4nature of a Human Person

The Nature of a Human Person What is a Human Person? Lessons-An Embodied Spirit Marks of the Mental

What/Who is a Human Person? Approaches to philosophical study of the human person 1 Metaphysical ap approach ! E"isten#al approach

What/Who is a Human Person? Approaches to philosophical study of the human person 1 Metaphysical ap approach ! E"isten#al approach

Philosophical Studies METAPHYSICA APP!"ACH -which focuses on the kinds of substances or materials and capacies that uniquely make up a human person

E#ISTENTIA APP!"ACH $which focuses on the kind of life, or mode of existence, that is unique to a human  person

Philosophical Studies METAPHYSICA APP!"ACH -it examines the essenal components of a human person -dealing with what of a human person (ex. Tarzan has the what of a human  person for he has the ph physical ysical and mental capacies of a human person

Philosophical Studies E#ISTENTIA APP!"ACH $it examines the essenal features of the human way of life

-dealing with the who of a human  person (ex. Tarzan while li!ing with the apes, he has the who of an ape as he li!es the way of life of an ape

%ie&s on Human Person 1 unspirited body $ie% ! disembodied spirit $ie% & embodied spirit $ie%

%ie&s on Human Person 'NSPI!ITE( )"(Y %IEW -a human person is essenally "ust his#her body and nothing more -has the belief that humans do not ha!e the spiritual component  $f there is no such thing as a spirit, then a human person is essenally  "ust his#her body 

%ie&s on Human Person (ISEM)"(IE( SPI!IT %IEW -a human person is "ust his#her spirit  -maintains that a human person has both body and spirit but claims that it is the spirit that essenally de%nes the human person -belie!es that while the body is dependent on the spirit, the spirit is not dependent on the body. &eaning the body will die if there is no spirit, but the spirit will sur!i!e e!en if there is no body 

%ie&s on Human Person

EM)"(IE( SPI!IT %IEW

-a human person is essenally the unity of his#her body and spirit  -maintains that a human person has both body and spirit but claims that it is essenally the unity of these two components -belie!es that the body and the spirit cannot exist independently of one another. That is, each will not sur!i!e with the absence of the other 

'nspirited )od* %ie& -!iews that what we normally call 'mental states, such as our thoughts and emoons, are actually physical states (ex. &indbrain identy theory and )eha!iorism

'nspirited )od* %ie& &ind-brain identy theory  -which claims that what we call the 'mind is nothing but the brain and what we call 'mental states are nothing but simply the neural states of the brain. *uch that to be in pain is "ust the c-%bers of the brain being smulated 

'nspirited )od* %ie& )eha!iorism -which claims that what we call 'mental states simply refer to one+s inclinaons or tendencies to show certain beha!ior. *uch that to be in pain is to be inclined to cry 

(isem+odied Spirit %ie& -belie!es that the spirit and the body are two dierent kinds of enes or substances in that the body is the  physical and the spirit is nonphysical. )elie!es that the spirit is independent of the body in that the spirit can sur!i!e without the body while the body cannot sur!i!e without the spirit (lato and escartes

(isem+odied Spirit %ie& PAT" -presented se!eral arguments on the immortality of the soul  -To learn is to remember. The soul must be immortal otherwise we can ne!er explain the nature of knowledge as recollecon. -he belie!es that one learns by remembering what once new but ha!e somehow forgo/en (emiurge -0laims that since souls are nonphysical then they are not composed of parts. 1nd if they are composed of parts then they cannot decompose and thus cannot die

(isem+odied Spirit %ie& (ESCA!TES -!iews reality as composed of two types of substances2 mind (nonphysical and ma/er (physical. &ind is conscious but not extended in space, while ma/er is extended but not conscious. )eing physical, ma/er is determined by the laws of nature and thus has no free will3 while, mind being nonphysical is not determined by such laws thus free will -4e classi%es enes according to ma/er and mind. &a/er includes plants, animals, human bodies and rest of nature. 5hereas minds include the imperfect mind of humans and the perfect mind of 6od.

Em+odied Spirit %ie& -regards the soul as the principle or the cause of life. &eaning the soul is what gi!es life to something. 7onli!ing things thus ha!e no souls. 5hile li!ing things consisng of  plants, animals and humans ha!e souls. (1ristotle and *t. Thomas  1quinas

Em+odied Spirit %ie& A!IST"TE -the body and soul are two dierent aspects of the human person. The body is the 'ma/er or material aspect, and the soul is the 'form or formal aspect (ex. 8nife. The  form of something refers to the natural capacity, ability or funcon that gi!es life to something. 5hile ma/er refers to the kind of material that it is made of.

