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Philosophy of the Human Person
Human Person: Viewed from Four Perspectives
A.
Origin
1. Theory of Divine Origin – bible-based story of creation
2. Theory of Evolution – man came from simpler life form
Darwinism – it states that man came from apes
B.
Composition1
1. Monism – it states that man is just made up of matter or body, nothing else.
2. Dualism – it states that man is made up of body and soul. 2
a. man is matter and spirit
- Two separate entities, which interact regularly.
b. man is matter-spirit
- A fusion. The soul cannot exist without the body. The body cannot exist without the
soul.
3. Tripartite – it states that man is made up of body-soul-spirit.3
a. body – the outer part of man (sensing part)
b. soul – the inner part of man (mind, emotions, will)
c. Spirit – innermost part of man by which he can commune with God.
…kasama ng espiritu ng tao ang katawan sa pag-unlad ng personalidad…sinisikap
ng pilosopiya na bigyan ng wastong pagpapahalaga sa katawan bilang tunay na
sangkap ng pagkatao ng tao. Ang tao ay hindi lamang MAY katawan kundi siya din
AY katawan…Ang ating pagkukulang sa pagpapahalaga at paggalang sa katawan ay
siya ring pagkukulang sa pagpapahalaga at paggalang sa pagkatao ng tao. Hindi
sinasabi rito na dapat labisan ang pagpapahalaga sa katawan, sapagkat marami rin
halimbawa ng kasiraan ng tao na nagmumula sa labis na pagpalayaw sa katawan. 4
…Ganap ang pagkaisa ng katawan at personalidad ng isang tao. Kaya kung ano
ang gawin sa katawan ng isang tao ay siya rin ang ginagawa sa pagkatao niya. Ito
ang dahilan kung bakit ang kawalan ng sapat na pagkain para sa katawan ng isang
sanggol ay kasalanan din laban sa kanyang katauhan…ang pagsampal ay insulto sa
tao at hindi lamang sa mukha…5
The western thinkers dichotomize the body and the soul. The Easterners, though they give vague names to parts, always take
the subject as whole entity. This is so because Eastern Philosophy tends to avoid cutting up and compartmentalizing life and
knowledge. In fact, for the Easterners, division of philosophies is hardly acceptable.
2 Plato: the body is the prison of the soul; Aristotle: the body is the matter which the soul informs; Descartes: body is the res
extensa (an extended thing) and the soul is res cogitans (a thinking thing).
3 Chinese Philosophy >> Tzuch’an: p’o (returns to earth when the person dies) VS hun (higher being); Indian Philosophy >> Zen
Buddhism: shin (feelings, memory, intellect) VS sho (True Self, Buddha Nature); Filipino Philosophy >> Ilocanos: al-alia (al-al >
breath/spirit) vis-à-vis karurua (soul); Tagalogs: kaluluwa (soul of the deceased) vis-à-vis kakambal (malay = consciousness >
soul of the living); Cebuano Visayan: Kalag (soul of the deceased) vis-à-vis Kaluha (soul of the living). Bible (Hebrew-Greek)>>
soul (nephesh-psyche) stands for the natural man VS spirit (ruach-pneuma) is the ethical factor which adds the relationship of
man with God. [A duck is oriented to swimming, but one can raise a duck without allowing it to swim. The result is an unfulfilled
duck which will always yearn for water as fulfillment. Allowing the duck to swim is like giving the spirit].
4 Hornedo, Florentino H. UST Journal of Graduate Research V.19, No.22, pp.97-108. 1990.
5 Ibid.
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C.
Essence
1. Rationalist View – man has reason
2. Religious View – man is created in the image and likeness of God. He is the highest
creation.
3. Scientific View
a. Biological View – man is like any other part of nature.
b. Behaviorist View – man can be manipulated, formed, developed like any other animal.
D.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Distinctive Traits
Reason
Love
Language
Inventive / creative
Social and political (conduct, rules and laws)
6.
7.
8.
9.
Conscious of history
Aesthetic appreciation
Morality and values
Religious
The Nature of Man
A.
Man is by nature good6.
Man is a being endowed with natural capacities of feeling, thinking and reasoning, which makes
him capable of making free choices. It is this capacity of deciding that determines the kind of
person he will become (voluntarism)7. It is this capacity that enforces him to reach selfperfection, but of course, it requires will and power to obtain it. Every conscious individual acts
for the sake of an end or purpose, and that purpose would always be for the good…an end, which
is suitable or good to him.
B.
Man is by nature evil.
