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Introduction to
the Philosophy
of the Human
Person
Quarter 1 – Module 4:
The Human Person in the
Environment
The reading material contains one lesson namely:
• Lesson 4 – The Human Person in the Environment

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Notice things that are not in their proper place and organize them in an
aesthetic way
2. Show that care for the environment contributes to health and sustainable
development
3. Demonstrate the virtues of prudence and frugality towards
environments

Lesson The Human Person in the

4 Environment
“What is the world made of?”, “How did the world come into being?”,
and “How can we explain the process of change?” were philosophical
questions already brought up approximately 600 B.C.E. in the Western Ionian
seaport town of Miletus across the Aegean Sea from Athens, Greece. Because
Ionia was a meeting place between the East and West, Greek philosophy may
have Oriental as well as Egyptian and Babylonian influences. In both East
and west, philosophers were asking questions about the universe we live in
and our place in it. Eastern sages probed nature’s depths intuitively through
the eyes of spiritual sages, while Greek thinkers viewed nature through the
cognitive and scientific eyes (Price 2000).
A living being that contains a real and existing power to direct its own
development toward fulfillment through perfect, unconditional, and infinite
truth, love, goodness, beauty, and unity, and will do so if all the proper
conditions are met.

Environment
• The sum total of all surroundings of a living organism, including natural
forces and other living things, which provide conditions for development
and growth as well as of danger and damage.
Environmental Philosophy
• “Is the discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings
with the environment and its non-human contents”
• “Philosophers believe that the human person has the ability to change
the environment to suit his purposes”
 ANTHROPOCENTRIC MODEL

“Humans are superior and central to the

universe, thus it is human centered”
Philosophical viewpoint arguing that human
beings are the central or most significant entities in
the world and they are free to transform nature and
use its resources.

ECOCENTRIC/BIOCENTRIC MODEL

Believes that humans are not the only

significant species on the planet, and that all
other organisms have inherent value and should
be protected. This view advocates ethical
treatment of animals.

The ecological or relational integrity of the humans

provides meaning of our morals and values and it is
nature centered. Devoted to preserving the totality of
earth’s biodiversity and the functioning of it’s life-
supporting system.

Environmental Philosophy

Environmental philosophy is the discipline that studies the moral

relationships of human beings with the environment and its non-human contents.
Philosophers believe that the human person has the ability to change the
environment to suit his purposes. It will enable them to become aware of their
relationship and its related issues in our society and their impact on the lives of
human persons.
“What is the world made of?” “How did the world come into being?” and “How
can we explain the process of change?” were philosophical questions already
brought up approximately 600 B.C.E. (before the common era) in the Western lonian
seaport town of Miletus across the Aegean Sea from Athens, Greece.
The speculation of the pre-Socratic philosophers represents a paradigm
shift- a change from mythical explanation of the origins of the cosmos to a more
rational explanation. Eastern sages probed nature’s depths intuitively through the
eyes of spiritual sages which Greek thinkers viewed nature through cognitive and
scientific eyes (Price 2000). These thinkers were looking for the underlying laws of
nature. They wanted to understand the processes of nature by studying nature itself,
not by listening to the stories about the gods.

Here are the important lessons you learned in this last part of this module:

✓ Human person has the ability to change the environment to suit his
purposes.
✓ Humans are superior and central to the universe, thus the universe is
human centered.
✓ Humans are not the only significant species on the planet.
✓ The ecological or relational integrity of the humans provides meaning of
our morals and values and it is nature centered.

References
Ramos, C. (2016). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person.
www.rexpublishing.com.p