1. 1. A Premier Catholic University in the Province of Bohol HOLY NAME UNIVERSITY Cor.

Gallares &
Lessage streets, Tagbilaran City The Philippine Values Systems UNDERSTANDING MAN’S EXISTENCE
VALUING PROCESS JUAN PAOLO S. ARANAS IMEE E. SELMA Masters in Public Administration DR.
GRACE M. SAMSON Professor
2. 2. THE MEANING/DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY Philosophy is just like any other endeavour or field of
learning in the context of its being a science. It investigates and presents evidenced, systematically-
arranged, and complete body of knowledge or truth.
3. 3. The purpose of Philosophy • Philosophy enables us to understand ourselves better; • Philosophy helps us
understand others; our fellowmen; • Philosophy helps us understand others’ ways of thinking • Philosophy
helps us understand the world and our place and role in it; • Philosophy helps us understand the
significance, meaning, value and finality of human life; and • Philosophy helps us know and understand God
in his nature, essence, activities, and attributes. Thus, philosophy enables us to understand all things in their
ultimate causes, reasons, and principles through our reasoning faculty.
4. 4. THE MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY OF MAN Philosophy of Man is an open-minded, cerebral-empirical
activity. Philosophy is linked with; •It is connected to metaphysics since it studies the being of action; with
•Sociology since it considers the horizontal or social dimension of man; with •Psychology since it studies the
nature of man as a being composed of body and soul endowed with reason; with •Theology since it inquires
into the avenue of man’s relatedness to God in the context of faith; with •Epistemology since it investigates
the true notion of the human nature specifically man’s intrinsic ability to know about truth; and with •Theodicy
since it provides an arena of questions about human nature and human conditions from the standpoint of the
nature, essence, and activity of God. Philosophy of Man is a course that deals with man that desires to know
who and what man are.
5. 5. The primary objectives in studying Philosophy of Man: •Philosophy of Man gives us a broader horizon in
understanding ourselves, others, and God. •Philosophy of Man helps us to identify the points of divergence
and convergence between us and animals and between us and the plants; •Philosophy of Man exposes us
to a thorough and deeper understanding of ourselves as unique dipartite creatures; that we are the
substantial unity of body and soul; •Philosophy of Man helps us understand better our nature, the meaning
of our existence, our point of origin, and our terminal point who is God; and •Philosophy of Man enables us
to encounter the diverse views of different philosophers concerning our nature, our uniqueness, and our role
in the whole spectrum of God’s creation.
6. 6. THE PROBLEMS IN PHILOSOPHY OF MAN • Philosophy of Man has two main problems, namely: • The
nature of man What is man? Who is man? • Condition of being human What is the state or condition of being
human? Why does man exist? How does man exist?
7. 7. MAN IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS NATURE Relative views to the issue of Human Nature: •Encyclopedic
view – (taught primarily by Dennis Dedirot) this maintains that the nature of man is good. (In Chinese
Philosophy, this is also maintained by Kong Zi – whos Latinized name is Confucius and his discipline Meng
Zi – whose Latinized name is Mencius) • •Economic view – (taught by Adam Smith and his adherents) sees
man as one who is destined to be happy in the context of material abundance.
8. 8. • Scientific view – (Sir Karl Popper) believes that man lives in three worlds, to wit: 1. Physical world –
bodily existence 2. Internal world – which is the locus of ideas, thoughts, and emotions 3. Social world -
which pertains to man’s social relations or inter-subjectivity. • 4. Scholastic view – basically upheld that man
is a being, a creature, whose destiny is to live in two worlds, viz.: the spiritual world and physical or material
world.
9. 9. THE MEANING OF HUMAN NATURE According to the postmodern philosophers, it is good to say that
we really do not know anything at all. Like Socrates’ humble one-liner: “What I know is that I do not know.”
According to philosophers, there is nothing wrong if measures and efforts to adapt those well- defended and
well-established thoughts about the meaning of human nature and many other issues are done and
pursued.