We may view this in relation to the divine origin. God created man good, but after the fall, man
became evil by nature. Due to the sinfulness of our first parents (Adam and Eve), every
individual is corrupt/evil because we inherited the sinfulness of our ancestors. Man is selfish,
arrogant, and untrustworthy and belligerent since his behavior is determined largely by the desire
to gain profit and to accumulate wealth for him whatever the means is.
C.
Man’s nature is neither good nor evil, but neutral.
Man is neither good nor evil; but with great potentials for good and evil. Whatever becomes of
him is the result of the influences of his total environment and greatly the workings of his mind.
Can Man’s Nature be changed?
Of course, man’s nature can be changed. Man’s nature can be comparable to clay which can be
molded or shaped as desired, that is why, education is very essential.
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Man is part of nature. And nature is good. Therefore, man, too, is good.
Voluntarism is the view that the nature of man to make and remake himself is by his own free acts.
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AUTHENTICITY VS. INAUTHENTICITY
Authenticity is a technical term in existentialist8 philosophy. In this philosophy, the conscious self is seen
as coming to terms with other beings and bumping into external forces, pressures and influences which
are very different from itself. Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality,
spirit, or character, despite these pressures.
Perhaps the earliest account of authenticity that remains popular is Socrates' admonition that the
"unexamined" life is not worth living.
Authenticity is seen as a very general concept, not attached to any particular political or social ideology.
In this manner, authenticity is connected with creativity: the impetus to action must arise from the person
in question, and not be externally imposed.





Something to be pursued as a goal intrinsic to "the good life."
Intrinsically difficult, due in part to social pressures to live inauthentically.
A condition, where one perceives oneself, other people, and sometimes even things, in a radically
new way.
Carries with it its own set of moral obligations.
Can be obtained regardless of race, gender and class.
Martin Heidegger associated authenticity with non-technological modes of existence, seeing technology
as distorting a more "authentic" relationship with the natural world.
Most writers on inauthenticity, nowadays, considered the predominant cultural norms to be inauthentic
because they were seen as forced on people; examples of which are the ideas of advertising, Karl Marx’s
notion of alienation and race relations.
Authenticity means creating our own comprehensive life-meanings —our "Authentic projects-of-being".
When we re-center and re-integrate our lives around our freely-chosen purposes, we become more
focused, unified, & decisive. We gain greater autonomy and increase our capacity to resist and
transcend enculturation.
Becoming More Authentic: The Positive Side of Existentialism
by James Park
(An excerpt)
Cast into the blind, purposeless whirl of existence, we must either choose our own lives or have our lives
chosen for us by the social forces already in operation when we were born. There are no given,
Automatic meanings in human life. We human beings must create whatever goals we will pursue.
I.
From Conformity to Autonomy
But before we can even consider inventing our own life-purposes, we must become wellintegrated, thoughtful persons. Becoming adult persons requires years of learning and growing.
Each of us grew up in a fully-developed human culture, replete with rules, regulations, & assumed
life-meanings.
Even if we are not pleased with the enculturation we received, there was no way to avoid or skip
that part of human development. We had to become integrated conformists before we could
consider becoming more autonomous.
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SEE THE ATTACHED PAPER ON EXISTENTIALISM
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The process of education itself empowers us to look back on the social processes that created
us. When we understand our own enculturation, we can begin to resist and transcend that
socialization. Autonomy means being self-governing—from the Greek for self (autos) and law
(nomos). We can become more autonomous thru a long process of making free choices.
II. Centering and Integrating
The social forces and expectations all around us (beginning first with our parents, then later our
peers) will shape us into persons who are centered around society's goals. If we make no truly
free choices for ourselves, we will find that we are pursuing the assumed purposes-in-life that
surrounded us where we grew up: money, achievement, marriage, children, pleasure, & religion.
However, thru a process of trial and error, we can decide how best to re-center and re-integrate
our lives, this time around purposes we have freely chosen, rather than the values and meanings
we inherited from the culture.
III. Authentic Projects-of-Being
We are what we pursue. If we want to become more Authentic, we will devise our own reasons
for living, which might go beyond what anyone has ever tried before. Our first Authentic project or
task is to explore, imagine, & experiment with various life-meanings until we devise a set of
purposes and goals that seem worthy of our comprehensive efforts.
My Authentic project-of-being is helping others to become Existentially Free—which means living
beyond their existential anxiety, meaninglessness, loneliness, despair, depression, etc. A
preliminary purpose is helping others to become more Authentic, which is the basic function of
this cyber-sermon.
