme
Loveliness, You cast them out of me and took their place in me, You who are sweeter than all pleasure, yet
not to flesh and blood; brighter than all light, yet deeper within than any secret, loftier than done all
honor, but not to those who are lofty to themselves. Now my mind was free from the cares that had
gnawed it, from aspiring and getting weltering in filth and rubbing the scab of lust. And I talked with you
as friends talk, my glory and riches and my salvation, my Lord God.”

To be invulnerable is somehow inhuman. To be vulnerable is to be human. Superheroes are hiding

from their true humanity. The experience that we are contingent, that we are dependent for our existence
on another is frightening. To work in the office or studying school, without acknowledging the help of
othersa, is to live without meaning and direction. We need to acknowledge the help of other people in our
lives. s in the case of Augustine’s mother, Saint Monica never stopped praying for her son's miraculous
transformation out of sin to the service of God's creatures. Such movements of poverty and dependence
on others are not a sign of weakness but of being true to ourselves.

D. FAILURE

Our failures forces to confront our weaknesses and limitations. When a relationship fails, when a
student fails a subject, when our immediate desires are not met, we are confronted with the possibility of
our plans to fail and yet, we are forced to surrender to a mystery or look up on a bigger world. Such
acceptance of our failures makes us hope and trust that all can be brought into good. Even we if we have
sinned, as Augustine had, there is hope and forgiveness.

E. LONELINESS

Our loneliness can be rooted from our sense of vulnerability and fear of death. This experience is so
common. However, it is our choice to live in an impossible world where we can always be “happy” or we
can accept a life where solitude and companionship have a part. With our loneliness, we can realize that
our dependence on other people or gadgets is a possessiveness that we can be free from.
 The mind should not acquire a depersonalized attitude, regarding people as merely sentient. As
persons, we should not rely on cold statistics to determine our beliefs. Instead, our minds’ power should
be tools of compassion, impart care, and instill optimism and hope.

F. LOVE

Our self-preoccupation must be regulated by temperance. As we undergo the process of knowing

ourselves, we acknowledge the fundamental goodness of our nature and share it to others.

To love is to experience richness, positivity and transcendence. Weather in times of ecstatic moments
or struggles, the love for a friend, between family members or a significant person can open in us strength
and courage. Life is full of risk, fears, commitment, pain and sacrificing and giving up things we want for
the sake of the one we love.

In the point of view of Christianity, the soul is like a lover who longs to return to God. in the case of
Augustine’s conversion, love is the union with God. In unity with God, the self does not assert its own
will, rather, the self is sensitive to the spirit guiding a person secretly in the depths of his heart and waits
until the spirits tears and beckons him with within (Johnson, 1973)

ACTIVITY:
In your Philosophy notebook, answer the following comprehensively.
1. Do you acknowledge the help of others?
2. How can forgiveness free us from anger?

RECOGNIZING THAT THE HUMAN BODY IMPOSES LIMITS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR
TRANSCENDENCE

A. HINDUISM: Reincarnation and Karma

An interesting Hindu belief is the transmigration of the soul, reincarnation, or “metempsychosis.”

Essential Hinduism is based on the belief in karma and has its first literary expression in Upanishads.
Everything in this life, according to the Hindus, is a consequence of actions performed from previous
existence. Only by building a pine record or karma can final salvation be achieved. This doctrine is a very
old one. For the Jains, there is nothing mightier in the world and karma; karma tramples down all powers,
as an elephant to a clump of lotuses (Puligandla, 2007). The Buddhists took over a large part when they
broke away from Brahmanism.

B. BUDDHISM: Nirvana

Nirvana means the state in which one is absolutely free from old forms of bondage and attachments.
It means to overcome and remove the cause of suffering. It is also the state of perfect insight into the
nature of existence. The Buddhists see one who has attained nirvana as one who is unencumbered from
the fetters that bind a human being to existence. He has perfect knowledge, perfect peace, and perfect
wisdom.

C. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO AND THOMAS AQUIANAS: Will and Love

For Augustine, physically we are free, yet morally bound to obey the law. The eternal law is God
himself. According to this law, humanity must do well and avoid evil, hence, the existence of moral
obligation in every human being. In other words, Augustine believe that humanity follows the laws of
morality in the same way all objects on earth obey the law of gravity. The human soul naturally wishes to
be moral. However, since humans are also being with will, this natural moral law can sometimes be
violated and such humanity must do its best to rectify the inner flow and maintain obedience to the moral
law which is ultimately obedience to God and goodness toward all men. Christian life is not easy.
However, no human being should become an end to himself. We are responsible to our neighbors as we
are to our own.

