Lesson 4.

I the subject and Object

Philippine Politics and Governance

General Academic Strand | Humanities and Social Sciences
 Learning
Competencies

•  Recognize own limitations and possibilities. 

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Learning
Objectives
● In this lesson, you should be able to
evaluate the limitations and possibilities
from the point of view of the subject;
● and determine the qualities and
characteristics that help define the self.

3
Check Your
Progress

Were you ever insecure of your body?

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Gabriel Marcel​,
(Contemporary
Philosopher)

Philosophy of Meaning
chose to reflect on the
meaning of being and what
it means for the self to exist
in the world.

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Primary Reflection
“In this kind of
reflection, the individual
places himself outside
of what he is
observing. To do this, I
observe that “my body”
is just “a body”—it is the
body studied by
anatomy and biology
and medicine.

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Secondary Reflection

the individual is challenged

to place himself within the
very framework of what he
is observing, such that he
experiences and
understands it in a way only
he can.

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Secondary Reflection

In this way, I observe that

this “my body” is strictly
mine alone. It is
unique and there is none
other like it.

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Paradox

On the one hand, I

can say that “I have
my body” in the
sense that my body is
mine and mine alone

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Paradox

This is similar to how I have

control over a simple
possession like a book—I
can highlight its lines, tear
up its pages, or have it
covered in plastic if I want
to.

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Paradox

However, I must realize that

my body is not some mere
possession like a dog or a
book.
My body is the
manifestation of myself and
Subjectivity. And so, I also
say that “I am my
body” because there is no
way I can separate myself
from it.

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Paradox

Even if I try hard like Descartes to

deny and doubt my existence, I
will still wake up to the fact that
my idea of the self is always
somehow tied to the
manifestation that is my body.
The self and the body are not two
things that just happened to be
attached to each other

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Paradox

To make sense of this

paradox, I can
understand my body as
an intermediary
between myself and the
world with which I
interact.

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Paradox

The encounter of the

experience
between myself and the
world takes place
precisely and only
because of my body

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Intersubjectivity

As stated before, I am
not the only Subject in
this world. I live and
interact with other
Subjects and I do so with
my
body.

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Intersubjectivity

Thanks to my body, I
interrelate with others
in a multitude of ways. It
is possible for me
to face another person in
kindness, anger, or glee
because I have a body to
present them.

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Intersubjectivity

Similarly, it is through
my body that I am able
to express myself and to
live out my beliefs and
convictions.

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