SECOND QUARTER

HUMAN LIVING OR WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE

HUMAN IN SOCIETY AND ORIENTED TOWARDS
DEATH

Topic 7: Society and the Human Person

 
Society and the Human Person

Objective

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to

a. understand the nature of social institutions and the
important concepts of justice and equality
b. Develop a sense of nationhood

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Society Defined

-IS COMPOSED OF PEOPLE ASSSIGNED TO

PERFORM A DEFINITE TASK AND FUNCTION IN A
SOCIAL SYSTEM CALLED SOCIAL INSTITUTION

-FAMILY: Basic Unit of Society

-GROUP: CONSTITUTED BY TWO OR MORE

PERSONS WHO INTERACT TOGETHER AND ARE
TOGETHER PHYSICALLY

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society Defined

SOCIAL CATEGORY - IS AN
AGGLOMERATION WHERE MEMBERS
POSSESS COMMON IDENTIFYING
STATUS CHARACTERISTICS BUT DO
NOT INTERACT SOCIALLY

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• We long for a society which provides equal
opportunities to all. It is the longing of many
Filipinos who, in many situations, have sacrificed
their basic liberties to pursue their life dreams. It
is also the longing of many Filipinos who in their
dire economic situation have been deprived of
human development and social justice.
• In situations like this, we are tempted to let go of
life’s ideals like honesty, integrity and justice and
cling to only what is practical for survival.
DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person

The Social and the Interpersonal

• The lost of compassion and solidarity, and
the emphasis solely on instrumental and
functional relationships have created a
society of greed and indifference.
• Paul Ricoeur profoundly gives us an
enlightening interpretation of the Parable of
the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal

“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to

Jericho, and fell among thieves, who also stripped
and wounded him…And it so happened that a
Priest went down the same way…In like manner a
Levite also passed by…But a certain Samaritan
being on his journey came near him and seeing
him, was moved with compassion…which of these
three men, in thy opinion, was a neighbor to him
that fell among the thieves?...”

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
 Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• The narrative illuminates the meaning of the
interpersonal and social dimensions of human
existence.
• Sociology, in its attempt to organize human relations
by providing roles for social order and harmony
sometimes lose sight of the sense of compassion and
solidarity.
• In the parable, we are represented by priest and the
Levite who assume roles in society yet in complete
disregard of anything beyond our roles.
DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• Are we not in many times imprisoned by our roles to
the point that we miss the “presence” of persons who
come before us?
• Are we not carried away by our work to the point that
we do nor relate with others in an interpersonal way?
• The expression “This is only my job” rightfully captures
the reality of functional relationships.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• The Good Samaritan, who too has a role to play, went
beyond his functional life out of compassion. It is for
this reason that he experienced the “presence” of the
victim, the neighbor in the parable.
• Indeed, there is no science to teach us what it means to
be a neighbor to others.
• This is what it means to be human, that is, when we go
beyond our roles, our biases, and reach out to others
out of compassion and solidarity.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• Take note that the Good Samaritan is an outcast during
his times. He was looked down upon by Jews as sinful
and dirty, and therefore, undeserving of any attention
or regard.
• However, despite his situation, that never held him
back to be human, to be a neighbor to others.
• Maybe it is good to ask what is holding us back to
experience a truly enriching human relationship.
• It could be our past, our reputation, or even our titles
and roles. Yet, it is in reaching out, in being a part in
the healing of others, that we are healed.
DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• Ricoeur says that “the socius is the person I
attain through his social function: the relation to
the socius is a mediate relation: it attains man in
this or that capacity.”
• The State provides this mediation through the
roles it gives to every person. This mediation,
being the role, assumes a relationship of
instrumentality. Being in the state, we are
expected to conform to social standards.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
 Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• This is good to a certain extent for it promotes order in
society. However, to allow oneself to be limited by the
role provided by society all for the reasons of comfort and
convenience is not enough. At times, our humanity cries
out in us to let go of what is so good about us, to be
moved with compassion, and in the end, see the roles as
opportunities for us to be human to one another.
• Here, we take public order in a different level. Dialetically,
in a just society, persons can co-exist with and for each
other through the service of the institution.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
The Social and the Interpersonal
• In a dialectic relationship, the interpersonal and the
social do not contradict or oppose each other. Society
can provide social structures that create opportunities
of what it means to be human, upholding social
liberties and social justice whereby each individual
realizes the fullness of his humanity at the service of
humanity.
• In this sense, society defines our way of life and our
way of life defines society too in a dialectic relationship.
Both are enriched in the end.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Justice and Liberal Equality
• Let us first discuss the social contract tradition associated
in modern political theory with proponents like Thomas
Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and
Immanuel Kant.
• Hobbes: individuals must surrender a part of their
freedom to the state or sovereign. He calls the sovereign
Leviathan. It stands on the assumption that human
nature is basically selfish. For reasons of order and
harmony, a part of our freedom should be sacrificed by
submitting ourselves to the political authority of the
state.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
 Society and the Human Person
Justice and Liberal Equality
• John Locke: He stands on the assumption that human nature is
not a state of war. The aim of government is the preservation
of liberty, property, life, and well-being in general.
• Jean Jacques Rousseau: The original state of nature is not
chaotic. However, as society progressed and developed,
people have to respond to social ills and political problems
brought about by such change.
• He proposed the general Will whereby people surrender their
will to a collective, where each individual is committed for the
good of society and society likewise is committed to the well-
being of each person.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Justice and Liberal Equality
• Kant: a human person is an end in itself. Therefore, the
state is committed to the protection of his dignity by
uncompromisingly ensuring his basic freedom no
matter what.
• Rawls: “Each person possesses an inviolability founded
on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole
cannot override (mining at the expense of tribal
Filipinos; war against drugs).
• This is to protect each individual from political
bargaining or from the premise of upholding the
interest of the majority.
DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Justice and Liberal Equality
• Rawls believes that we cannot do away with social
inequalities in terms of wealth and positions in society. For
as long as the state provides equal opportunities to all in a
fair competition, inequalities in wealth and positions are just.
• What matters most in the face of these inequalities is that
the poor are not left off in terms of benefitting from this
wealth and positions.
• Will Kymlicka supports this by saying that “liberal equality
does not mean the removal of all inequalities, but only those
that do not benefit the worst off.”