If you were completely free, how would you use your life? You might decide to pursue a
contemplative life, in which you give your time to your interior development and possibly to the
spiritual development of other persons.
At the another extreme, you might devote yourself to a comprehensive ecological project,
intended to save the planet—or at least some part of the eco-system. Or you might focus your
life around reforming or replacing some social institution that needs to be changed: Ending
violence against woman; Making schools less conformity-producing and more liberating;
Correcting the problems of the 'correction' system (prison reform); Establishing new institutions to
enhance human life in some practical, intellectual, or spiritual ways.
The possible Authentic projects-of-being that have never been tried far exceed the purposes-forliving with which we are familiar. Where do your talents and interests intersect with something
that needs to be done?
IV. Five Versions of Authentic Existence
The concept of Authenticity has deep and strong roots in existential philosophy and psychology.
Five thinkers will be discussed here, each with a slightly different approach to the quest for
meaning.
Albert Camus: Rebelling Against the Absurd.
The French philosopher and novelist Albert Camus (1913-1960) describes our Existential Malaise
as absurdity. The life into which we find ourselves thrown is absurd. But instead of giving up
right away because life has no meaning, we can take absurdity as a challenge to create our own
meanings. Because there are no given absolutes, we must choose life-goals that are limited and
relative, without deceiving ourselves that our values are ultimate and absolute. Besides rejection
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of the gods (denial of all given meanings), Camus recommends in his philosophy and illustrates in
his novels a hatred of death and a passion for life.
Jean-Paul Sartre: Inventing Meaning in a Meaningless World.
Another French philosopher and playwright, Jean-Paul Sartre, was a contemporary of Camus
(Sartre lived from 1905-1980.)
Sartre describes our Existential Predicament as
meaninglessness. The people of the world are very busy doing things. But they do not usually
realize the ultimate futility of their efforts. However, when we are bitten by the meaninglessness
bug, this can stimulate us to put ourselves into gear toward creating our own meanings in a world
initially devoid of meaning. We create meaning by moving away from 'bad faith' (trying to become
identified with our roles or temperaments) and creating our own comprehensive projects. Then
our everyday activities can be organized toward the fulfillment of whatever we choose as our
ultimate purposes in life.
Martin Heidegger: Confronting Existential Guilt and Death.
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is the German existential philosopher who gives the most
systematic account of our Existential Predicament (focusing especially on existential anxiety,
guilt, & being-towards-death). He also has the most to say about how we become more
Authentic. We are born into the 'they', into a fully-scripted, well-organized on-going social
structure. And we will remain absorbed in the 'they' for our whole lives unless we discover how to
become more Authentic. If we pay attention to our vague awareness of death, this discovery of
the deepest part of our beings will empower us to wrench ourselves free from the clutches of the
'they'. We can then become whole and resolute if we harness the power of guilt and death (our
Existential Malaise) as the driving force behind our freely-chosen life-meanings.
Søren Kierkegaard: Willing One Thing.
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is often called the father of existentialism. Before anyone else,
he exposed the routine ways of life that possessed his contemporaries (and which still shape the
lives of most people). Instead of remaining well-adjusted conformists, we can purify our hearts by
willing one thing. Kierkegaard describes in great detail the process of living more Authentically.
Perhaps we will never achieve our goals (as Kierkegaard was not recognized during his life-time).
But we are responsible for making sure that we live each day clearly focused around one thing.
Abraham Maslow: Becoming Self-Actualizing.
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) is an American psychologist best known for his concept of "selfactualization".
Instead of spending our lives trying to satisfy our deficiency needs,
we can become more self-actualizing by creating and pursuing meaningful life-purposes.
We are self-actualizing if we pursue meanings and values beyond ourselves and our families.
We transcend our earlier concern for what other people think and focus instead on being the
persons we choose to be. In short, we grow away from conformity toward autonomy.
Conclusion:
Becoming more Authentic is not a sudden, once-for-all change. Rather we move from conformity
toward greater autonomy by the daily choices we make. We can either remain well-adjusted members
of society, pursuing all the conventional purposes in the approved ways. Or we can re-create
ourselves by deciding and then consistently pursuing whatever we regard as worthy of our deepest
efforts. In Maslow's challenge: Are we making the safe choices or the growth choices?
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CRITICISM
Authenticity has its paradoxical components.
Sartre pointed to the conflict between seeing the self as unique and different from the world, but the self is
embedded in a world which clearly contains other such beings; thus, as a doctrine, authenticity can be
thought to be self-defeating.