10. 10. Here, Classic understanding of Nature as the ultimate principle of operation of a given reality. Classic
view of man dictates that the nature of man is to think, to feel and do or act only those that are inherent in
his nature. Human Nature is characterized as: •Universal •Static
11. 11. Three-fold level of Human Nature •Somatic Level – refers to the body, substance, constitution, or stuff of
man and secondarily (or accidentally) to bodily structure, color, etc which are conditioned by culture and
environment. •Behavioral Level - - refers to the mode of acting of every man. Man has a universal way of
acting or conducting himself properly.
12. 12. Approaches of behaviour (Psychologists) Cognitive – refers to knowledge or understanding or the
mental dimension of human existence Affective – refers to the emotional or the dimension or the feeling –
part of man. Psychomotor – pertains to action
13. 13. • Attitudinal Level – refers to the mental reaction of every man to a given stimulus or the position of every
individual concerning his opinion, feeling or mood.
14. 14. THE MEANING OF HUMAN CONDITION • Human conditions absorbs and embraces the totality of
human nature • Thus, to talk of human condition is to consider how man exists and lives distinctively as a
human being (how is it to be human?) • Third, if man has a distinctive way of existing and living, how does
man realize this?
15. 15. Man’s experience of existing and living as man is the indispensable ground where man can discover the
meaning of his existence. In sum, human condition means realizing the state of being human and finding the
meaning of existence as man. (The term “meaning” means sense, purpose, and direction of human life.”
16. 16. MAN: ACCORDING TO THE EXISTENTIALISTS Existentialism stresses the difference between existing
and living. To the Existentialists, it is an imperative for every man not only to live but also to exists; man
must not only live but but also exist. For them, the subsequent fact of simply living one’s life is to assume a
life that has no vitality, no responsibility, and no self- consciousness.
17. 17. Salient Points in Existentialism For the existentialists, particularly Martin Heidegger, man is the only kind
of being that exists. Only man has existence because man is the only kind of being who knows he knows he
exists. Reality for the existentialists is richer than existence.
18. 18. Man: The Focal Point in Existentialism • Man is a subject; he is neither an object nor a means to be used
but a value in himself. • Man is an initiator of action; he is creative; and only man can perform responsible
and free acts. • Man is the center of feelings and emotions; he has the power to feel not only pain but
pleasure but also passion, like, love, hope, and fear, among others. • Man is self-related and others-related.
• Man is capable of transcendence; man can go beyond what is actually given. • Man’s existence is a
“thrown” existence; man is thrown to exist in himself and into the world. • Man exists in a body; thus, man
can only assert himself through body – his own body. • Man is intrinsically free • Man has to admit the fact of
death – his own death. • Man is an open-ended entity; he is bundle of complexities; he is a box of surprises
19. 19. Existential Philosophers and their views The meaning of human existence is found in man’s exercise of
freedom and responsibility under the scope of man’s individual and social undertakings according to Sartre.
20. 20. For Heidegger, the meaning of human existence can only be attained when man lives his life
authentically. Authentic can be achieved by undertaking this process: •As man owns his existence, he has to
project his possibilities; man has to make himself. •Man has to free himself from his inauthentic existence
with the “they” so that man can own his existence. •As man makes himself, he has to experience dread,
care, concern, and guilt. Besides, man has to listen to the voice of conscience so that he can resolve to live
authentically; and •With man’s resolute decision to live authentically, man has to accept death as his
ownmost inevitable possibility.
21. 21. For Kiekegaard, man can achieve a meaningful existence when he liberates himself for his “crowd-
existence.” This liberation is possible if man lives not only in his aesthetic mode of existence but also in the
ethical and religious modes.
22. 22. For Jaspers, the attainment of the meaning of human existence is possible when man is seen as a
whole or as the “encompassing.” Seen this way, man can be the encompassing when he sees himself as an
existent being, as a conscious being, as a spirit, and as existence.
