MODULE 4: Dimensions of the Human Person according to Gaudium et Spes

MADALING MAGING TAO, MAHIRAP MAGPAKATAO

Hindi tayo "tao lang!" Tao na may "angking kagandahan!" (We are not "only human!" We are "beautiful human beings!").

Morality & Ethics

• Morality is the practice of morally good and appropriate actions; the daily activity that embodies our efforts to live as full and
authentic human beings.
• Ethics is the reflective investigation into what is:
• Morally proper thing to do
• How we ought to act in a given situation or what is the right
thing to do under the present circumstances
• Therefore, technically speaking, morality refers to the practice of morally good while ethics refers to the study of morality
(Genovesi, 2003)

• Both morality and ethics loosely have to distinguishing the difference between "good and bad" or "right and wrong." Many
people think of morality as something that's personal and normative, whereas ethics is the standards of "good and bad"
distinguished by a certain community or social setting
• For example, your local community may think adultery is immoral and you personally may agree with that. However, the
distinction can be useful if your local community has no strang feelings about adultery, but you consider adultery immoral on a
personal level
• By these definitions of the terms, your morality would contradict the ethics of your community. In popular discourse,
however, we'll often use the torms moral and immoral when talking about Issues like adultery regardless of whether it's being
discussed in a personal or in a community based situation. As you can see, the distinction can get a bit tricky (Grannan, 2016)

Morality as PAGPAPAKATAO
• Fr. Carlos Ronquillo, one of the Filipino experts in moral Theology, proposes "Pagpapakatao" to refer to morality because this
term is close to the experience of the Filipino.
• Ang tao lang ang may kakayahang "magpakatao" dahil hindi pa ganap (complete) ang kanyang pagkatao.
• Ang hayop ay walang kakayahang magpaka-hayop dahil ganap na ang kanyang pagka-hayop. Samakatwid, ganap na siyang
hayop. (Walang moralidad sa daigdig ng mga hayop).
•Ang tao ay patuloy na naglalakbay patungo sa kaganapan ng kanyang pagka-tao. Pilit siyang namumuhay ng marangal.

But why is it important for us to know who the human person is?
• The source of morality is the human person (CFC no. 682), considered in the light of both reason and faith.
• The person is the object (goal) and the subject (agent) of morality.
• God enters the talk of morality only when the person believes in God. "For Christians, moral living is simply following Christ"
(CFC no. 674),
• It is a call to become loving persons, in the fullness of life-with others-in the-community before God, in imitation of Jesus
Christ.

Therefore, the human person is called to:

• be authentically human;
• reach his final destiny who is God!

Only human actions can be assessed for their morality.

• According to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher),
"the human being is the only creature who knows that s/he knows
• For Plato, "only the human knows that he does not know" (Socratic Paradox).
• The human being has the capacity and the ability (reason) to know and study him/herself
• Hence, the Human Person can know who the authentic human person is in the light of faith and reason
Human Person Adequately Considered (HPAC)
• Precondition: A Morally good disposition-one is truly seeking for the good
• Discernment of a Morally Good Act consists in considering eight dimensions of the human person in any moral issue one faces

• Synthesized by Belgian theologian Louis Janssen from the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes (Joys and Hopes): Pastoral
Constitution of the Church in the Modern World

DIMENSIONS OF THE HUMAN PERSON

1. POSSESSES FREEDOM (GS17) [kusang-loob]

• Authentic Freedom is not just doing and saying what want, but doing what is good.
• Basic Freedom according to Gula (1998) is directed towards a loving relationship with God
• Sin - on the other hand is an abuse of freedom

2. CONSCIENCE (G516) [makataong-loob]

• It is the conscience that judges the morality of the act considering the object nature of the act, the intantion and the
circumstances according to CFC. Furthermore, it is the conscience that guides our freedom in making good moral decisions
• Gula (1998) added that moral conscience is the key to responsible freedom of desiring to do what what we do because we
value what we are seeking (p 126). These (Freedom & Conscience) are to be used in a responsible manner (matuwid na
pamamaraan) (GS 31)

3. CORPOREAL BEING (sumasa-katawan)

• The human person adequately considered is corporeal, and thus gendered
• Western philosophy has suffered from an inherent dualism, paradoxically brought about by its concentration upon the
individual as subject.
• We often hear of the body-soul split of the person, the 'ghost in the machine' image whereby the 'real' person inhabits some
interior space and uses the body for purposes that are almost considered to be neutral.
• This type of dualism is so imbedded in our way of thinking that we are often forced to use the terms body and soul, matter
and spirit, even to refute them.
• While it is difficult for some persons to address the issue of our bodily existence, it is essential to any serious anthropology.
Being a 'body' is much more than being a 'subject', for our placement within the world as corporeal, and particularly as
gendered, deeply influences the very coming to be of conscious interiority.

