The Concept of the Human Person

• Classify philosophical reflections in

OBJECTIVES: accordance with the problems they deal
At the with;
conclusion of • Identify the different branches of
our session, Philosophy under each philosophical
reflections; and
you should
• Have an overview of the concept of the
have been human person according to selected
able to: philosophers.
3 Main Divisions of Philosophical
Reflections on Human Problems:

Philosophical
Reflections

Philosophy Philosophy Philosophy

of Thought of Reality of Morality
Philosophy of Thought:
1. LOGIC
- deals with the principles and methods that would
allow us to distinguish correct from incorrect
reasoning.

2. EPISTEMOLOGY
- deals with the study of providing for a criterion
of knowledge; also known as criteriology.
Philosophy of Reality:
1. METAPHYSICS
- deals with the search for the origin of things and the
study of being in its general aspects.

2. THEODICY
- deals with the problem of God’s existence; the
study of God in the light of reason, not faith; also
known as Natural Theology or Philosophy of
Religion.
Philosophy of Reality:
3. COSMOLOGY
- deals with the study of the universe from the
philosophical viewpoint.

4. PHILOSOPHY OF PSYCHOLOGY
- deals with the study of man not only as a
sensing thinking subject but also as being
composed of body and soul; also known as
Rational Psychology.
Philosophy of Reality :
5. PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
- deals with the justification and objectivity of
scientific knowledge.
Philosophy of Morality:
1. ETHICS
- a practical and normative science, based on reason,
which studies human acts and provides the norms for
their goodness and badness; also known as Moral
Philosophy.

2. AESTHETICS
- deals with the philosophical study of arts and
beauty.
Philosophy of Morality:
3. PHILOSOPHY OF PERSONS
- philosophical inquiry into a human being as a person
and as an existing being in the world; topics include
dignity, truth, freedom, justice, love, death, man’s
relationship with others and God.
The Concept of a Human Person
THE HUMAN PERSON:

 An “Apparent Absurdity”
 A “Thinking Intelligent Being.”
 An “Autonomous Self-Regulating Will”
 A “Freak of Nature”
 A “Finder of Meaning”
 A “Conscience Being”
An “Apparent Absurdity”
According to Timbreza:

 A human being is both an animal and not an animal at

the same time.

 He feels, just like other animals, but conscious of his

own existence, unlike other animals.
A “Thinking Intelligent Being”
According to John Locke:

 A human being has reason and reflection, and can

consider itself as itself.

 He remains to be the same thinking being in different

times and places.
An “Autonomous Self-Regulating Will”
According to Immanuel Kant:

 A human being is endowed with reason to be capable

of making moral decisions.

 Every person has worth and dignity although they are

end in themselves.
A “Freak of Nature”
According to Erich Fromm:

 A human being is an anomaly because of his self-

awareness, reason and imagination.

 He is aware of his awareness and can think of what he

is thinking.
Philosophical Questions on Life
Awareness: What sort of thing
am I?

Where do I come
from?

To where shall I be
going?

Why am I in this
world?

What am I living
for?

What is my future
and my destiny? What must I do to
live well and happy?
A “Finder of Meaning”
According to Victor Frankl:

 A human being’s primary motivation is to find a

meaning in one’s life.

 He is self-determining, i.e., does not simply exist but

always decides what his existence will be.

 Man is rational and is capable of determining the good

from the bad.
A “Conscience Being”
According to St. Thomas Aquinas:

 The conscience constitutes the human being as a moral

subject and his means to discover the moral law.

 The conscience is his means to aspire for good and

discovers the affirmation of the spiritual freedom and
dignity of the other person.
The Human Person as Moral and Spiritual
Subject
 As a moral person, a human being has the capacity to
distinguish right from wrong.

 His capacity to do good is rooted in his capacity to

perform human acts.
Human Acts as distinguished from Acts of
Man
 Human Acts
 The action that is done with knowledge and full consent
of the will.
 The basis for responsibility

 Acts of Man
 Actions done in the absence of either knowledge or will