23. 23. For Frankl, man can find meaning in his existence in a threefold manner, namely; •By doing a life-
project; •By experiencing value, particularly in the context of love; and •By finding meaning in suffering
24. 24. MAN: A BEING-IN-THE-WORLD Man is being-in-the-World; he is not a being-in-an-environment. An
environment is only true to animals, not to man. Man has a world, not an environment. Man is not bound to
an environment; he is open to the world.
25. 25. What is the meaning of the term “world”? World is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words: weor and old.
The former means “man” while the latter means “age.” The world, as such is as old as man; earth is older
than man. Which concept is true? Is there a world without man and vice-versa?
26. 26. The Views of Natural Scientists To the natural scientists (i.e., physicist, biologists, etc.), it is always
possible to talk of a manless world. For the rationalists, the world is an object to be known, it is governed by
a system of laws; it is a place where man lives. For the materialists, the world is the totality of all material
entities which are the results of processes and forces. Both rationalists’ and materialists’ views of the world
clearly show that there is world apart from man and it is only a mere place where man lives.
27. 27. The Views of Existential Phenomenologists To the existential phenomenologists, there is no world apart
from man and vice-versa. For them, there is a world because there is a man and there is a man because
there is world. According to Marcel, the world and man are related to each other in the sense of exchange,
involvement, and participation. Heidegger treats the world “neither as the sum total of all the things of nature
nor a fundamental character of the community of men….but it means the “how” on which things is “in the
whole” as implicitly related to Dasein…” Thus, for the existential phenomenologists, there can be no world
without man since man takes the world as a necessary datum of his existence in the context of meaning.
28. 28. Are there kinds of worlds? Since man presents himself only in relation to the world because he is a
being-in-the-world, so man arranges the world around him. Man arranges or organizes a world around him
by virtue of the fact that things around him are not mere objects since they constitute a network of meanings.
Thus, there exist many kinds of world.
29. 29. What are the implications of the meaning of the world in relation to man? • •The man is a subject. •That
as a subject, man exists, and therefore, is conscious of his existence that it is an existence-in-the-world.
•That man as a subject means that man considers the things which surround him not as a mere object but
as a networks of meanings. •That man establishes meanings to things which surround him by way of his
being “at-home” in the world which he arranges for himself; and •That as man arranges a world for himself,
he actively takes his task as the “builder,” “gardener,” and “guardian” of the world.
30. 30. MAN: A PERSON-WHO-ALWAYS- EXISTS-WITH-OTHERS-IN-THE-WORLD  Historical Data of
Personalism Personalism, as a philosophical movement, was founded by Borden Parker Browne and was
 developed later by Max Scheler, Emmanuel Mounier, Henri Bergson, and Martin Buber. As a philosophical
movement, personalism is a study of man as a person.
31. 31. • The Meaning of Man as a Person Since personalism takes man as its main concern, it rejects the
legalistic connotation of the term “person”, as that which refers to anything or any reality which is endowed
with rights since this definition treats of person both in the context of things, establishments, or institutions,
and human beings. Thus, in personalism the term “person” is solely attributed to man inasmuch as it
requires freedom and rationality as defined by Beothius. Man as a person, then means that man is unique;
that man is a who; that man is a subject; and that man is a self.
32. 32. • Man as a Person-Who-Always-Exists-with-Others-in-the-World By virtue of the fact that man as a
person is unique, a who, a subject, and a self, man is never alone in his existence in the world; man has that
indelible trademark of his “being-with: existence in the world. Since man is a person, his “being-with”
existence should not be confused with a “being-for” kind of existence. “Being-for” is the opposite of “being-
with” in the sense that the latter is heading to a direction of treating man a person. Thus, in man’s
intersubjectivity, man is called to treat his fellowman as a person; this is made possible only in the context of
man’s “being-with” existence.
33. 33. • Man’s “being-with-others” can be viewed from to standpoints, viz.: • General Standpoint – Man’s being-
with-others as a person is man’s intrinsic “being-with” to both things and man’s fellow human persons. •
Specific Standpoint – Man’s being-with-others as a person is man’s irrefutable “being-with” his fellowman
only because in the specific sphere, man’s “being-with” is treated in the existential perspective. Because
things do not exist, man alone has the capacity to co-exist with his fellow human persons.
