Handout #1 Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
THE EMBODIED SPIRIT:
ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHTS
A. Plato and Ancient Greek Philosophy
 Man has an immortal SOUL and a mortal perishable body.
 The SOUL is the giver of life to the body.
 The SOUL uses the body.
The Parts of the SOUL
 The Rational Part
 The Courageous or Spirited Part
 The Appetitive Part
Purpose Of Life:
The continuous ascent towards the world of ideas, the freedom of the soul from
the body. To live a life striving for ideals.
B. St. Augustine and Medieval Christian Philosophy
 Man has a SOUL and a BODY.
 Man’s is created in the image of God.
 Because of this likeness to God, we both have REASON and FREE WILL.
 Through man’s thinking and willing, we get a glimpse of who God is.
 For St. Augustine, philosophy is the love of God.
 Christianity is the only FULL and TRUE philosophy.
 Our knowledge of ourselves and of God begins with FAITH.
 Human beings alone, without God, are bound to FAIL.
Purpose Of Life:
The human person is a RESTLESS being, continually searching until he finds
REST in God. To live a life searching for God.
C. Rene Descartes and the Primacy of the Mind over Body
 Dualism – the belief that the mind and body are essentially separate from
each other
 Res Cogito – the thing that exists which cannot be doubted or the
“Thinking Thing”.
 Res Extenza – man as an “Extended Thing”, a machine or extension of the
mind.
 The Experimental Sciences lead to an attitude of “Detachment” – the
tendency to live our lives in a more detached way from our experiences.
Purpose Of Life:
To live a life that is objective, unemotional, detached and rational.
First Sem, SY 2019-2020
D. Gabriel Marcel & Phenomenology
 Phenomenology – believes that reality consists of objects and events (or
phenomena) as they are perceived or understood in the human
consciousness.
 Believes that philosophy has become far removed from everyday life. We
lack sensitivity among persons.
 “Living in a broken world”
 Having and Being
o The Body as an Object – “I have a body; this is my property”.
o The Body as a Subject – “I have a body; I AM my body”.
Purpose Of Life:
To live IN our experiences as one – body, soul and spirit as ONE.
E. Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the Embodied Mind
 There is no experience that is not an EMBODIED experience.
 Everything that happens in this world – experiences of joy, sadness, love
and remorse – happens with our bodies.
 We make ourselves known to the world through our physical bodies.
 The body has inherent knowledge.
 The body learns things long before we are conscious of them.
 We learn even if we are not conscious of it.
 The work of the mind and body are so mixed together that we cannot even
distinguish where the work of the body ends, and where the mind begins.
Purpose Of Life:
To consistently become a person who is a being-in-the-world.
F. Asian Philosophy and Integrated Body and Mind
 Asian thought has long understood the intertwined union of the body and
the mind. But due to Western or American influence, its hard for us not to
separate the mind and the body
 We pay too much attention to our bodies but not as much to achieve
mental health.
 Shenti – an integrated self or person: mentally, physically, and socially.
 An imbalance of Qi (or energy) can affect the Shenti (both body and mind).
The Shenti must be brought back in a state of harmony with one’ self and
nature.
 The human being should therefore understand the natural laws that govern
nature and learn to apply such laws to one’s life.
Purpose Of Life:
To become a person who attains the highest union with the Tao, called
Hsien or ‘immortal’ – the one who has ‘Returned to the Source’.