Authenticity involves some compromise to allow unique individuals to co-exist in a way which is
acceptable to all of them. Therefore public ethics or morality may be a limit on authenticity.
Those who advocate social reform value the study of authenticity since it can provide a radical manifesto
and an overview of the shortcomings of social structures.
The Human Person in Social Experience:
Man is by nature relational, social and political. Man is necessarily related to other human beings, to
other living things, to non-living things, to history and events, and to a Supreme Being.
No man is an island.
 Martin Heidegger in his Being and Time says:
Man is a being-in-the-world
 Emmanuel Levinas in his Totality and Infinity affirms:
Man is a being-for-the-other
 According to Karol Wojtyla in his Philosophy of the Acting Person:
Man comes to know of himself more through others
 Aristotle, too, in his book III, chapter IV of his Politics asserts: Man is by nature a political9 animal.
And therefore, man, even when they do not require one another’s help desire to live together.
 Paul Ricoeur in his History and Truth says:
Every society is politically structured. Politics is intrinsically inculcated in human. It is a facticity.
Supporting argument: to KNOW and to LOVE are the two basic human acts. And these basic acts
are directed towards the “other.” Thus, “others” are presupposed in human dealings and relations.
Human existence is social.
Objections:
1. Genuine understanding is personal and subjective.
2. Genuine aesthetic judgment is personal and subjective.
3. Value judgment is personal and subjective.
4. The task of becoming oneself is a solitary task.
Objections to the Objections:
 Human activity as social does not mean that the person is dependent on others but also in
the sense that the human activity is done for-the-others. Our unfolding of ourselves cannot
take place without the influence of others. Our existence is an existence through the others.
Our existence is an existence through the others.
Man learns, feels, thinks, and plays with and through others. The world would be meaningless without
the human person. This field of meaning (through language 10) is interwoven with human activities and
For Aristotle, politics is not a narrow examination of governmental structures, but is rather the study of a whole way of life of a
people.
10 Language exists because it is spoken by human beings.
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vice versa. Man sees in the actions of others the realization of his own possibilities. Person’s activities
are social not only because he performs them with others but also because he learns them from others,
executes them with others according to accepted patterns and does them for his fellowmen.
Togetherness is a focal point of values.
Our being-with-others is a value. Togetherness is fundamental value of our human existence and other
values assert themselves within this value. Examples: we go to parties not because of food and drinks
alone, but rather for the sake of being with others. We go out and play and entertain ourselves but we do
it preferably with others. We wanted to be appreciated by others in any simple manner. The scientists
need to tell others of his discovery. Our wanting to be alone is more often than not a search for a more
intimate way of being with fellowman. The value of achievement and the joy accompanying it are doubled
when shared with others. The fulfillment of being with others is primary in our life… and usefulness is
only secondary.
Our existence is an existence for one another.
We don’t only work for ourselves; more so, we work for others. When others appreciate our work, we
gain self-confidence. Self-confidence is necessary for us to build our personhood. But self-confidence is
not possible for us to attain without others having confidence in us. And for others to have confidence in
us, we have to show them that we are capable of doing something meaningful for them. In fact and in
truth, our existence becomes meaningful only when others accept it also as meaningful. We need our
being-needed by others for ourselves.
Conclusion: no man is outside the domain of the society and politics. The genuine “being-for-others” is
being at the service of others that promotes the existence of the other for his own sake.
MODELS OF SOCIAL EXPERIENCE
Models of social
experience
Organic
Model
Stages in the development of human
consciousness
Human being is immersed in the stream of the
community’s will and consciousness.
(Subservient-extreme obedience)
Negative Aspect
Pre-established norm is the
highest court: not
conducive to the
development of the
individual.
Mechanistic
Model
Communicative
Model
Positive Aspect
Social problems can
be easily monitored
and resolved.
Human individual emerges and starts to affirm
himself. (Assertive-aggressive)
Negative Aspect
Lack of solidity and
comprehensiveness of
human relationship.
Suspicions and doubts
begin to dominate.
Stages of social
development
Pre-modern
archaic
communities
Modern societal
structures
Positive Aspect
Liberates the
individual from the
bondage of the
community.