34. 34. Man’s co-existence or intersubjectivity, in the one hand, does not require a learning process or
experience since man’s “being-with” is a priori and intrinsic in his being a person. On the other hand, man’s
being-with-others requires a learning process in the context of the quality or mode of man’s being-with since
human relatedness is not immediately given but needs to be established.
35. 35. Three Levels of Human Relations or Intersubjectivity • I-It level of Relationship – human relatedness
capsulizes, more or less, the “being-for” existence of man and not man’s being-with existence. “I” does not
treat the other as a person. • I-He/She Level of Relationship – Is not an impersonal relationship but a
personal one inasmuch as the “I” considers and recognizes the other as a person. • I-Thou Level of
Relationship – This relationship happens when the “I” and the “Thou” are bound together in the context of
love.
36. 36. MAN: A HISTORICAL BEING • History and Man “History” is derived from the Greek word historia which
means “learning by inquiry.” Man’s relatedness to the world is the bearer of man’s historicality; it is man’s
relatedness to the world that gives birth to history. Therefore, there is no history apart from both man and
man’s relatedness to the world. History can only be measured in terms of man’s existence in time; history is
temporal since time is constituted of ecstasies which are past, present, and future. History, then, means not
only the past but also the present and the future.
37. 37. • Historicity and Man What makes history not only the past but also the present and the future is the
historicity of man; historicity is not the noun form of history since it is historicality; historicity means the
intrinsic transcendental capability of man to exist in the ecstasies of time; thus, man is historicity first before
man becomes historical. History is present only when man exists in the ecstasies of time by way of
transcendence.
38. 38. An associate of Heidegger, however, named Rudolf Bultmann claimed that there are two ways through
which happenings or occurrences of facts or events in history can be assessed, namely: •Geshichte –
attempts of historians to really capture how facts or events did occur. •Historie – attempts or efforts of the
historians to account only those facts or events that have meaning to us.
39. 39. MAN: A BODY, HIS BODY It is impossible to talk of human existence apart from the human body The
human body is man’s expression of his presence in himself, in the world, and his fellow human person.
40. 40. The Human Body as Finitude The human body refers to the finitude of man in the sense that human
bodily existence is limited by space, time, and death. Besides, the human body is also limited in terms of its
accidental constituents.
41. 41. The Human Body as Subjectivity The human body refers to man’s embodied subjectivity; man’s body is
infused in his subjectivity. Thus, the human body is not a thing to be used or exploited because it is a
subject-body. As a subject-body, it cannot be the object of “having”, since the human body cannot and never
be disposed of, unless when it is treated as an object. The embodied subjectivity of man refers to the whole
man as rational, affective, and emotional.
42. 42. The Human Bod as a Gesture of Encounter The human body is not an instrument of man’s encounter of
things and persons in the world; it is man’s expression with himself as an embodied subjectivity.
43. 43. MAN: THE ACTOR • Man and Action Action is proper only to man; animals do not act but only move.
Action entails intellect, knowledge, freedom, voluntariness, and responsibility The nature of man makes man
the only being of action. As rational, man possesses intellect so that he can know the nature of the act,
whether it is good or bad. As a being who is endowed with freedom, man knows that he has the choice
whether to perform or not to perform a particular action. Man acts according to his intellect and will (an
expression of freedom) and is responsible for the consequences of his actions.
44. 44. • Moral Assumptions The following assumptions are drawn in order to elucidate the inherent capacity of
man in the context of reason and freedom: • As rational and free, man knows that there are actions that are
right or wrong, and good or bad. • As rational and free, man knows that there are actions that he is not
 obliged to do; • As rational and free, man knows that he is responsible for his actions; and • As rational and
free, man knows that wrong actions are punishable and right actions are rewardable
45. 45. INTELLECT WILL To know Purpose To choose To Think Function To do Truth Goal Good Wisdom
Ultimate Goal Virtue •Intellect Compared with Will
46. 46. • Values and Action Man cannot perform actions which are value-free; actions presuppose values;
actions are expressions of values Values are objects of human desires; values re good; good implies
satisfaction and suitability; values are synonyms with good. If man’s actions are expressions of values and
since values are good, man then, is singled out to perform right and good actions.