The truth of Augustine’s message is still ringing true this day. Despite Augustine’s period, which was
decadent, are our times any less corrupt? Innocence of heart and purity can only be gained by God's
grace. God alone can give the give to some instantly or to others at the end of an entire life’s struggle.
That gift. in itself, is a major triumph. Through prayer modesty fasting and other sound measures that the
church recommends or God provides can purify of heart, mind and body maintains and lived daily.

Definitely, to live a chaste life is difficult. All are called to be chaste whether married or single. For to
be pure is also to be holy. Though all are called to different lifestyles, all are called to be holy, pure and
chaste within the lifestyle. Any lifestyle that does not include these virtues, even with consenting
individuals is not pleasing to God for it does not lead to holiness, selflessness and full honesty. For
Augustine, though we are physically free, does not have a right to do anything if it is not morally right or
if one will hurt another. Rightness means pleasing God. God has given us choice to discern between right
and wrong though we are often ignorant in this manner unless we are wholly sincere, honest and pure
(Johnston, 2006.)

ACTIVITY:
In your Philosophy notebook, answer the following comprehensively.
1. How do you show love toward others? To your friends? To your family? To people in need?
2. Rightness means pleasing God. Can you give examples that will support this claim? If you are a
non-Catholic, how do you view the meaning of “right” actions?
3. Choose a song that you can relate to the topics of this section (e.g., “I Believe I can Fly”).
Explain.
DISTINGUISHING THE LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR TRANSCENDENCE
In this section, precepts common to all topics discussed are highlighted:

 It is the spiritual that endures and is ultimately real in hinduism the human aspiration is to move
to the divine what we believe is how we leave if our beliefs are in error than our lives will be and
happy.
 Occupation with the inner life the road to enlightenment that stretches not outward but inward to
understand nature and the universe we must turn within.
 The non-material oneness of creation this means that there are no polarities a single spirit
provides cosmic harmony.
 There is the acceptance of direct awareness as the only way to understand what is real. The
Indians find this direct perception through a spiritual exercises perhaps through the practice of
yoga reason is up some used but in the final analysis it is only through in our experience of
oneness with all of creation.
 There is healthy respect for tradition but never has lavished commitment to it.
 The past can teach but never rules
 On the other hand, the great thinkers of medieval philosophy and pat emphatically affirmed the
principle of the conjunction of faith and reason, and embodied it in their writings. However, their special
quality lies precisely in their rejecting any such a “rationalistic” claim. According to Augustine, Si
comprehendis, non est Deus – “Whatever you understand cannot be God” simply because you
understand it. As Aquinas would affirm in the Summa Theologica, “God is honored by silence - not
because we cannot say or understand anything about him, but because we know that we are incapable of
comprehending him.”

EVIL AND SUFFERING

Suffering is close to the heart of biblical faith in comparison. In comparison with the Buddha,
who saw life in suffering and try to control it instead of cursing it, Job of the Old Testament did not just
complain. He cursed the day he was born. In a phenomenological perspective, all of us will continue to
assert our will against others, adding to the overall suffering of human experience.

In Christianity, suffering leads to the Cross, the symbol of reality of God's saving love for the
human being. Suffering, in Buddhism, gives rise to compassion for the suffering humanity. Compassion is
the heart of religion, but compassion can disappear from it. Religion, without compassion, becomes a law
and burden imposed to its adherents. If there is no compassion, religion can start wars that destroy
enemies. Jesus condemns religion without compassion, an illustration of which may be found in the
Parable of the good Samaritan.

ACTIVITY:
In your Philosophy notebook, answer the following comprehensively.

1. What is Religion? How will you expound the view that religion without compassion becomes a
burden?
2. If you are going to choose who deserves to be the “Person of the Year,” to whom you award it?
How was he/she able to transcend or overcome his/her challenges in life?
Take a photo of this person. Write a short essay based on his/her lifelong learnings.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Reference: Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person. Christine Carmela R. Ramos, PhD

Prepared by; Bro. Reymar M. Cabrera

Introduction to Philosophy - Teacher