PHILOSOPHY
FIRST SEMESTER | LECTURE 5: THE HUMAN PERSON
AS EMBODIED SPIRIT
Identifying and understanding the Human Person as an
Embodied Sprit has something to do with defining Man,
Human, Human Being, Person, Personhood and Human
Nature (Abella, 2016).
2. Existential Approach – kind of life / mode of
1. Cognitive Self
WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN
PERSON IN TERMS OF HAVING A
BODY AND A SPIRIT?
2. Physical Self
• The human and the person, respectively, are
defined with classified origin of species and
persons with birth rights.
• Human person is someone with an exact origin of
his/her classification. From the biblical
perspective, we came from Adam and Eve. For
Science, we came from an Ape under the Class:
Mamallia.
• Human person from time after time learned how
to live beyond what was traditional through the
various human evolutions from Hominid to Homo
Sapiens or the Modern Man people learn the
concept of power, politics and economics.
APPROACHES TO PHILOSOPHICAL STUDY OF
THE HUMAN PERSON
1. Metaphysical Approach – kinds of substances
and capacities that uniquely make up a human
person; examines the essential components of a
human person.
Martin Heidegger (1962) - describes the
metaphysical approach as dealing with the what
MD TERM
10
17 05
of a human person, while the latter as dealing with
the who of a human person.
Example: Tarzan (he has the what of a human
person; but while living with the apes, he has the
who of an ape)
existence, that is unique to a human person. This
examines the essential features of the human
way of life.
TWO GENERAL KINDS TO DISTINGUIS A
HUMAN PERSON
• Something within and cannot be physically
seen. It is the essential components of a
human personas that deals with THE WHAT
OF A PERSON which includes human
persons’ belief, desire, dreams, and
intentions.
• Something can be seen in his/her physical
appearance which deals with the essential
features of the human way of life or THE WHO
OF A PERSON which includes his/her body
type, strengths and appearances.
WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN
PERSON IN TERMS OF HAVING A
BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• One undeniable fact about the human person
– he/she has a body which has certain
physical properties.
• Others think that he/she has a nonbodily
component, something that is in addition to
his/her body, which is referred as the “soul”,
“mind” and sometimes as the “spirit”.
• A human person is typically with a body which
is tangible and has three components
composed of SOUL, MIND and SPIRIT. Also,
he or she is entitled and granted rights and
privileges by the state which he or she legally
belongs.
EMPHASIS ON A CERTAIN ASPECT OF THE
NONBODILY HUMAN COMPONENT
• Soul – emphasizes its life-giving function
• Mind – emphasizes its consciousness
• Spirit – nonbodily, nonbiological, or nonphysical
nature
THE POSSIBILITY THAT HUMANS HAVE
SPIRITUAL COMPONENT GIVES RISE TO A
QUESTION, WHAT ESSENTIALLY MAKES
UP A HUMAN PERSON?
1. Unspirited Body View - no spiritual component,
no such thing as spirit.
2. Disembodied Spirit view – is essentially just
her/his spirit. This view maintains that the human
person has both body and spirit but claims that it
is the spirit that essentially defines a person. The
body will die if there is no spirit, the spirit will
survive even if there is no body.
• Two strong supporters of the
disembodied view are Plato and Rene
Descartes.
• The spirit (called “soul” by Plato but mind
by Descartes and the body are two
different entities.)
• This leads to the belief in the immortality
of the spirit (Plato, though, also believes
in reincarnation-that the soul travels from
one body to another)
• Descartes – views of Reality as
composed of 2 different types of
substances, namely, mind (nonphysical
kind) and matter (the physical kind)
• Mind – includes the imperfect minds of
human and the perfect mind of God.
3. Embodied spirit view – unity of body and spirit.
Both cannot exist independently of one another.
Each will not survive with the absence of the other
• Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas
supporters of embodied spirit
• Aristotle – regards the soul as the
principle (cause) of life, it gives life to
something.
• The body – material aspect or matter
• Soul – formal aspect or form ex. Knife
• Form – natural capacity, ability or
function of something
• Matter - the kind of material that it is
made of.