47. 47. Man: A Sexual Being • Sex and Morality The term “sex” is derived from the Latin word secare which
means “to divide” or “to cut”. Accordingly the word secare originates from the Latin word seco which means
“division” or “half of the race”.
48. 48. Before we approach the depth of man’s being a sexual animal, it is good to ask preliminary questions
like- is sex dirty? Do you approve of premarital sex or fornication? Is virginity, both to the ladies and to the
gentlemen, still of value today? Is the purpose of sex procreation? Is sex a value in itself? If one of the
purposes of sex is procreation, why are fornication, adultery, concubinage, and the like deemed morally
evil? If a spouse is sterile or impotent, would not the purpose of sex be made futile? If there exists an issue
of triennial cohabitation (the wife remains a virgin after three years of marriage) or relative impotency (the
husband is impotent only when he wants to have conjugal act with his wife, but not with other women), can
these not validate sexual promiscuity to any of them? True enough these issues treat of the subject of sex in
the context of morality so that it is commonly believed that whenever the term sex is mentioned, an
immediate interpretation could easily ensue, (i.e. that the topic is moral and ethical). In addition there are
some who would, without proper evaluation, localize morality in the sphere of sexuality. All these
presuppositions are misleading. The fact of sex does not categorically belong to morality and the truth and
validity of morality cannot be found only in terms of sex or sexuality.
49. 49. • Sexuality Compared with Sex Both sex and sexuality can be contained in the word “sexual”. As a
sexual being, man has sexuality and is capable of expressing his sexuality through sex. This thesis appears
so simple but when it is critically analyzed and evaluated, it entails a lot of intricacies. What we would like to
do is to understand the differences between sex and sexuality. Through this, we can hopefully have a
comprehensive understanding of man as a sexual being.
50. 50. Sexuality is broader than sex in as much as the latter is contained in the former and functions as its
expression. This means that sex cannot be detached from sexuality; however, it is possible to keep sexuality
from sex.
51. 51. Sex is basically a human activity. Only human beings can engage in sex; animals do not, although they
have sexuality. Animals mate; they do not engage in sex. Since sex is a human activity, it is, therefore,
fundamentally oriented towards procreation. In its empirical reality, sex is a form of pleasure. Furthermore,
psychologists qualify sex as a tension-releasing activity. As an empirically pleasurable human activity, sex is
a means to an end and not an end in itself, for it is fundamentally geared towards the generation of a new
life. In other words, the sense of responsibility is embedded in this activity. Thus, it is not just a mere activity
since it has its divine implication which can be translated into a responsible sexual engagement. In this light,
sex can only be justified and should be empirically exercised in the context of marriage because, in itself,
marriage guarantees the embedded responsibility in sex.
52. 52. Whereas sex is an expression, sexuality is the one being expressed. Sexuality is the foundation of man’s
personhood. It is the specific manifestation of man’s being-in-the-world. Because man is a being-in-the-
world- with-others, sexuality manifests man’s inherent need to relate to others. In this regard, sexuality can
be interpreted as the fundamental factor of man’s intersubjectivity or man’s interpersonal relatedness. Thus
sexuality presents the uniqueness of a person in his emotions, feelings, actions, attitudes, and thoughts,
among others.
53. 53. Since sex, which is the expression of sexuality, but of course, not the only expression, is oriented
towards procreation, it follows that sexuality signifies the incompleteness of the individual human person. It
is through sexuality that human incompleteness can be complemented by others who are just like the “I”
who is incomplete.
54. 54. • Sex and Society Our society today is saturated with sex. Sex exists everywhere. It is projected in
clothing designs; it is in the magazines, music and movies; it is in the advertisements of whatever sort; it is in
the stickers, shirts, etc. As a whole, the contemporary man needs a reorientation towards the real meaning
of sex and even of sexuality since there are some who want to change and even have changed their sex.
