MEANING OF

TRANSCENDENCE
M O D U L E 5

P R E PA R E D B Y: S A R A H J O Y S . T O M I A S
RECOGNIZE HOW THE
HUMAN BODY IMPOSES
LIMITS AND
POSSIBILITIES FOR
TRANSCENDENCE
  Man – general term which is commonly used to
refer to the entire human race. Other related
terms include, humanity, mankind, and
humankind.
 Human – refers to man as a species – homo
sapiens or modern human beings.
 Person – is a much more complex term which
generally refers to a human being granted
recognition of certain rights, protection and
responsibilities.
HUMAN  Human Person - Refers to the individual, and
COMPOSITION all the attributed and characteristics that set him
OF MAN or her apart from the other human beings
PERSPECTIVES ON THE
NATURE OF MAN
BIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
• Considers man as part of the natural world
and a product of evolution. Modern humans
(homo sapiens sapiens) are considered one of
the most successfully adapted species on the
planet.
• The development of culture is considered
man’s most significant achievement which
sets apart the evolution of humanity from
other species on this planet.
PSYCHOLOGICA
L PERSPECTIVE

• Places emphasis on human behavior

and thought processes in analyzing
human nature. Man possesses mental
faculties that enable him to possess
awareness, a sense of self, and the
capacity to perceive and experience.
ECONOMIC
PERSPECTIVE
• Focuses on man’s ability to engage in
productive activities in an effort to meet his
wants and needs.
• Considers man as a productive being; his
primary role is to produce and engage in
labor.
• Economic forces are considered a greater
influence on the actions of man than society
or culture.
THEOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
• Considers man as God’s creation. Man is
considered to have a special relationship
with the creator, being created in his image
and given an immortal spirit. Man’s
existence was brought about by the
purposive creative act of God, and his
ultimate destiny is part of a divine plan.
 THE HUMAN
PERSON AS AN
E MTranscendence
B O D IinEtheDGlobal
S PAgeI R I T
 Hod does the Spirit
What is If the spirit exists, does If God exists, what is
What is a spirit? define the nature of
Embodiment? God exist? His role in our lives?
man?

Ontological argument –
contends that since man, a
rational being, is able to
conceive the notion of
Trichotomic view – Supreme being, then it hold
The immortal, to reason that such being
man is composed of exists.
noncorporeal essence
three essential parts
of man.
The man is able to Teleological argument –
Dichotomic view – focuses on the purpose a God
Created by God and it perceive and
composed of body play in the universe.
is embodied in the experience reality Redemptive salvation
and spirit
human being. through his Cosmological argument –
physical body. recognize the existence of
Psychosomatic unity
Essential element for God as an explanation of
– body and spirit are
the salvation of how things came to being in
inseparable and
mankind. our reality.
integrated.
Moral argument – man’s
ethical nature is brought
about by the existence of
10 God.
Three Main
our office

Spiritual
Philosophies

11
HINDUISM
Brahman Is Self-Hood

12
 ONE OF THE OLDEST EASTERN
TRADITIONS, PRACTICED BY HUNDREDS
OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FOR ABOUT 5,
000 YRS.

Goal Belief Terms:

• • God, first created sound and the Brahman or Atman – Absolute Soul
Quest for absolute
universe arose from it.
truth. Karma – law or sowing and reaping
• Human being’s have a dual nature:
• Liberation (moksha) Moksha – liberation of the spirit
one is the spiritual and immortal
of spirit (jiva) essence (soul); the other is empirical Jiva – spirit
• life and character. Samsara – Humanities life is a
Oneness of reality
• Soul is eternal but is bound by the law continuous cycle.
of Karma (action) to the world of
matter.

14
BELIEFS

Values Belief Terms:

Four values: Humanity’s life - continuous cycle Upanishads – spiritual core
(samsara).
• Wealth of the Hindus; last chapter of
Humanity’s reality – attainment of Vedas
• Pleasure self-knowledge
• Duty Duty: to achieve self-knowledge
• Enlightenment in order to achieve self-
annihilation and absorption into
the Great Self.

15
 Unlike other major religions, Hinduism
doesn’t consider the pursuit of wealth as a
sin.

In fact, we celebrate wealth in the form

of many gods such as Lakshmi, Kubera
and Vishnu. Hinduism has a 4 level
hierarchy –  Dharma (pursuit of
philosophy, religion and doing duties to
society), Artha (pursuit of livelihood,
wealth, and power), Kama (pursuit of
pleasures including sexual/sensual)
and Moksha (liberation) and we
progress from the top to bottom.
16
BUDDHIS
M
Tears to Enlightenement

17
Background:

- Founder: Siddhartha Gautama or the Buddha

- Began searching for answers to the riddle of life’s sufferings, disease, old
age, and death and find that the solution lays in his own mind.
- Gautama’s life was devoted to sharing his “Dharma” or Law of Salvation.

