THE HUMAN PERSON AS EMBODIED SPIRIT

Learning Competencies:
• Recognize how the human body imposes limits and
possibilities for transcendence
• Evaluate own limitations and the possibilities for their
transcendence
 DISCUSS YOUR VIEWS ABOUT THIS EXCERPT:
• Ako ay Ako
• Kaya kong itapon at wasakin ang hindi akma
• At panatilihin ang mga naakma
• At lumikha o kumatha ng mga bago, kapalit ng mga
itinapon o winasak.
• Ako ay nakakikita, nakaririnig, nakadarama,
nakaiisip,nakapagsalita at nakagagawa
 AKO AY AKO
• Ako ay may kakayahan upang mabuhay at
maging malapit sa kapwa.
• Maging kapaki-pakinabang at makaimpluwensiya
sa mga tao at mga bagay.
• Ako ang nagmamay-ari sa akin, samakatuwid
kaya Kong pamahalaan ang aking sarili,
Ako ay ako, at ako ay okay
_______11. refers to capacities that uniquely make up a
human person; examines the essential components of a
human person.
______12. the kind of life / mode of existence, that is
unique to a human person.
______13. refers to the inseparable union of human body
and soul.
______14. refers to person having a clear perception of
oneself, including his or her thoughts, emotions, identity, and
actions.
______15. it represents man’s interiority (loob in Filipino)
 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).
 HUMAN PERSON AS AN 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).
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• 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.
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• 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.
2. Existential Approach – kind of life / mode of
existence, that is unique to a human person. This
examines the essential features of the human way of
life
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• Approaches to Philosophical study of the Human
Person:
Martin Heidegger (1962)- describes the metaphysical
approach as dealing with the what 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)
WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
 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 a 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.
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?

• 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
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?

• The possibility that humans have spiritual component gives

rise to a question, what essentially makes up a human
person?
• Three possible views:
• 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
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?

• The possibility that humans have spiritual component gives

rise to a question, what essentially makes up a human
person?
• 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.
• 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
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?

• 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)
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?

• 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.
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• 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
• Example: Knife
• Form – natural capacity, ability or function of something
• Matter- the kind of material that it is made of.
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• 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.
 WHAT ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• 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 ESSENTIALLY DEFINES A HUMAN PERSON IN
TERMS OF HAVING A BODY AND A SPIRIT?
• Why the embodied spirit view should be preferable?
• Do you find Plato’s arguments for the immortality of the
soul convincing?
• Do you agree with Aristotle that even plants and
animals have souls?
• Do you agree with Descartes that animals do not have
minds or not conscious?
 WHAT IS EMBODIED 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.
 WHAT IS EMBODIED SPIRIT?
• 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.
WHAT IS HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED
SPIRIT?
WHAT IS HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED
SPIRIT?
WHAT IS HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED
SPIRIT?
SHARE TO THE CLASS YOUR GREATEST
ACHIEVEMENT/S.

• How did you handle difficult situations?

 TRANSCENDENCE IN THE GLOBAL AGE
• Is life in our contemporary world dictated by
technology?
• Are our self-taken pictures or selfies any
indication that we are not Zombies?
• Are we pushing the responsibility on society,
instead of facing the questions of who we are?
• 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.
 TRANSCENDENCE 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
• 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.
• 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;
 Oneness of reality. This oneness is the Absolute/ Brahman. Only
Brahman is Real
 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.
 Repeated existence is the destiny of those who do not achieve
enlightenment
• Finally, to understand enlightenment, one must undergo the law of
Karma
 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 endeavour.
 EIGHT FOLD PATH
• 1. right belief in and acceptance of the 4fold truth
• 2. right aspiration for one’s self and for others.
• 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 honourable
means.
• 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
 VELAQUEZ (1999)
• 1-2 enjoin us to develop wisdom
• 3-5 urge to practice Virtue and avoid vice
• 6-8- 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
• Based on the 8fold path, which is most important
for you to cultivate in your life at present.
LESSON OBJECTIVE:

• To explain the human person as an

embodied spirit from the Christian
Perspective
VIDEO CLIP: A MAN WITH NO ARMS AND LEGS
 ST. AUGUSTINE 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.
 AUGUSTINE'S 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. 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.
 COMPETENCY: EVALUATE YOUR OWN LIMITATIONS
AND THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THEIR TRANSCENDENCE.
• Dyadic discussion: share with your classmate the
period that you faced failures.
• A. how do you view suffering ( as a blessing or a
curse)
• B. How do you acknowledge the help of others?
• C. how can forgiveness free us from anger?
 COMPETENCY: EVALUATE YOUR OWN LIMITATIONS
AND THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THEIR TRANSCENDENCE.
• 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.
THE EXPERIENCES OF THE RIDDLE/MYSTERY OF LIFE
THAT TRANSCEND US:

•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.
 THE EXPERIENCES OF THE RIDDLE/MYSTERY OF LIFE
THAT TRANSCEND US:
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.
THE EXPERIENCES OF THE RIDDLE/MYSTERY OF LIFE
THAT TRANSCEND US:
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.
QUIZ
CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW: DOCUMENT IT. TAKE
PICTURES/VIDEO. SUBMIT IT IN CLASS
•
Interview a priest, nun, or Buddhist monk,
1.

spiritual adviser.
• 2. What is faith?
• 3. Who is God/ Buddha/Allah in one’s life
• 4. Cite ways necessary for the salvation of
humanity.
 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
 ST. AUGUSTINE AND ST. THOMAS
AQUINAS: 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.
• St Augustine of Hippo, “Whatever you understand
cannot be God” simply because you understand
it.

• 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”
 EVIL

• Physical Evil

• Moral evil
EVIL AND SUFFERING
• 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.
 FLEXIBLE GROUPING: DISCUSSION
• How can we live a chaste life?

• Give examples of how we are physically free but

morally bound ( St. Augustine)

• How can our attachment to, or craving for worldly

pleasures cause sufferings? Cite examples.
 A. CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE
• 1. What is the root cause of suffering?
• 2. What is the world’s organized religion?
• 3. It is the value that unites the adherents regardless of religious
affiliations. It is seeing and empathizing the sufferings of others.
• 4. Cite three examples of the mystery of life in which you will experience
the possibilities of transcendence.
• 5. What is the ultimate goal of Buddhism?
• 6. What does the title Buddha mean?
• 7. It means going beyond the limitations.
• 8. What is the value of suffering from the Christian Philosophy?
• 9. What concept about the human person did Christian philosophers
develop?
• 10. Which belief holds that humanity’s life is continuous cycle of birth and
rebirth?
B. CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
• 1. Are we pushing the responsibility for our existence on
to society, instead of facing the questions of who we
are? Explain

• 2.Explain
• “To one has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one
without faith, explanation is possible.”- St Thomas
Aquinas
ASSIGNMENT:

• The human person in the Environment