• A soul – is a set or system of capacities or
abilities that gives life to something.
- Soul of plants –
vegetative/nutritive soul
- Soul of animals – sensitive soul –
nourishment, growth,
reproduction, sensation and
locomotion
- Soul of humans – Rational soul-
nourishment, growth
reproduction, locomotion
sensation, intelligence or rational
thinking, and freedom or free will.
• Aristotle does not believe in the
immortality of the soul (including human
soul.
• Aquinas – rational soul of humans has a
dual nature. There is a part of it that is
dependent on the body, but there is also
a part of it that is not dependent on the
body.
• The rational ability to think is not
dependent on the body. It does not need
the organ of the body to operate. The
rational souls are immortal
• The soul that survives after the death of
the human body is no longer a human
person and he calls the human soul
“subsistent” rather than a substance to
indicate that the human soul, though
immortal is incomplete in nature – and
which can only be complete again once
the body is resurrected to reunite with its
soul
WHAT IS EMBODIES SPIRIT?
• Embodied spirit is an animating core living within
each of us. It is known to be the driving force
behind what we actually think, do and say. It is
indeed the reflections of our total being by which
our sensations lead to our human feelings,
emotions and decision.
• The usual and known connotation that comes to
our mind when we hear the word “embodied” is
 always materialized or became flesh (with
physical form). Thus, when we say “embodied
spirit”, we normally believed and conclude of a
spirit becoming flesh.
• In the context and views of Christian philosophy,
the embodiment of the spirit particularly refers to
the inseparable union of human body and soul.
Inseparable which also means the body and soul
work together at all times. Hence, we can safely
say that “embodied spirit” that the body is not
separate from the soul, just as the soul is not
separate from the body.
As an embodied spirit human beings demonstrate these
following qualities (Abella, 2016):
1. "Self- awareness refers to person having a clear
perception of oneself, including his or her thoughts,
emotions, identity, and actions (Abella, 2016)." It is the
ability of one's consciousness to look inward thus
discovering the presence of a self.
The self is the subject that thinks, feels and acts. It is your
I amness (Wilber, 2006). The self enables a person to
experience an inner world of dreams, thoughts,
imagination, fantasy (Abella, 2016). Thus, the self
represents man's interiority (loob in Filipino).
2. A human person is able to connect and interact with
another person, an animal or an inanimate object. We call
this externality. So even though human beings have
interiority they are not trapped inside their heads. They are
able to go beyond their limited selves and embrace others.
3. We are not determined by others. Because we have
interiority; we can direct the course of our own life. This is
what we call self-determination which is "the capability of
persons to make choices and decisions based on their
own preferences, monitor and regulate their actions, and
be goal oriented and self-directed" (Abella 2016) Thus
human beings are free.
However, since our actions are based on our decisions,
we have to realized that every decision has a
consequence(s). There are some actions that are good
because they lead to good consequences and some
actions are bad because they lead to bad consequences.
The result of our freedom is morality which is "the
goodness or badness of an act" (Abella 2016)
4. Finally a human person has an inherent value and
importance. This is what we call dignity. That is why no
amount of money can equal the value of a human life. This
is also the reason why individual rights are absolute (Rand
1964). The American Founding Fathers called rights as
"inalienable" because it cannot be separated from our
humanity. If we are stripped off of our rights we are
stripped of our humanity. That is why slaves (who have no
rights) are not being treated as human.
TRANSCENDENCE IN THE GLOBAL AGE
Thomas Merton (1948), a Trappist monk:
“There is no other way for us to find who we are than
finding in ourselves the divine image. We have to struggle
to regain vital awareness of our spirituality.
THE HUMAN PERSON AS EMBODIED SPIRIT,
HER/HIS LIMITATIONS AND THE POSSIBILITIES
OF TRANSCENDENCE
A. Hinduism
- At the heart of this: the human quest for Absolute
truth
- That the one’s soul and the Brahman or Atman
(Absolute soul) might become one.
- For the Indians, God first created sound, and the
universe arose from it
- The Aum (Om)- the most sacred sound, is the root
of the universe and everything that exists and it
continues to hold everything together.