Belief:
- The transformation of one’s mind and that liberation could come only with
a sloughing off of all vain clinging to the things of this life.
- The way to salvation lies through self-abnegation, rigid discipline of mind
and body, a consuming love for all creatures, and the final achievement of
that state of consciousness which marks an individuals full preparation for
entering the NIRVANA (enlightened wisdom).

19
Works:

- Teaching of the Four Noble Truths leading to the Eightfold Path

1. Life is full of suffering

2. Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts, cravings
3. Only as these are obliterated will suffering cease
4. Such as eradication of desire may be accomplished only by following the
Eightfold path of earnest endeavor.

20
Works:

- The Eightfold Path

1. Right belief in and acceptance of the “Fourfold Truth”

2. Right aspiration for one’s self and for others
3. Right speech that harms no one
4. Right conduct
5. Right means of livelihood
6. Right endeavor
7. Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought
8. Right meditation

21
Works:

- FOUR STATES OF SUBLIME CONDITIONS

- love, sorrow of others, joy and joy of others and equanimity as regards one’s
own joy and sorrows.

22
THE BIBLICAL
GOD AND
HUMANITY
23
 Religion

- God is a constant presence, rather

- Three Grades of Levels of
than a being whose a existence is Existence
accepted as the best explanation
of available evidence. - Mere being, living being, and
- Not atheism but polytheism: not rational being
the denial of God but the worship
of too many gods.

25
 St. Augustine of Hippo
- Augustine’s writing is considered to
be the most influential in the early
medieval period.
- Philosophy is amor sapiental: the
love of wisdom; its aim is to
produce happiness. Hence,
philosophy is the love of God; it is
then, religious.
- Christianity is the only full and true
philosophy.

26
PHILOSOPHY AND THE
HUMAN PERSON
 VIEWS ON HUMAN NATURE

The Self as innate

The self is an essential
part of the human The Self as emergent The Self as integrated
being, and self- Holds that awareness and developing
awareness is natural of the self is gained Holds that the self is
and innate. Religious through interaction composed of varied
views consider the with the world and elements that change
concept of self as other human beings. over time.
synonymous to the
spirit or soul.
PERSONHOOD
L I M I TAT I O N S O F T H E
HUMAN PERSON
FACTICITY
includes all those properties that other people can
establish about a person:
 natural properties such as weight, height, and skin
color
 social facts such as race, class, and nationality
 psychological properties such as my web of belief,
desires, and character traits
 historical facts such as my past actions, my family
background, and my broader historical milieu; and so
on.
SPATIAL-TEMPORAL BEING
 limitation is our finitude – our finite quality
or state.
 we are limited by our bodies to be present in
two or more places at the same time.
 we are limited by space (spatial) and time
(temporal).
 our spatial-temporal situation sets our
preconditions of understanding.
THE BODY AS INTERMEDIARY
 means acting as a mediator
 our body serves as an intermediary between
us and the physical world.
 our body limits our experience of the world
to our world.
 “I am my Body”
LIMITATIONS CAN
LEAD TO
POSSIBILITIES
FA C T I C I T Y
S PAT I A L -
TEMPOR
AL BEING
THE BODY AS INTERMEDIARY
 L I M I TAT I O N S
AND
POSSIBILITIES
FOR
TRANSCENDENC
E
 TRANSCENDENCE

 Our mind is an important tool that allows us to go beyond many of our physical
limits. Although we have these physical limitations, we can transcend them
because of our spiritual dimension. As human persons, we have natural tendencies
or inclinations. Some of these are felt bodily functions like hunger, fatigue, etc.
transcendence means overcoming oneself or being in control even if the body
reminds us of certain tendencies. 

 Each individual carries within himself the possibility of transcending his limits by
exerting enough effort and perseverance. Philosophy gives us useful tools to
explore our limits and possibilities.
REMEMB
ER
 THE HUMAN BODY IN IMPOSING LIMITS AND POSSIBILITIES

BODILY LIMITATIONS

 mental and emotional disorders (e.g. anxiety, intellectual disability)

 disabilities (e.g. amputated leg, deafness)
 disease and illnesses (e.g. hypertension, cough)
 failures and experiences (e.g. failing a subject)

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITATIONS

 socioeconomic status
 location of neighborhood (e.g. armed, disorganized, or violent neighborhood)
 abusive relationships (e.g. emotional abuse)
 negative influences (e.g. drug use)
 OVERCOMING LIMITATIONS

 Bodily limits can be tested by trying on new experiences and working on challenges
with increasing levels of difficulty. The human body, if given enough exposure to
any situation, can attain a goal with efficiency.
 Social and environmental limitations are more difficult to overcome than bodily
limitations because they involve the influence of other people and the external
world. However, with a proper mindset, clearly defined goals, and motivation to
rise above challenges, one may successfully overcome his or her limitations.
 Recognize and evaluate own limitations and possibilities for
transcendence

Some point to remember when going beyond your limits:

 you are connected to the external or eternal world

 challenges are learning opportunities
 your goal is more important than your fears
 think outside the box
 recognize that everyone has fears