Karol Woytyla

Aristotelian-Thomistic (human person and personalism)

Max Scheler (phenomenology and personalism)

St. John of the Cross (notion of participation and authentic people)

Concept:

 Concept of body and soul – Platonic dualism, soul is more important than the body and escape the material
world to achieve the immaterial form, however for Aristotle, he saw the body and soul as inextricable; the soul
shaped the body.
 “soma” body and Psyche “soul” – he uses the “integration” instead of substantial union. Man as integrated being

Man as a Person:

1. man is not simply defined as a psychosomatic being.

2. Wojtyla defines man as a “person”
3. adopted the philosophy of Boethius on the concept of a person as “an individual substance of a rational nature.

• individual and rational

1. Man is unique and separate from other beings

2. Man is endowed with rational appetencies: the intellect and the will.

Nature of Human Person:

Human person has manifested through his action – u

Acting Person:

 Action (Operari) & Being (Esse): that a thing acts according to the way it is.
 Action Reveals the Person.

Self-Experience:

 Man’s experience of anything outside of himself is always associated with the experience of himself

Participation in the Community:

 ability of the person to exist and act together with others without losing oneself as he moves towards his self-
fulfillment.
 In the act of participation, the common good and individual good meet in the person.

Common good

 is the ultimate end of our participation, is not achieved through an objectively collaborated common action but
rather is attained through our subjectively performed action together with others.

authentic and Inauthentic Attitudes of Participation

Authentic Participation:

• Solidarity: involves a constant readiness to accept and contribute to the common good of a community. It
emphasizes the unity of community members working together for shared goals.

• Opposition: is not the opposite of solidarity but another mode of it. It involves opposing things that go against
the common good, such as laws harmful to humanity.

Inauthentic Attitudes:

• Conformism: is the tendency to comply with accepted customs without appreciating the value of one's work.
While it may contribute to the common good, the problem lies in the lack of true understanding and active
participation.

• Noninvolvement: is characterized by withdrawal and indifference to the common good. It is a form of escape
from one's role in the community, lacking active concern for participation.