55. 55. One of the devastating blows which the authentic meaning of sex suffers is its being disassociated from
love. Love, instead of being prior to sex, becomes reversed; sex instead, is made prior to love. The truth of
the matter is that sex is just the effect of love, not vice-versa.
56. 56. There are manifold misconceptions and malpractices regarding sex. Although it is true that there can be
love even without sex, sex without love must not be accepted and tolerated despite the fact that it is done. It
is commonplace to hear of people in mainstream society to have affairs. People who have affairs are those
who prefer to engage in love and sex in the absence of commitment to marry. Many of these people are
young. Hence, it is good for teachers in human sexuality to deal with topics like teenage relationship,
reproductive system, childbirth, marriage, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, reproductive health
problems, birth control and the like. •
57. 57. • Sex and Love “Women give sex to get love. Men give love to get sex.” This is equivalent to harassment
and degradation of the sanctity of feminine sexuality. This kind of behavior requires the serious concern
specifically of parents and sex education teachers. Sex should not be divorced from love. Sex should be
used only in accordance with the plan and will of God. Within God’s plan, man’s sexual instinct is good since
it is a powerful source of life, and of unity between two human beings. If contrary to God’s plan, sex
becomes a means of division, a source of perversion, cruelty and even death. Hence, sexual union is
justified only when it is an expression of love. And since true love demands permanence and faithfulness,
true love then seeks the happiness of one’s partner, not of one’s self
58. 58. • Sex and Marriage In as much as sex should only be engaged upon in the context of marriage, then it
should, in the context of modesty, be called marital act or conjugal act that inevitably results in the formation
of a domestic society we call family. As a marital act, sex becomes the greatest expression and
consummation of love that binds the spouse to partake in the sacredness of their commitment to each other
and to their off springs.
59. 59. Marriage is the only means towards the exercise of sex. Outside marriage, sexual practices are
perversions, distortions and are, therefore, against God’s plan. Through marriage each human person’s
uniqueness in the dimension of sex is being complemented. Sexuality, which is always more than genital
sexuality, expresses the fundamental fact that human beings live as male and female, relating to each other
as two incomplete beings that only become complete when they unite, by complementing each other.
60. 60. • Sexual Revolution (Transformation of Man’s Consciousness and Conduct Towards Sex) One of the
alarming revolutions in this century, particularly in the last several decades, is called the sexual revolution.
The Filipinos have learned to alter their conscious and conduct relative to sex. This is evident both in high
and low societies in the Philippines. Today, swapping of marital partners is done by some members of the
upper class. What is unacceptable before is now tolerated, although this tolerance is not absolute. Concrete
examples are homosexuality, lesbianism, premarital sex, fornication, live-in or common-law marriage,
concubinage, adultery and prostitution. Before, homosexuals and lesbians were considered deviants. Today,
they are accepted as normal members of the society. All these are evident manifestations of modern and
contemporary sexual trends; they are irrefutable proofs
61. 61. Man: The Lover Love is a strong force within man that drives him to make things that seem to be
impossible. The concrete examples of love’s power which drive man to break the walls that of what is
preconceived as extraordinary are- the Hanging Garden of Babylon, the TajMahal in Agra, India, the San
Juanico Bridge (that connects Samar and Leyte symbolizing therein Ferdinand Marcos’ love to the Leytena
Imelda Romualdez). Nevertheless, madness in love does not always drive man to do positive or constructive
things. It also drives man to destroy what he loves. This contention is precisely affirmed by Oscar Wilde
when he said that “every man kills the thing he loves; the coward does it with a kiss, the brave with a
sword.’’ Thus,love also means pain and even death.
