Holy Trinity UniversityGraduate School

Puerto Princesa City

PHILO. 700 – PHILOSOPHY OF MAN

Dr. NELSON S. SALVADORProfessor

Reporters:

Joerly G. AborotArmor MagbanuaArnold C. Valdez

MAN: HIS NATURE, DEVELOPMENT & DESTINY

Various Perspective of Man

Monism: means any various theories that there is one basic substance or principle as the ground of reality or that reality consists of a single element.

Dualism: believes that a man is made of two irreducible elements- matter and spirit of soul.

In other words, these two views about the composition of MAN are that Man is Matter-the substance of which any physical object consists or is composed.

and the Spirit – the incorporeal part of man such as the mind or the soul.

The first view implies that MAN is not only made of two independent elements, but also made of matter and spirit that are independent entities and interact with each other.

This view was supported by St. Thomas Aquinas, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.

They assert that as two independent elements, it is possible for the spirit and the body either temporarily or permanently separate on a particular period of time.

For Christians, using the Bible as their frame of reference, Man is made of body, soul and spirit.

The BODY: is the physical external part of man which he uses for seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. Through this body, he is able to have physical contact with his environment.

The SOUL – regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body or the spiritual part of man as distinct from physical part and cannot be seen, constitute the inner part of man. It consist the mind and the will.

- The spirit, the supernatural, and incorporeal being which is the inner most part of man.

- The vehicle used to communicate with God.

- “The Spirit is the essential part of man’s nature, the heart of all human life”.

THE ORIGIN MAN

It asserts that the origin of man is based on biblical story of creation: “ And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; man became a living soul.”

1. The Theory of Divine Origin

Assumes that man came into being through the process of gradual growth and development: from a single cell organism to a structurally complex one.

2. The Theory of Evolution

- which is the intrinsic nature of man. Opinions as to the essence of man is grouped according to the ff:

1. The scientific view - is divided into biological and behavioural considerations.

Essence:

2. The religious view- focuses on the divine and God-like characteristics of the nature of man.

Since Man is said to be created in the image of God, by implication, “man’s spiritual elements enable him to transcend his physical limitations and the natural conditions of life”

These conditions of life provide him unlimited opportunities to be great value to d GOOD which will contribute to the total development and welfare of man.

4. The biological view states that man as endowed with superior intelligence and being one the highest form of animals, whose activities are determined and regulated by natural laws that govern all matter in the physical environment

3. The Rational focuses on the inherent capacity of man to understand and reason out through the power of reason and sound judgment that make different from other creatures.

According to behavioral thinkers, Men are, by Nature, Similar.

For them, they are simply “empty organisms furnished with the same neural (nervous system) and mechanical equipment waiting to be formed and shaped either purposely or accidentally by the forces around him

MAN is, by Nature is Good, his innate Goodness, though is subject to the influence and molding power of his dominant environment.

Other traits and characteristics which differentiate Man from other forms of animals are his social, cultural and intellectual attributes.

Most precious natural endowment of man is his large and developed brain and the nervous system that sets him above other species of animals.

These traits make man distinctive as follows.

Other traits that make man higher in form:

1. The ability to communicate

2. To have a highly developed brain which enables him to invent or create. 3. Being social and political

4. Being conscious of history

5. Having aesthetic taste and appreciation 6. Having the ability to value right and wrong

7. Being religious being, engages and worships

Man as aBiological Being

Biologically, man is innately good.

When a man and a woman fall in love and copulate their biological endowments fuse, thus a new life is created.

The physical characteristics of a child shall be inherited from both parents or whosoever genes are dominant.

The emotional stability of the mother during pregnancy somehow affect the emotional stability of the child in the process of his growth and development.

Since the child is, by nature is good upon birth, innate goodness can be enhanced or tainted to a large extent by the conflicting forces of the environment, it is therefore important that these environment be carefully selected and structured.

Social Scientist averred that the issue regarding the nature of man is that environment can be structured at:HOME, CHURCH and the SCHOOL and the whole Community.

Man: The Social and Rational Being:

Being a product of the social and psychological factors such as heredity, geographical, socio-economic and cultural.

Man is immensely influenced by those factors as they interplay in his development as social and rational being.

As a social and rational being, life is intimately interwoven with the lives of his fellowmen.He needs to interact with others for his life to be enriched.

That is SOCIALIZATION

Whereby the individual is “converted into a whole person”

Norms of Society

The role of social institutions e.g. the family, the school and the media immensely influenced the moral thinking and development of man

The Physical Environment greatly affects or influence in the shaping of the foundations of human personality.

Man: A Modern Perspective

Man has achieved his present stature because of his natural endowments.

He actively participates in the total processes of social interaction.

He has interpersonal relations. He must adhere to the ideals of moral goodness in the pursuit of beauty, goodness and truth.

The modern virtuous of man epitomizes the virtues of prudence, temperance, and fortitude.

He is not known only in his country but also internationally and, as professional, he is committed and dedicated to excellence, service and truth.

Moral Assumption of Man’s Nature

Man as Social being, is born into the company of others and attains his full stature only by engaging in activities in the society.

There are certain assumptions about this social being.1. Man is created in the image of God and God is

infinitely good with a noble intention about his creation.

2. Man’s nature is inferentially unquestionable good.3. It is the nature of man to make and remake himself

by his free acts of choice.

The problem of evil are the result of man’s greed, selfishness, arrogance, rapacious desires, excessive desire for wealth, avarice, and extreme obsession for something.

Man uses his conscience to judge good and evil, and relies on his consciousness to determine the degree if his responsibility.

The Highest Good

The Highest Good is seen in different ways.

To some it is peace with oneself, with fellowmen, and with God.

To others it is the clarity of mind.

Still others it is the service to humanity.

Man’s Search for Happiness

“Happiness is the perfect good which lulls the appetite altogether.”

- St. Thomas Aquinas

Happiness is the basic motive in all we do,

though we may seek it only implicitly.

Thank you and Have agood day!