INTRODUCTION TO THE

PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN
PERSON
 RECOGNIZING HOW THE
HUMAN BODY IMPOSES LIMITS
AND POSSIBILITIES FOR
TRANCENDENCE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

01 02

DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT EXPOUND THE IDEA ABOUT

PERSPECTIVE OF ABOUT LIMITATIONS IMPOSED BY
THE LIMITATIONS THAT THE TH HUMAN BODY
BODY IMPOSES THROUGH THE
LIMITATIONS OF ONES
WILL, DESIRES AND
EMOTIONS, INTELLECT.
AUGUSTINE: LIMITATION OF THE WILL

For Augustine, the union of the body and the soul composes the nature of the man,
however the soul administer or governs the body since the body is subject to
corruption and sin.
Augustine, claimed that the soul acts upon the body through the ‘’instrumentality of
the brain’’
Augustine identified the human condition with ‘’ignorance’’ and ‘’difficulty’’
The body dies when it is separated from the soul.
Human is less reliable than the divine authority because human authority is subject to
error.
Augustine: EVIL

 For Augustine, evil is natural phenomenon that occurs from the human will.

 Evil exist as a consequence of man’s exercise of his free will. For him the
suffering, diseases, and even the original sin exist because men have chosen to
do corrupt activities.

 It its important to take note that Augustine perspective of the human free will
was initially positive because the soul desires to live an upright life by
following the eternal laws, however , this free will of men also allowed them
to openly choose corrupt activities.
Augustine: Possibility for transcendence

 The possibility for transcendence of man could be attributed to the human soul that God
gave to men
 ‘’the human soul Is living, incorporeal, spiritual, rational substance, which is vitally and
potentially present in the body as the principle of all its operations’’.
 However the soul administers the body virtually and potentially. The soul never dies.
 The human soul Is immortal because this is where the immortal truth dwells. Therefore,
the eternal law , which was entailed in the truth was given by Divine authority to the soul.
Thomas Aquinas: Limitations of human

 Aquinas believed that people inherited the sin of their first parent Adam, this is
the reason why the human body was been corrupted by sin since then.

 The human body is deprived of goodness because of the evil .

 Moreover, even if men has the gift of reason. The ability of men to gain
knowledge is limited. This is the reason why we cannot comprehend God. Human
knowledge is limited and very small compared to God’s knowledge and wisdom.
Thomas Aquinas: Possibility for transcendence

 For Aquinas, human beings should exercise their reason properly to

achieve human goodness.
 We also needs God’s help to restore the goodness of our nature.
Hinduism

 Limitations of the human body is its desire for virtue, wealth and other bodily
pleasures. This indicates the concentration of oneself to ones body, which
Hinduism condemns
 Hinduism advices those who want to repent from his or her desires for material
wealth and bodily pleasures to undergo acentric discipline to completely free
oneself from notion that world is the reality, meditation is also advised to be
exercised.
 Hindus believe that the main purpose of life is to seek the truth and reach the
brahmans or atman (absolute soul)
Buddhism

 Similar to Hindu belief, Buddhism also believe that life undergoes a cycle of reincarnation
or samsara that is governed by ones karma
 Life is an endless suffering yet it is impermanent.
 To reach transcendence, a person must seek the truth and live to its principles. Similar to
buddha, a person must seek enlightenment
 The first step to reach enlightenment is to understand the 4 noble truth and 8 fold path.
 Take note that Buddhism does not believed in Gods, buddha would not want focus on the
past because it is incomprehensive and would cause deviation from present.