62. 62. Love is dynamic principle of action. It serves as the fundamental characteristic of the human person’s
being- with-others. As a passion or as an emotion, it can be purely subjective, hence irrational, or objective,
hence rational. It is purely subjective and irrational when its beholder is enjoying himself in his being with his
beloved who is just a tool in keeping him pleased with himself. On the contrary, love is objective and rational
when it is really the other person that the lover loves and enjoys specifically as a person whose being and
uniqueness are important in themselves. “The capacity of love, objectively, is what makes us persons…Love
then is at… the core of our rational consciousness.”
63. 63. A human person is guided by love to discover others as values. Through love, man learns how to
consider others as persons, as other “Is” and not as means but ends in themselves. Through love, man is
guided to act properly as a loving person.
64. 64. Man: The Worker On account of man as the shepherd of being, the builder of the world, and the
gardener of the world, man, in the Christian perspective, is also called God’s co-creator of the world. It is in
view of man as the worker that all these are realized. Work is one of the basic aspects of the human
person’s being-with-others-in-the-world. Through work, the network of human relatedness is well expressed.
Thus, man works to supply his needs and those of mankind. We cannot deny the social implications of work
inasmuch as everything which man does always bears an inherent social character.
65. 65. Through work, man establishes his dignity. Through work man produces his own food and thereby
makes himself superior over other creatures which cannot, on their own accord, produce their own food.
Work is not a curse from God because human sinfulness since, even if man did not sin, man is still inclined
to work. This is emphasized by both St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope Leo XIII.
66. 66. For the Christian, the worker is more important than work. Work is man’s service to God; it is man’s
grateful response to God, his Creator and Sustainer. The Christian is not ashamed of the nature of his work
because he finds God in his work. Work is man’s way of glorifying God; it is his gesture of service to both
God and his fellowman.
67. 67. Man: The Thinker Like all animals, man also possesses a brain. But man’s brain is intrinsically loaded
with a mind or an intellect; and man is intrinsically equipped with capability to think. This contention is based
on the irrefutable premise that man is an animal rationale. From man’s being inherently animal
rationalecomes the flux of thinking. Where else can we charge man’s proven agility for inventions? If man is
not a thinking being, then first of all, there couldn’t have been any science and technology that both spawn
the ever- increasing complication of human interests and
68. 68. Man has senses which enable him to acquire knowledge through his body. Through his body, man
possesses nine senses. Five of these which are known as vision, taste,smell, hearing and touch are
considered as the external senses. And four of these which are known as memory, imagination,
consciousness and instinct are considered as the internal senses.
69. 69. Man: The Believer “There is but one freedom. To put oneself right with death. After that everything is
possible. I cannot force you to believe in God. Believing in God amounts to coming to terms with death.
When you have accepted death, the problem of God will be solved-and not the reverse.”-Albert Camus
70. 70. • Faith and Man Bertrand Russell, a philosopher, argue that religion or faith is a result of fear of the
unknown or fear of what is next to happen after death. True enough, it is undeniably horrible to imagine what
is going to happen after we die. But in the epigraph, Albert Camus provides a sound antithetical argument
that as long as man accepts God, death ceases to be problem. He gave emphasis of freedom i.e., belief in
God is a choice; and when one has embraced the choice to believe in God, then the depth of one’s fear of
the unknown will vanish.
71. 71. Man’s search for the meaning of his existence will become superficial, inauthentic and unwholesome,
and the will eventually collapse when it is disassociated from God. It is true that not all men believe in God.
However, man’s disbelief in God can never affect the truth of God’s existence. God is neither conditioned
nor determined by man’s belief. Whether man acknowledges God or not, God, remains as He is.
72. 72. The existence of evil, atheism, suffering, pain and all sorts of human tribulations are not deterrents for
man from believing God. But belief in God is not all that matters. Man’s love of God is also on the same
footing in terms of importance. However it is true, there are many men who walk astray. Instead of loving
God, they hate God. But even if man hates God, God remains a loving God to his creatures, primarily man.