TRANSENDENCE IN PHILOSOPHY
• THE ADJECTIVE “TRANSCENDENTAL” AND THE
NOUN TRANSCENDENCE FROM LATIN = OF
CLIMBING OR GOING BEYOND
• There are many aspects of Transcendence, this
lesson covers the 3 main Spiritual Philosophies
namely: Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.
DUAL NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS
A. Soul – the spiritual and immortal essence.
- It is ultimately real and eternal but is bound by the
law of Karma(action) to the world of the matter.
- It can only escape after spiritual progress through
an endless series of births.
- Temporarily encased in his body.
B. Body - is empirical life and character. It is
considered as nothing more than an illusion and
an obstacle to the realization of one’s real self
 HUMANITY’S BASIC GOAL IN LIFE
• Liberation (moksha)of spirit (jiva)
• Humanity’s life is a continuous cycle (samsara)
while the spirit is neither born not does it die, the
body goes through a transmigratory series of birth
and death.
• Transmigration or Metempsychosis – a doctrine
that adheres to the belief that the person’s soul
passes into some other creature, human or
animal.
DIFFERENT VIEWS ABOUT THE METHOD OF RELEASE
1. The individual attains the stage of life
emancipation that arises a total realization by the
individual of spiritual nature as well as the
transient character of his body.
2. The attainment of self-knowledge – to overcome
congenital ignorance
True knowledge (vidya) consists an
understanding and realization of the individual’s
real self (atman).
SUMMARY
• Hinduism – one of the oldest Eastern traditions for
about 5000 yrs.
• Common to all Hindu concepts/thought;
a. Oneness of reality. This oneness is the
Absolute/ Brahman. Only Brahman is Real
b. Four Primary Values: Wealth, Pleasure are
worldly values; Duty/righteousness refers to
patience, sincerity, fairness, love, honesty
and similar virtues; Enlightenment- by which
one is illuminated and liberated and finds
release from the wheel of existence.
c. Repeated existence is the destiny of those
who do not achieve enlightenment
• Finally, to understand enlightenment, one must
undergo the law of Karma
B. Buddhism (From tears to Enlightenment)
• Founder: Siddharta Gautama (560-477BC)
• Turning away from Hindu Polytheism and palace
pleasures, He began searching for answers to the
riddle of life’s sufferings, disease, old age and
death.
• Solution: in his own mind (Puligandla1997)
• His life was devoted to sharing his “Dharma” or
Law of Salvation – a simple presentaion of the
gospel of inner cultivation of right spiritual
attitudes, coupled with a self-imposed discipline
whereby bodily desires would be channelled in
the right direction.
FOUR NOBLE TRUTH
1. Life is full of suffering
2. Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts,
cravings;
3. Only as these are obliterated, will suffering
cease
4. Eradication of desire may be accomplished only
by the following Eightfold Path of earnest
endeavor.
EIGHT FOLD PATH
1. Right belief in and acceptance of the 4fold truth
2. Right aspiration for one’s self and for others.
ENJOIN US TO DEVELOP WISDOM
3. Right speech that harms no one.
4. Right conduct, motivated by goodwill toward all
human beings
5. Right means of livelihood or earning one’s living
by honorable means.
URGE TO PRACTICE VIRTUE AND AVOID VICE
6. Right endeavor or effort to direct one’s energies
toward wise ends
7. Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought
8. Right meditation or concentration
TELL US TO PRACTICE MEDITATION
We do this by following 3 short axioms: Cease to do evil;
learn to do good and purify your own mind
THE WAY TO SALVATION
• Lies through self-abnegation, right 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 full
preparation for entering the NIRVANA
(enlightened wisdom) of complete selflessness.
BUDDHISM STRESSES THE CULTIVATION OF
WISDOM AND DISCERNMENT (Velasquez,1999)
1. Refrain from destroying life;
2. Refrain from taking what is not given
3. Refrain from 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 (abstain from intoxicants; eat
moderately and etc.)
