WHO IS MAN?

The question regarding who man is has been a Perennial and age-long question, yet ever
made new. It is majorly a Philosophical and religious question that borders mainly on the nature
and role of man. Within the religious domain, man is summarily understood within his Essence
as a God-image creature and existential purpose of being capable of responsibly taking making
moral choices and decisions. Within the context of Philosophy, knowing who man is becomes
specifically an anthropological, Existential and metaphysical question. It goes beyond mere
understanding of him As a bipedal locomotive being to ask crucial questions such as the
ultimate Origin of human life, the ontological nature (essence) of human life, the Reality of
human existence within two worlds of physical and spiritual (Man’s Place in the universe),
the goal of human existence and the meaning of human Existence.

Man is a mystery and the onerous task of Unravelling it rests more on the shoulders of
philosophers. Man knows and Understands everything in the universe better than he does
‘himself’. That is Why Socrates admonished him- ‘man know thyself’.

ABRAHAM
HESCHEL AMAZINGLY STATED,

We have never been as open-mouthed and Inquisitive, never as astonished and embarrassed at
our ignorance about man. We Know what he makes but we do not know what he is or what to
expect of him. Is It not conceivable that our civilization is built upon a misinterpretation of Man?
Or that the tragedy of man is due to the fact that he is a being who has Forgotten the question:
who is man? The failure to identify himself, to know What is authentic human existence, leads
him to assume a false identity, to pretending To be what he is unable to be or to not accepting
what is at the very root of His being. Ignorance about man is not lack of knowledge but false
knowledge.
The Constitutive Elements of Man

There Abound different notions on what stuff man is made of. However, most common is The
view that man possesses both physical and spiritual dimensions.

Understanding the Nature of Man

Two-Fold Level of Human nature

Generally, man is said to exist on two-fold level;

1. Somatic: The somatic level consists of his bodily structure and colour conditioned by his
culture and environment.

2. Attitudinal levels. The attitudinal level comprises of his perceptions of his environment,
thought patterns, responses to given stimuli (behaviours).

Ontological Concepts of man

i. Body (soma)- The physical form of man

ii. Spirit (pneuma)- An animating principle in man. The spiritual aspect of man that
relates with God and ancestors.
iii. Heart- the sensual aspect of the soul

iv. Soul (psyche)- The spiritual dimension of man. The seed of the heart that maintains
personal identity of man

iv. Psyche- Mindset (Mind in its totality)

v. Mind (nous)- The seat of consciousness, thought, volition and
feelingConsciousness- (psychic soul, energy of the soul) Gamut of man’s subjective
experience. Man’s awareness of himself and his environment.

NB: One thing is clear; man possesses both spiritual and physical dimensions.
The Nature of Human Mind
The Mental Phenomena (Events)

The mind is an intricate configuration of many specific operations. It is believed that mental
events are grouped into three major dimensions of man’s activity, namely;

Cognitive
Phenomenon: Man as “Homo Sapiens”- (the knower) distinguishes himself from other animals
through the mental activities of understanding, attention, memory, perception, belief, doubt, etc.

Affective
phenomenon: Man also responds emotionally to
what he knows by ways of approval or disapproval.

Volitive
(Conative) phenomenon: This is the
resultant effect of cognitive and emotional phenomena.

Intellectual
activities +
Affectivity Þ
Volition. Egs: Motive, desire, purpose,
decision, intention, action; voluntary and involuntary etc
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE MIND

So far, four main functions of the mind have been Identified.

Cognitive

Function- The intellectual capacity of the

Mind to acquire knowledge.

Memorative

Function- Memory presupposes knowledge. The ability of the mind to code and store
information in order to recall and represent them when needed. It is usually associated but not
exclusively with the past. Forgetfulness and loss of memory is a serious psychological sickness.

Volitive

Function- The power of the mind to choose and Decide.

Imaginative

Function- The competency of the mind to picture images of thought. These mental pictures can
be existing or not as the mind can transcend all physical realms. This is why man is said to be
physically limited but mindfully trespassing all boundaries. This makes inventions and changes
possible.

The Characteristics of the Mind: Criteria for mental events

The activities of the mind are known for peculiar features.

Purposeful Behaviour: Mental events are goal-oriented behaviours.

Intentionality: Object of the mind (entia rationis)- Aboutness of the actual object of Thought
(existing or not).

TWO FEATURES OF INTENTIONALITY:

 1. Psychological: Here, concrete existence is irrelevant. In which case, truth as
correspondence between what exists in mind and in concrete is not applicable here. The
Existence of an object can be only in the mind.
2. Ontological (Referential opacity): Only the object of intentionality is necessary here.
3. Subjective Experience: Mental activities presupposes Consciousness

TWO LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS:

1. Awareness: Raw-feel (sensitive consciousness)

2. Self-awareness: (Reflective consciousness)- Awareness of one having a subjective
experience. Consciousness of oneself as a knowing subject-experiencer.

THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STUDY OF THE MIND

The study of the mind is not an easy task based on the following factors.

1. Its ontological status

2. Language factor
3. The degree of empathy of the observer
4. Subject-object Interaction
5. Object-subject of Study
6. Mind-Body interaction Problem
7. The Ontological Status of the Mind (Mental Properties)
8. Non-spatial
9. Non-local
10. Non-accessible (Ecco, Bhrsm)
11. Private/subjective
12. Free
13. Intentional
14. Conscious
15. Invisible
16. Immediate
17. Active
18. Uncontrollable
19. Self-evident (indubitability)
20. Self-transparent (intuitive knowledge)
21. Infallible/incorrigible
22. Sacred, etc.

Assignment

Just before we end, we go back to the opening question regarding who man is. Gloss through
and think out yourself who man is. To be submitted during or next meeting.

PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR NOTIONS ABOUT MAN

1. Socrates- A conscious being

2. Plato- A fallen soul
3. Aristotle- A rational being
4. Thomas from Aquinas- A rational subsistent
5. Augustine of Hippo- A passionate seeker
6. Spinoza- A mode of God
7. Leibniz- Superior monad
8. Descartes- A thinking being
9. Kant- A dutiful being
10. Hobbes- A selfish being
11. Hegel- A microcosm of the great macrocosm
12. Rousseau- A natural virtuous being
13. Hume- A pleasurable being
14. Kierkegaard- An anguished subjective being
15. Heidegger- Dasein (Being-there)
16. Nietzsche- Will to power
17. Sartre- A desire
18. Max Scheler- A loving being
19. Edeh- The good that is
 20. John Paul II- A passionate seeker of truth
21. Francis I- A being that deserves and gives love