St.

Thomas Aquinas’
Concept of Human Person
1. How do we define “person”?
What is the basis of
personhood?
2. Is fetus a person? Why?
3. “No two persons are alike”.
Why?
4. Are subsistence and existence
the same? Why?
Main Objective:

To understand man as:

a. Person
b. Social Being
 Man As Person
 Human beings are persons.
But not all beings are persons.
How do we define Person?
Is fetus a person?
Human Being vs. Human Person
 A term is derived from the
Latin persona, traceable to the
Greek πρόσωπον, and originally
used to denote the mask worn
by an actor.
 Person is an “individual
substance of a rational
nature”(Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae).
 A being is composed of 1
Substance and 9 Accidents.

 Substance is that which subsists

in itself while Accidents subsists
in the other beings.
 Substance does not need any
other thing for which it exists.

 Accidents need a substance for

which it exists.
 The 9 Accidents include the
following:
Action, passion, position, quality,
quantity, time, relation, place and
possession.
1. Pedro is 5’9 tall.
2. Pedro is handsome.
3. Pedro is the son of Maria.
4. Pedro is playing guitar.
5. Pedro is loved by his parents.
6. Pedro lives in Digos City.
7. Pedro arrives early in the class.
8. Pedro is standing inside the bus.
9. Pedro has a laptop.
 Here are five notes that go to
make up a person:
(1)substance—it subsists on its
own right; independent from the
other substance.

(2) complete—the person must

have a complete nature.
(3) subsistent by itself—the
person exists in himself and for
himself, being the ultimate
possessor of his nature.
(4) separated from others—
individuated and unique.
(5) of a rational nature—the
capacity to think and act freely.
What is the difference between
HUMANITY and PERSON?
 In general sense, humanity
refers to what is common to all
men, that is the Human
Nature.

 In the context of human nature,

what is common to all men is
Rationality and Freedom.
 On the hand, Person or Personality
refers to each human being’s
uniqueness.
(Every person has intellect, will and emotion.)
 All men are persons but no two
persons are alike.
 The personhood of man is the
seat of man’s uniqueness.
 Man is alone in his uniqueness.
However, in this loneliness
dawns the fact that others are
just as alone in their uniqueness.
Therefore, no one is alone in
the world of uniqueness
because everybody is unique.
Man as Person With Others in the World

 Man, who is a person, never

reveals himself in isolation but
always in his togetherness with
others.
 Human existence is an existence
of relationship.

 Man’s existence is always a

“being-with” existence.
 In broader sense, man’s “being-
with-others” existence is man’s
relatedness to both things and
persons.
 In a specific sense, man’s
existence in the world is a
Personal Existence. Things do
not exist in man’s personal
existence.

 Thus, by nature, man is a social

being.
 Man does not stop to be a social
being even if there is no actual
presence of “others”.
Three Levels of Human
Relationship
1. I-It
2. I-He/She
3. I-Thou
 A person is not a “what”, but a
“who”. Since man is “who”, man
is not an object but a subject.
1. I-It Relationship
 In this level, man treated not a
subject but an object. Man is a
thing, not a self.
2. I-He/She Relationship
 This level is personal relation
since the “I” recognizes the other
as person.
 The “I” recognizes the other as a
person who has his own
uniqueness, not as an object to be
used.
3. I – Thou Relationship
It is the highest level of human
relationship. This inter-subjectivity
happens when the “I” and “Thou” are
bound together in the context of love.
 The “I-Thou” relationship, by its
nature, is a reciprocal
relationship.
Questions:
1. What is the basis of being a Person?
2. What is the moral implication of the “I-It”
relationship? Is it totally wrong?
3. Would you agree that the “I-Thou” is a
reciprocal relationship?
4. Man’s social being is not conditioned by an
actual presence of the other being. Why?