THE FOUR STATES OF SUBLIME CONDITION
1. Love
2. Sorrow of others
3. Joy in the joy of others
4. Equanimity as regards one’s own joy and sorrow
C. Christianity (Relies on St. Augustine and Aquinas)
1. ST. AGUSTINE OF HIPPO
• Philosophy is Love of God
• Teachings of Christianity are based on the love of
God
• Christianity, as presenting the full revelation of the
true God, is the only full and true philosophy.
• But we can love only that which we know.
WHEN COMES THIS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD?
• It begins with Faith
• Made Perfect by understanding..
• All knowledge leads to God .
• Faith supplements and enlightens reason
• Without the enlightenment of faith, reason
invariably sooner or later goes astray.
• Sensation is the Lowest form of Knowledge
• As we ascend higher to knowledge of rational
principles, it is the Will which directs the mind’s
eye to Truth.
VIEW OF HUMANITY
• Man as a rational soul using a mortal body
(Platonic view)
• Man is a rational substance constituted of soul
and body. Apart from the body, the soul may be
considered as a substance.
St Augustine of Hippo, “Whatever you understand cannot
be God” simply because you understand it”
2. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
• Of all creatures, human beings have the unique
power to change themselves and things for the
better.
• Human being is a moral agent. Both spiritual and
body elements.
• The unity between both elements indeed helps us
to understand our complexity as human beings.
• Our spirituality separates us from animals,
through it, we have a conscience. Thus Moral
being.
St. Thomas of Aquinas, would affirm in the Summa
Theologica, “God is honoured by silence – not because we
cannot understand anything but because we know that we
are incapable of comprehending Him”
THE EXPERIENCES OF THE RIDDLE/MYSTERY
OF LIFE THAT TRANSCEND US
1. Forgiveness – freed from anger and bitter vs. the
hardness of the heart that is reinforced by whole
series of rational arguments.
2. The Beauty of Nature
There is perfection – in every single flower, for a
hug, for every sunrise and sunset, to eat together
as a family, are our miracles.
Truly, moments of grace. Touch us deeply and the
human heart is spontaneously lifted
During this experience, we need to offer praise.
3. Vulnerability - without acknowledging the help
others, is to live without meaning and direction.
Such moments of poverty and dependence on
others are not a sign of weakness but being true
with ourselves.
4. Failures- force us to confront our weaknesses
and limitations and force us to surrender to a
mystery or look upon a bigger world. Such
acceptance of our failures makes us hope and
trust that all can be brought into good.
5. Loneliness – can be rooted from our sense of
vulnerability and fear of death. But it is our choice
to live in an impossible world where we are
always happy.
6. Love – is to experience richness, positivity and
transcendence. Buddhist view, the more we love,
the more risks and fears there are in life.
RECOGNIZE THE HUMAN BODY IMPOSES LIMITS
AND POSSIBILITIES FOR TRANSCENDENCE
A. Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma
B. Buddhism: Nirvana
• Nirvana- means the state in which one is
absolutely free from all forms of bondage
and attachment. It means to overcome
and remove the cause of suffering
 C. Christianity: St Agustine and St. Thomas Will and
Love
• For St. Augustine: Physically we are free
yet, morally bound to obey the law. The
Eternal law is God, Himself.
• All are called to be chaste whether
married / single.
• Rightness means pleasing God.
THE LIMITS AND POSSIBILITIES OF HUMAN BEINGS
COMMON TO ALL INDIAN THOUGHT

• It is the spiritual that endures and is ultimately

real. What we believe is how we live; if our beliefs
are in error, then our lives will be unhappy.
• The road to enlightenment stretches inward. To
understand nature and the universe, we must turn
within.
• There is an emphasis on the nonmaterial 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
spiritual exercises, perhaps through the practice
of yoga.
• There is a healthy respect for tradition, but never
a slavish commitment to it. The past can teach
but never rule.
EVIL

• Physical Evil
• Moral Evil
Suffering is close to the heart of biblical faith. In
comparison to Buddha who saw life and tried to
control it instead of cursing it.
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 suffering humanity.

• Compassion is the heart of religion.
• Without compassion becomes law and burden
imposed in its adherents.
• If there is no compassion, religion can start wars
that destroy enemies.