4. Material Being (Sumasakalikasan):

• The human person adequately considered stands in relation to the material world. We are "beings in the world; an integral
part of the environment. This implies that we need to consider the effect of action on the environment. Through science and
technology, we are co-creators of God in renewing the world (GS 53-62)
• Since one might say that this boarders on the obvious, it is necessary to be explicit about the material dimensions of our
existence so that we do not fall into the trap of spiritualism or dualism.
• Even when we can affirm our relation with the transcendent,
we simultaneously know that even our communication with
God depends upon physical mediation. Nor is our presence
in a material world insignificant for moral reflection.

5. RELATIONAL -I-Thou (Nakikipag-kapwa):

• The human person adequately considered stands in relation to other persons in primary relationships
• Significant relationships are important in our growth as
moral subjects
• Martin Buber-Only in relation to a "thou" can one became an "I".
• Who are the significant others in your life? How will they be affected by your actions?
• The human person is fundamentally related in the sense that this pun is intended to convey an appreciation of our 'relatives'.
• No human person springs into existence spontaneously but is always born into a culture that consists of other human
persons.

6. SOCIAL BEING (Sumasa-lipunan):

• The human person adequately considered is cultural, always in relation to (groups of) other persons
• Social structures and institutions - created for the common good Implications:
• Individualist ethic is not enough (GS 30)
• Need to stress respect for these institutions (GS 26)
• But social structures and institutions are also limited and imperfect; need to revise them to adapt to changing contexts (GS
26, 29, 30).

7. HISTORICAL BEING (Sumasa- kasaysayan):

• The human person adequately considered is historical
• It is nearly a truism to observe that human persons are historica But it is much too easy to forget our being historical is much
more than something simply situational. Most of us lead our lives as if history makes no difference. We are hardly conscious
that we are, in a very real sense, history itself, both collectively and as individuals.
• Given the opportunity to reflect upon this, most people would say that we live in history'. However, such a statement may be
misleading if it implies that history is something 'outside of us. Unfortunately, the study of history in schools often gives us
precisely that impression, especially when history is related as a series of (large) 'events' effected by (important) personages.

8. FUNDAMENTALLY EQUAL BUT UNIQUE (Pantay-pantay subalit may pagkakatangi)

• According to GS 29, fundamental equality is grounded in our sharing of the same human nature: we have a common body
with common needs; therefore moral demands are "universalizeable"
• Almost by definition, the individual human person, adequately considered, is a totally unique, one-time occurrence. We can
speak, for instance, of a 'personality' in the sense of particular characteristics that belong to the unique individual. Further, each
person has their own talents, abilities, skills and perspectives.
• These may not be equally valued in every social context, but they nonetheless constitute the uniqueness of the person.
• The virtually infinite variety of personal characteristics are the result of unique combinations of 'nature and nurture' that will
never be repeated. Therefore, we are justified in the observation that each person should be treated as a unique individual.

Human Person Adequately Considered (HPAC)

• HPAC is not an individualist ethic; person is not the same as the individual. Person here is "in relation"
• Discernment is done by an individual/community in relation to other communities and the church.
• These dimensions should always be considered in making moral decisions.
• A morally sensitive person will spontaneously recognize the congruence between the expressions 'being human' and 'being
moral'.
• Humanists refer to the realization of human identity or fulfillment, a calling that transcends any particular individual.
• Any person who seeks the meaning of life' is searching for a dimension of being human that is accessible to all while
simultaneously transcending each individual. Even the fatalist recognizes something called 'destiny' into which we are all taken
up, even if the subsequent denial of freedom would undermine the possibility of such a position ever becoming truly moral.