INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON

THE HUMAN AS EMBODIED SPIRIT

WEEK 3 – Q1

M.A. ESPIRITU
LESSON 1: RECOGNIZING HOW THE HUMAN BODY
IMPOSES LIMITS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR
TRANSCENDENCE
ACTIVITY 1. HOW I STARTED
Complete the chart below. Make sure that you ask or consult your parents or
any adult who have witnessed your development and reflect before you write
your answer. Copy and fill out the chart in your notebook.
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT TRANSCENDENCE?
TRANSCENDENCE
Transcendence means existence or
experience beyond the normal or physical
level. It comes from the Latin prefix trans-,
meaning "beyond," and the word scandare,
meaning "to climb." When you achieve
transcendence, you have gone beyond
ordinary limitations.
TRANSCENDENCE
In religion, transcendence is the aspect of a
deity's nature and power that is wholly
independent of the material universe,
beyond all known physical laws. This is
contrasted with immanence, where a God is
said to be fully present in the physical world
and thus accessible to creatures in various
ways.
TRANSCENDENCE
the act of rising above something to a superior
state, having gone beyond ordinary
limitations; often used to describe a spiritual or
religious state, or a condition of moving
beyond physical needs and realities; and
fulfilling a goal.
THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT
WHAT IS A HUMAN PERSON?
Human person refers to the
individual, and all the attributes and
characteristics that set him/her apart
from the human beings.
WHAT IS A HUMAN SPIRIT?
The human spirit includes our intellect,
emotions, fears, passions, and creativity.
In the models of Daniel A. Helminiak and
Bernard Lonergan, human spirit is
considered to be the mental functions of
awareness, insight, understanding,
judgement and other reasoning powers.
PERFORMANCE TASK 1
WHO ARE THEY

Directions: Below are pictures of different

personalities/philosophies/theories that are familiar to us.
Identify who they are, their limitations and the things that
they did/are doing in their lives that you think had
brought them to what they are now. Then answer the
questions that follow.
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. Among these persons’ trait/s and value/s, which do you
think is/are the positive ones?
2. Which of their trait/s or value/s is/ are negative?
3. Are these traits/values manifested in your day to day
living?
4. What traits/values do you think do you possess that limit
you in reaching your dreams/goals/transcendence?
LESSON 2: EVALUATE OWN LIMITATIONS AND THE
POSSIBILITIES FOR THEIR TRANSCENDENCE
WHAT IS A HUMAN SPIRIT?
We may evaluate our human limitations
and how we can transcend them. Many of
us experience them for emerging from
deep within and felt a sense of being in
tune with the mystery of our own being
and with the mystery of life that
transcends us. Examples are the following:
Forgiveness – When we forgive, we are
freed from our anger and bitterness
because of the actions and/or words
of another. On the other hand, the
hardness of our heart is reinforced by
whole series of rational arguments.
The Beauty of Nature - There is perfection in every
single flower; this is what the three philosophies
believed. For a hug, for every sunrise and sunset, to
eat together as a family, are our miracles. These
kinds of experiences can be truly moments of
grace. They touch us deeply and the human heart
is spontaneously lifted. During this experience, we
need to offer praise.
Vulnerability – To be invulnerable is somehow inhuman. To be
vulnerable is to be human. Supermen or superheroes are
hiding from their true humanity. The experience that we are
contingent, that we are dependent for our existence on
another is frightening. To work in the office or study in school,
without acknowledging the help of others, is to live without
meaning and direction. We need to acknowledge the help of
other people in our lives. Such moments of poverty and
dependence on others are not a sign of weakness but being
true with ourselves.
Failure – Our failures force us to comfort our
weaknesses and limitations. When a relationship fails,
when a student fails a subject, when our immediate
desires are not met, we are confronted with the
possibility of our plans, and yet, we are forced to
surrender to a mystery or look upon a bigger world.
Such acceptance of our failures makes us hope and
trust that all can be brought into good. Even if we have
sinned, as Augustine had, there is hope and
forgiveness.
Loneliness – Our loneliness can be rooted from our
sense of vulnerability and fear of death. This
experience is so common. However, it is our choice
to live in an impossible world where we are
always “happy” or to accept a life where solitude
and companionship have a part. With our
loneliness, we can realize that our dependence on
other people or gadgets is a possessiveness that
we can be free from.
Love – To love is to experience richness, positivity, and
transcendence. Whether in times of ecstatic moments or
struggles, the love for a friend, between family
members or a significant person, can open in us
something in the other which takes us beyond ourselves.
Life is full of risks, fears and commitment, pain and
sacrificing and giving up thing/s we want for the sake
of the one we love. In a Buddhist view, the more we
love, the more risks and fears there are in life (Aguilar
2010 as cited by Ramos, 2016).
ACTIVITY 2: LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Directions: Answer the following questions:
1. What are your goals/dreams in life?
2. What other things do you consider as your limitation/s as human. Why?
3. What are the possibilities that you think/expect to happen in your life now?
4. How are you going to overcome these limitations to be able to reach that
transcendence?
5. What have you realized about life now especially this time that there is pandemic?
LESSON 3: 3 MAIN SPIRITUAL
PHILOSOPHIES
HINDUISM: REINCARNATION AND KARMA
An interesting Hindu belief is the transmigration of
souls, reincarnation or “metempsychosis”.
Essential Hinduism is based on the belief in karma
and has its first literary expression in Upanishads.
Hindus say that everything in life is a consequence
of actions performed in previous existence. Only
by building up a fine record, or “karma” can
final salvation be achieved.
BUDDHISM: NIRVANA
Nirvana means the state in which one is absolutely
free from all forms of bondage and attachment. It
means to overcome and remove the cause of
suffering. It is also the state of perfect insight into the
nature of existence. The Buddhists see one who has
attained nirvana as one who is unencumbered from all
the fetters that bind a human being to existence (i.e.,
wealth). He has perfect knowledge, perfect peace,
and perfect wisdom (Aguilar 2012).
CHRISTIANITY: ST. AUGUSTINE AND ST.
THOMAS AQUINAS: WILL AND LOVE
For St. Augustine, physically, we are free, yet
morally bound to obey the law. The Eternal
Law is God Himself. According to this law,
humanity must do well and avoid evil, hence
the existence of moral obligation in every
human being. Christian life is not easy.
However, no human being should become an
end to himself.
CHRISTIANITY: ST. AUGUSTINE AND ST.
THOMAS AQUINAS: WILL AND LOVE
Only God, through prayer, can help us attain
purity and being holy. Through prayer,
modesty, fasting and other sound measures
that the Church recommends, of God provides,
can purity of heart, mind and body be
maintained and daily lived (Johnston 2006).
ACTIVITY 3: ESSAY