73. 73. If man has to be taught to love God, how can man do it if, first of all, he does not know WHO GOD IS? If
love has always its object, then, it is impossible for a person to love somebody if he does not know him. It is,
therefore, clear that man should know God. It is an indispensable criterion that man should question why he
believes in God so as to make his faith not just a mere faith or a blind faith but a reasoned faith. When faith
is reasoned, it becomes truer, firmer, and more substantial.
74. 74. The most spectacular and comprehensive question about God’s existence is the one which is raised by
Feodor Dostoevski when he said that if God does not exist, it follows that everything is permitted. The
wisdom of this contention lies in the fact that in the concrete human experience, not everything is permitted.
Therefore, there is God because if there is no God, we certainly will live in a world of utter confusion, chaos,
and moral disorder. •
75. 75. There were no atheists in the medieval period. The people who contradicted the Christian belief during
this time were only a handful of heretics and infidels. Atheism rose only during the modern and
contemporary periods. With the advancements in science and technology, the modern and contemporary
man has started denying that God is his Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. He doesn’t want to accept God
as the most powerful or Omnipotent Being. Armed with his sophisticated discoveries, man wants to compete
with God.
76. 76. The present society has lost its faith in God. The contemporary man claims he does not need God
anymore. Through his inventions, he believes that he is more powerful than God. The present-day atheists
are convinced that their robots and computers are more powerful and mysterious than man created by God.
But we know they miss a very important point. They forgot that they-who are the inventors of these highly
sophisticated machines-, come from God. Moreover, these atheists should wrestle with the fact that they can
never make life, since life can never be made, but created. And only God can do it. The inescapable fact is
that these atheists can never create a single blade of living grass or single strand of living hair.
77. 77. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT to DR. EDDIE E. BABOR, Ph.D, Ll.B as my main reference for this presentation
Thank You!
 Shallow Men Believe In Luck. Strong Men
Believe In Cause and Effect
 iOwn Team
 February 10, 2020
 Leadership Coaching
You probably heard the age-old adage ‘Things happen for a reason’ in your difficult period, many times. Probably you
thought that the phrase is meaningless and things happen only due to some luck or consequences beyond your control.
However, in reality, if you reflect on the happenings in your life, you may notice that the things that happened were due
to certain reasons that resulted in a particular outcome.

As Emerson suggests, ‘Things happen for a reason’ is a very powerful statement and it relates to cause and effect.
Simply put, all our actions have definite consequences and these are appropriate results for the actions. When people say
that they are lucky, the truth remains that the people built the effects with the strong mind, wills, disciplines, and
strategies that remain the cause. 

If you want to succeed in anything, you need to put your efforts to let the magic happen and it is not enough to show up
your presence only. You need to put yourself in a suitable position for getting noticed and need to work your tail off. The
practice remains the key to your success and you have to practice perfectly to get perfect or anywhere close to that. 

When you start honestly examining the events in your life objectively, you will find, more often than not, most outcomes
that happened were logical. Most things happened for a reason and luck may not have anything to do with it, though you
may not like the reasoning and have a hard time to accept the happenings. You need to remember that life is not a
sprint, it is a marathon, and it is high time that you should stop talking and instead start disciplining yourself to achieve
your goal. 

When you find a good thing happening to your friends or rivals, you may term it as luck. It may be difficult for us to see
somebody succeed and appreciate the hard work that was behind the reason for success. You need to understand that
even if it is a lottery, you don’t stand a chance to get success if you don’t purchase a ticket and play it. 

If you examine closely the success stories of highly successful people, you will understand that good fortune comes to the
people for their skills. The people whom you are terming as lucky prepared themselves thoroughly for the moment and
provided opportunities to them to succeed at the right time. When you hear that you are lucky as you get a promotion or
a good job, it may bother you and it may mean undermining your talents for doing great things.

Stop looking for shortcuts, and start building upon your strengths and understand your weaknesses to achieve bigger.
There can be situations when you are very close to success when you give up and it could have been the last blow
required to open the door to success. Being mindful of all your actions consciously can help you to self discover yourself
and reorient your efforts and strategies to achieve success. 

Things do always happen for a reason and there are cause and effect for any happening, not luck.