INTERSUBJECTIVITY PART I

- The human person is not an object. She only appears to be because of her body. Her body is what makes her a thing like other things.
- Human persons are expected to treat others as fellow subjects, and not as objects in service of other subjects.
-This relationship among subjects is what philosophers call inter-subjectivity.
- The human person is the most complex being that exist on earth. Socially and psychologically, up to now, despite all the
scientific and technological progress, we are not able to fully comprehend the human person. One of the factors which
contribute to this difficult task of understanding the human person is the fact that we are relational beings.
- is a structure of relationship that is supported by genuine communication
- represent the psychological relation between people. It is usually used in contrast to solipsistic individual experience, emphasizing
our inherently social being.
SOLIPSISM - Theory that only the self exists, or can be proved to exist
- connectedness nature of human beings, the existence of a between-world, connecting individual human subjectivities is what
we refer to as ‘intersubjectivity’
- The human person is not just being-in-the-world but being-with-others, or being-in-relation.
Love and Intersubjectivity
Three natures of love
Eros , Philia and Agape.
Eros refers to that part of love constituting a passionate, intense desire for something; it is often referred to as a sexual desire,
hence the modern notion of “erotic”. philia entails a fondness and appreciation of the other. Agape refers to the paternal love of
God for man and of man for God but is extended to include a brotherly love for all humanity
Four Words of LOVE
STORGE – is a type of love parents feel for their children. (natural affection)
PHILIA – is a type of love you have with your friends (love of friendship)
EROS - passionate type of love that involves romance (romantic love)
AGAPE – another word for charity, you often serve and help others, ( unconditional love)

Gabriel Marcel states that “Human Living” is “living of something other than itself”. The center of human life is outside itself.
Intersubjectivity is thus a state in which one recognizes one’s being as being-with-others.

It is not human life if it is centered on itself. It becomes human, that is, it is humanized, as soon as one de-centers oneself from
himself, that is, when the center of one’s life is on the care for the welfare of other.

Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa (1910–1997) was a Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to serving the poor and destitute
around the world. She spent many years in Calcutta, India where she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious
congregation devoted to helping those in great need.
“ A LIFE NOT LIVED FOR OTHERS IS NOT LIFE “ – Mother Teresa

TOTALIZATION
Emmanuel Levinas points out that the Other is “rigorously other” that is, far more radically different than we would appreciate
and accept in our everyday lives.
Totalization occurs whenever one limit the other to a set of rational categories, be they racial, sexual, or otherwise.
-it is the denial of other’s differences.
-denial of “otherness” of others

Prejudice- preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.

GENUINE COMMUNICATION
We often think we understand the other person when we imagine what it would be like if we were in their situation.
Iris Marion Young points that what happens in reality is that we are more of projecting our own fears, anxieties or anger on
other person. In this way, we do not really listen to other, but are imposing our own voice on them.
Genuine understanding begins with the silence
We cannot really hear what the other is saying unless we hold our tongue and tame our tendency to speak for them.
The best we can give them is our listening silence ( to show empathy )

INTERSUBJECTIVITY PART II
Ethics - a set of moral obligations that define right and wrong in our practices and decisions.
Ethical Theories
Utilitarianism - something is moral, or good when it produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people.
Egoism -ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest.( I love me )
Hedonism- the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.
Deontology - judges the morality of an action based on rules. It is sometimes described as "duty-" or "obligation-" or "rule-"
based ethics, because rules "bind you to your duty". E.g. Divine Command , Rights theories
“Dura lex Sed Lex “ - The law is hard but it is a law
VIRTUE ETHICS - . It emphasizes the virtues, or moral character in determining the morality of a certain action
- Person ( moral character )
DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS – relates to the agent duties and obligations in any given situation ( ACTION)
CONSEQUENTIALIST ETHICS – are concerned with the outcome of an agents choice of action
Ethical Dilemma- Debate and sometimes confusion about who is responsible for the misuse or abuse of power given us by
science and technology.
Ethical conflicts arise when individuals are confronted with a collision between general belief systems about morality, ethics or
justice and their own personal situations.
Lesser of the two evil principle
The principle that when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the one which is least immoral should be chosen
Right and wrong are not always perfectly clear, and some situations involve choosing between two “evils,”
 JUSTICE
-generally understood as giving what is due to a person
-Three basic Kinds:
1. Distributive justice- refers to the just distribution of benefits (such as rights and socioeconomic goods) and burdens (such as
sacrifices and obligation)

2. Retributive Justice - -retaliatory Justice

-refers to the just imposition of punishments and penalties on those guilty of performing act.
-An eye for an eye; tooth for a tooth
-perpetrator must suffer pain or loss proportional to the victim
Lex talionis: a vengeance-oriented form of retributive justice concerned with equal retaliation

3. Compensatory Justice - compensating people for what they lost as a result of wrongful actions done to them

Eminent Domain
- the power of the nation or a sovereign state to take, or to authorize the taking of, private property for a public use without the
owner's consent, conditioned upon payment of just compensation.

Equality vs Equity
EQUALITY –SAMENESS - It promotes the fairness and justice by giving everyone the same thing.
EQUITY – FAIRNESS - It’s about making sure people get access to the same opportunities.

Egalitarianism - theory that claims that a certain distribution is just if every member of the group receives an equal share of
the distribution
Political egalitarianism- argues for equality in the distribution of equal rights
Economic egalitarianism -argues for equality in the distribution of economic goods

Altruism - The belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others

Capitalist Justice - This theory claims that a certain distribution is just if every member of a group receives his or her share in
the distribution according to or in proportion to his or her contribution to the success of the goals of the group

Socialist Justice - This theory claims that a certain distribution is just if every member of a group receives his or her share in
the distribution according to or in proportion to his or her needs
-this view seeks to balance off natural inequalities.
-”from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” ;Karl Marx

VEIL OF IGNORANCE - It is a method of determining the morality of political issues by which people making political decisions
imagine that they know nothing about the particular talents, abilities, tastes, social class, and positions they will have within a
social order.