Rational PsychologyPhilosophy of the Human Person:

An Introduction

Peter Emmanuel A. Mara, ABInstructor

What is Rational Psychology?

• It is a branch of Philosophy that studies the principles of Man as a composite of Body and Soul.

• It is also known as:– Philosophy of the Human Person, – Philosophy of Man, and – Philosophical Anthropology

The Course Description and Objectives

The course is aimed at disclosing the inherent richness of

the Human Person and the exigency of integration with the Self. It

surveys different perspectives of various cultures and schools of

thought on the beginning, nature, value and end of the Human

Person. Moreover, aside from these queries on Human Person, this

course will also explore the human existential conditions as an

individual dwelling in the World. At the end of this course, the

students are expected to develop an authentic awareness and

appreciation of their human existence as Persons.

The Subject Matter

• The Human Being• Man• The Human Person• The Human Subject• The Human Individual

• ITS ALL ABOUT YOU AND YOUR SELF!

But…

• Who is the Human Being?• What is Human Being?

Ways in Understanding Human Being1. Cosmological Type– Views man as a being-in-the-world, as a part of the

“cosmos” – Aristotelian Definition of man

• Homo est animal rationalis (Man is a rational animal)• It characterizes man according to

– species (Human Being) – Proximate genus (Living Being/animal)– Specific Feature (Rational)

– However, it accentuates of man’s reducibility to the world.• Man is seen merely as part and object in the world• As an animal, but rational, among other animals.

– It explains man in terms of genus and specific difference as a corporeal and mundane creature, an animal.

2. Personalistic Type– Inward characterization of man– The belief in the primordial uniqueness of the human

being, and thus in the basic irreducibility of the human being to the world

– Human Being as a PersonIrreducibility – man cannot be cognized

- his essence cannot be reduced - but only manifests and revealed

thru experience. – This inward characterization transcends the corporeal

limitations propounded by the cosmological understanding of man • Cosmological – exteriority and concreteness of man (Body)• Personalistic - interiority and inward character of man

(Spiritual)

Ways in Understanding Human Being

Cosmological Type Personalistic Type

Views man as a part of the world among other creature

Views man as Distinct among the other animate creatures

Emphasizes the commonality of man and other creatures as objects in the world

Points to the unique character of the human being as incomparable to other creatures

Views man concretely and as an embodied existent creature

Views man as somebody who has an inner characteristics that allows him to be distinguished from other creatures

Reducibility to the world, confined in the character of man as a corporeal and mundane creature

Irreducibility to the world, enables man to transcend his corporeality through actions and experience. There is more than the concrete existence of man, i.e. actions and experience.

Ways in Understanding Human Being

Synthesis

With all these differences, Cosmological and Personalistic Types of understanding Human Being complement each other, with the latter recognizing the former. The personalistic type needs the corporeal aspect of understanding man, in as much as the cosmological also needs personalistic type in order to fulfill the true nature of man, not only thru concrete existence, but also his unique and distinct character as a Human Person

Dimensions of the Human Being

The Human Being can be better known as:• a Man• an Individual • a Subject• a Person

Human Being as a Man• Bears the Aristotelian definition of Man as a

rational animal• Points to the corporeal and mundane

character• Man as a Part of the World (relationship)• Man as an embodied existence

• In this dimension, man is considered as a creature that is no different from other animals, only that he has a rational character.

• Rationality – distinct character• Nevertheless, still an animal.

Human Being as an Individual• Individuality presupposes human corporeality as a

separated embodied entity of this world.• Individual – separated from the others as an existent

» Has a concrete body that is separated from others» It allows name to hold his existence privately, only to himself.

• Separatedness – not an absolute exclusion• But also implies a certain relation with other “individuals”

• Through individuality, one’s own existence cannot be shared by other human individuals.

» We cannot exist for the other but we only exist for our selves.

• The principle of individuation, maintains the aspect of man in his concrete and private existence.

Human Being as a Subject

Human Being as a Person

Characteristics of the Human Person

1. A Subject • Agent of action, existence, or simply experience

2. Rational • Has the ability to think and understand through the faculty

of reason

3. Free• Actions must derive from the free will of the human person

The Human Person is more than a concrete existing individual, but makes something out of his existence with the use of his faculty – reason and will.

The study of the Human Person is a complex pursuit as it is commonly experienced in our everyday life. The human being cannot be just understood under one aspect. The approach in knowing the person must be holistic, i.e. recognizing his embodied concreteness as a man, his private and separate existence as an individual, his efficacious ability as a subject, and his uniqueness as a person. In order to fully understand the human being as is, one should not miss the fundamental fact that the human being is not only a part of this world, but has a role to play in every action he executes. The human being is more than a plant, an animal. He is a complex reality, a mystery that can hardly be grasped. Nevertheless, we study not just a thing nor a specimen, but our selves, our life, the REALITY within us.

Conclusion