Human person recognizes mutual
interdependence. (Balanced personhood)
Ideal social
structure
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Values
How men
function in the
world
Human needs
Goal
Means
Ego is the center of
an oppressive
environment
Ego seeks to belong
by approval
Self acts and
initiates creativity
independently
Self acts as WE with
others
Physical needs: food, warmth, sex,
shelter, clothing
Self-preservation
(survival)
Safety
Social needs: acceptance,
approval, achievement
Personal fulfillment: meaning,
insight
Self-worth11
Education
Self-actualization
Independence
World community: harmony, peace
and beauty
Truth, life, love,
wisdom
Togetherness
How to Treat Others as Seen by Philosophers:
Human persons have two basic attitudes or standpoint of relating to the world

Orientation – it is when one takes the world/people as a static state of affairs governed by
comprehensible laws. It is a receptive, analytical, or systematizing attitude. Generally, we
enter into relationships not with the fullness of our being but only with some fraction of it.
This is the I-It relationship, in which other beings are reduced to mere objects or in social
relations (e.g., boss and worker) wherein persons are treated largely as tools or
conveniences. This form of relationship enables the manipulation of man by man.

Realization – it is a creative, participative attitude that realizes the possibilities in things,
experiencing one's own full reality of the world with the Other. It operates within an open
horizon of possibilities. The I-Thou relationship, between man and man, is that which when
both parties enter in the fullness of their being – as in a great love at its highest moment or in
an ideal friendship.
The full, OPEN relation between beings is essentially "dialogical.” It is the relation between
an I and a thou; between the whole of a person and the fullness of another being. Such a
relation requires an OPENING UP to what is other than oneself.
The OPEN and TRANSCENDENT being is AUTHENTIC. It is authentic because his being is
at the service of Others…that promotes the existence of the Other (for his own sake).
 Here, the being-for-the-other and the being-through-the-other emerge.
 Here, in being a person-for-others, the ‘self’ finds fulfillment of his own existence
without the ‘self’ intending it.
…malikhain ang tao. Dahil may katawan ang tao, nagagawa niya ang nais ng kanyang kalooban…nililikha niya ang
kasaysayan. At ang kahulugan ng kasaysayan na ito ay hindi lamang ang mga bagay na nagawa (products) o pangyayari
(events), kundi KABULUHAN (meaning or significance)…mahalaga sa tao ang paggawa (work) kung gayon, dahil sa paggawa,
nililikha niya ang kasaysayan…at dahil dito, kapag ang tao ay walang trabaho, nakakabawas ito sa kanyang dignidad. Ang
kawalan ng trabaho ay maaaring dahil sa katamaran o kasalatan sa gawain. Alinman dito, nakapagpapababa pa rin ng
dignidad…Nakikilala ang SARILI sa gawa. Ito ay dahil mababakas sa kanyang mga gawa ang kalooban (subjectivity) ng tao.
(Hornedo, Florentino H. UST Journal of Graduate Research V.19, No.22, pp.97-108. 1990)
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
Paul Ricoeur’s “The Socius and the Neighbor” says there are two ways of relating to others:
1. Personal (Neighbor) – immediate (Natural)
- The Neighbor is the personal way I encounter another person, the interpersonal. It is
my immediate direct relationship with another.
2. Impersonal (Socius) – indirect (Functional)
- The Socius is the human relationship I have with an organized group or the person I
encounter through his social function. It is my mediate indirect relationship I have
within the context of institutions and structures.
Are these two totally disparate and distinct?
 In real life, the two overlap and crisscross each other.
 The personal relationship of the neighbor passes through12 the relationship of the
socius, works out in the borders13 of the socius, and rises against14 the socius.
 We must avoid the monopoly of the one or the other.
 The socius is not evil in itself. It becomes treacherous when it absorbs the whole of
relationship.
 Our relationship cannot simply be that of the neighbor for this can easily lead to a
false sense of charity. Remember, too much familiarity breeds contempt.

Emmanuel Levinas’ Epiphany of the Face
- Treat man, not as objects, but as subjects.

Hans Georg Gadamer
- There must be a locus of solidarity15.

Jurgen Habermas
- There must be an ideal speech situation based on argumentative procedures.
Domains of Reality
Language
External world
Societal world
Internal world
Modes of
Communication
------------Cognitive:
objectivating attitude
Interaction:
conformative attitude
Expressive:
expressive attitude
Validity claims
Comprehensibility
Real-ness
Rightness
Truthfulness
General functions of
speech
-----------Representation of
facts
Establishment of
legitimate
interpersonal relations
Disclosure of
subjectivity
The personal relationship of the neighbor passes through the relationship of the socius in the sense that my encounter with
another person takes place by way of an institution or a common condition. For example, I am able to communicate with a friend
through the cellular phone made possible by the communication system.