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Justice and Liberal Equality
• Rawls provides in his work Theory of Justice states that
“justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made
right by a greater good shared by others,” and for this
reason, “it does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a
few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed
by many.”
• Two Guiding Principles of the Rawlsian Theory:
a. Each person has the same indefeasible claim to a fully
adequate scheme of equal basic liberties, which scheme is
compatible with same liberties for all (freedom of conscience,
freedom of association, of speech, right to suffrage, right to
hold public office)
DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Justice and Liberal Equality
b. Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two
conditions:
b.1. They are to be attached to offices and positions
open to all under conditions of fair equality and
opportunity;
b.2. They are to be to the greatest benefit of the least-
advantaged members of society
Robert Nozick: Challenged Rawl’s Distributive Theory and
argued, with Kant’s “man as an end in itself”, that the state
should limit its role in terms of protecting the people
against force, theft, and fraud.
DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Justice and Liberal Equality
• He appealed to the Kantian Principle by putting forward
man’s liberty in terms of his entitlements to wealth and
property. (Capitalist Society)
• Research on the Tax Reform Bill, Reproductive Health Bill,
Government’s War against drugs, removal of
contractualization in the labor force)

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Democracy and Human Development
• Nobel Prize Winner Amartya Sen: “Development can be
seen as a process of expanding the real freedoms that
people enjoy.”
• Democracy is about enabling people to achieve the kind of
life worthy of their dignity as persons.
• Sen believes that just and equitable approach to
development must be based on human capabilities. You do
what you find as most meaningful for you and this entitles
you to a just and decent life.
• Equality not only in income and basic goods, but in basic
freedoms and capabilities which empower people.
DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Democracy and Human Development
• Democracy is all about empowering people most especially the
poor and neglected sectors in our society.
• People should have a say in policy-making and the crafting of
laws.
• Freedom of Information Bill: enables people to know what is
going on in government, the programs of politicians and how
taxes are spent so that in case of irregularities, people could
raised questions and so participate in the process for good
governance.
• Party List System: does it really represent the poor sectors of
society?

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Global Justice
Situationer:
• Unfair distribution of the world’s resources
• Unfair trade policies
• Third World: violence, corruption and lack of infrastructure
• Thomas Nagel: Duty of Assistance to mitigate the undue
advantage of rich nations in the area of trade liberalization
• Thomas Pogge: Duty of Assistance not enough
• He advocates the re-distribution of global wealth through a
Global Difference Principle in order to compensate for the
perpetual exploitation of the natural resources of poor countries.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Society and the Human Person
Global Justice
• It seeks to open economic borders and end protectionist
policies which are detrimental to the global poor.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Let’s Wrap Up
A. Focus Questions
1. Why is the Good Samaritan symbolic of the inter-
personal encounter?
2. What is the difference between Hobbes’ and Locke’s
contractarian traditions?
3. What is the meaning of Social Justice?
4. What is human development?
5. Why is there social inequality even in democracies?

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Let’s Wrap Up
B. Class Activity

Bring to class a newspaper clipping about a recent

political issue. Form a group of four members and
discuss the newspaper clipping. Assign a secretary
to make a summary of the discussion.

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION
Let’s Wrap Up
C. It’s time to reflect

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains,

but to live in a way that respects and enhances the
freedom of others.”

-Nelson Mandela

DEPARTMENT OF
i EDUCATION