Em+odied Spirit %ie& A!IST"TE ,inds of soul   'that enables to perform ac#$i#es necessary for() 1*e+eta#$e,nutri#$e soul- 'plants) nourishment +ro%th and reproduc#on ! Sensi#$e soul- 'animals) n + r sensa#on and locomo#on & .a#onal soul- 'humans) n + r s l intelli+ence or ra#onal thinkin+ and freedom or free%ill

Em+odied Spirit %ie& A-'INAS -thinks that the raonal soul of humans are dual in nature. There is a part that is dependent on the body, there is also a  part that is not dependent on the body. The !egeta!e and sensi!e abilies of plants and animals are dependent on the body (mortal. )ut the raonal or thinking ability is not dependent on the body (immortal. -he maintains that the human person is the unity of body and soul, which implies that the soul that sur!i!es a9er death is no longer a human person. 4e calls the human soul as subsistent rather than substance to indicate that human souls though immortal, is incomplete in nature and is completed when it is reunited with the body.

Em+odied Spirit %ie& Essen#al /eatures 1 Maintains human freedom ! 0i$es importance to the soul as it also ackno%led+es the $alue of the body & t can accommodate opposin+ $ie%s

Ac.it* Make a discussion on the topic 2What is a person3 Present it in a mul# media format to be %atched in the class '+roup performance)

Mar0s of the Mental 5e shall examine the human mind, that is the mind+s idenfying or disnguishing properes. *uch that the mind is an essenal part of being a human person, whate!er  properes that the mind has will also be essenal properes the of human person.

Mar0s of the Mental 0en 4is#n+uishin+ /eatures of the Mind 1 5onsciousness ! 6ualia,sub7ec#$e 8uality & nten#onality 9 :ntolo+ical sub7ec#$ity ; Pri$acy

Mar0s of the Mental 1 5onsciousness- +enerally refers to a%areness t is described as the 2states of sen#ence or a%areness that typically be+in %hen %e %ake up in the mornin+ from a dreamless sleep and con#nue throu+hout the day #ll %e fall asleep a+ain3

Mar0s of the Mental ndicators of 5onsciousness a 5o+ni#onkno%in+ belie$in+ understandin+ thinkin+ and reasonin+ b Emo#ons- en$y an+er fear and 7oy c Sensa#ons- pains #ckles and itches

Mar0s of the Mental ndicators of 5onsciousness d 6uasi-percep#on- hallucina#ons dreamin+ and ima+inin+ e 5ona#ons- tryin+ %an#n+ and intendin+ f .eason and %ill- problem sol$in+

Mar0s of the Mental ! 6ualia '8uale),sub7ec#$e 8uality - refers to the par#cular %ay that %e become conscious of or e"perience our o%n mental states such as the par#cular %ay %e e"perience the hur#n+ sensa#on of ha$in+ a toothache the par#cular type of food tastes us and the par#cular %ay a certain kind of music sounds to us t is also some#mes described as the 8ualita#$e or phenomenal 2feel3 of our conscious e"perience t ans%ers the 8ues#on 2What is like to ha$e or e"perience such states?3

Mar0s of the Mental & nten#onality- refers to the property of mental states to ha$e contents or to be about or be directed at some ob7ects or states of aein+ in the World ranscedence and Limita#ons

A )ein1 in the World

What are the essen#al features of a human person as a bein+ in the %orld?

A )ein1 in the World 1 n$ol$ement or en+a+ement- he human person@s bein+-in or e"istence in the %orld cannot be described simply as a rela#on in space in that the human person 7ust happens to be in a par#cular place More importantly it is characteri=ed b care bein in

A )ein1 in the World ! #lity- this means that thin+s appear to the human person merely as a form of e8uipment or instrument or as thin+s that the human person can use either for his,her prac#cal purposes or for his,her theore#cal contempla#on bein alon side , e ui mental

A )ein1 in the World &

5onsiderateness

forbearance-

and

is sho%n in moments %hen the human person empathi=es %ith his,her fello% human person'bein+ %ith),'social,public)

A )ein1 in the World

9 emporality- here the past is re+arded as no lon+er real and the future is not yet realB only the present is real

A )ein1 in the World 9 /ac#city- the human person@s past and future are much part of their present t refers to e$erythin+ about the e"istence of a human person that can no lon+er be chan+ed 'e" Physical features +enes parents birthday)

A )ein1 in the World 9 E"isten#ality- refers to all possibili#es that a human person has and can choose to ha$e  his includes all the pro7ects that a human person can set for himself to accomplish in the future

A )ein1 in the World 9 /alleness- is the state of a human person %hen he,she li$es in an inauthenc existence, referrin+ to the kind of e"istence in %hich a human person is not the one makin+ decisions for himself

Transcendence and imita.ons Ac.it* HM>LESS L/E- n C$e minutes list do%n the thin+s you cannot do because you are thumb-less and the thin+s you can  do e$en if you are thumbless

Transcendence and imita.ons 2uide -ues.ons 3HM>LESS L/E) 1

Ho% do you feel about yourself aDer failin+ to do some ac#$i#es that you normally do easily?

!

4id you appreciate the importance of your thumb?

&

When there are s#ll thin+s you can do e$en %ithout your thumb did that chan+e the %ay you fell about yourself?

9

4o you a+ree if someone says that %ithout your thumb your life is as not as human as it should be?