13 The personal relationship of the neighbor at times works out in the borders of the socius. Persons can only find time to relate
with others in a more personal intimate way outside of his work place.
14 The evil of objectification in an organization where persons are reduced to faceless objects and numbers, the injustice, the bad
bureaucratic men in the technocratic, political, military and ecclesiastical arena are occasions for the relationship of the neighbor
to rise up in protest against the socius.
15 Solidarity is the attitude of open-ness by the individual members of the society to the common good instead by being narrowed
down by private interest.
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Friendship and Love:
“Love and friendship are man’s only hope of triumphing over solitude. Love is, indeed, the best way of
achieving this end (the end of loneliness), for it brings the Self in contact with the Other Self, in which it is
truly reflected. This is the communion of one personality with another.”
- Nicolas Berdyaev, “Man as a Person”
At one point in our lives, we experience boredom… we experience pain… we experience loneliness
(though we might not be alone). This is one human occurrence we can not escape. It is an inescapable
human experience.
Because man as man is gifted with self-consciousness, there comes a point in the stage of his life that he
comes to an awareness of these malaise and anxieties. The best way to answer this problem of solitude
is friendship.
All friendships start with an encounter. In an encounter, each person involved participates in each other’s
being. And when the mutual engagement ceases, there remains in each of the participants an active
missing of and yearning to the other. Each self then wishes to be in touch with the other. If the existential
contact between the persons is repeated, the encounter is strengthened. Thus we have an increasing
intimacy in which the participants grow closer and closer to each other. This process is the natural
conditioner for friendship and love.
Friendship and love reach beyond the ordinary encounter. In more serious matters, the encounter is
sealed and receives the imprint of lasting relation. They consist of a mutual dedication which is meant to
be lasting.
This commitment is not always expressed in words. Even so, each one knows that, at all times, he can
count on the other. As the years go by, the union between friends grows more and more intimate.
Though they are physically distinct, their being becomes more so intertwined that each experiences the
other as himself; and his sorrows and joys as his own.
Prime components of true friendship:
1. Love – it is evident that true love cannot exist unless it is rooted in total unselfishness. In
friendship, man must not only rise above the lower level of his own existence, but he is
also called to dispose himself of his most intimate self in order to give his whole being to
the other. That is sacrifice; the language of love.
2. Trust – belief in each other’s promise
3. Honesty – participants should be unflattering to one another
4. Sincerity – words as expressed in actions. Giving of gifts16 is one way of expressing such.
5. Consistency – friendship is not ephemeral. What it is now, then it will always be.
6. Communication
LOVE
Love is reaching out of a person to another person. It is only in love that the self is in one-ment with the
Other, yet still remain to be the individual self.
Ang pagmamahal ay ang pagkakaloob sa kapwa ng kanyang ganap na ikabubuti. Ang
pagmamahal ay sumisibol sa kalooban ng tao na ibinibigay sa kinauukulan, na ang
nilalayon ng pagkaloob na ito, ay ang ganap na ikakabuti ng pinagkakalooban.
Samakatuwid anumang taliwas sa ikabubuti ng minamahal ay hindi nagmumula sa
pagmamahal.
Gifts have an important function, not as a value in itself, but as the carrier, the incarnation of one’s dedication. The gift on the
authentic level is presented unselfishly, without expecting remuneration (pay).
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Ngunit…
Hindi sa lahat ng pagbibigay sa kapwa ay pagmamahal. Ang pagbibigay ng labis na
nauuwi sa paglaki-sa-layaw ng bata ay uri ng pagmura sa bata sapagkat nagtatanim ito
ng kahinaan ng loob sa hinaharap.
Ang pagmamahal ay hindi pagmamahal kung hindi ito kusang sumisibol sa kalooban, na
ibig sabihin ay ang gawang mabuti na hindi din kaloob mula sa loob ay hindi tunay na
pagmamahal.17
.
INFATUATION
LOVE
Infatuation is an irrational obsession and a
superficial passion for another person.
Willingly committing oneself to another person,
love is the sacrificial giving of oneself for the
benefit of the beloved, without thought of return.
1.
Infatuation happens suddenly: one “falls in
love” with another. It is impatient, pressing
to hurry the relationship along.
1.
Love takes time: one “grows in love” with
another. It is patient, wisely giving the
relationship plenty of time to develop.
2.
Infatuation is superficial in its knowledge of
the other person.
2.
Love seeks to both know the other person
well and to be known.
3.
Infatuation is self-centered, trying primarily to
gratify one’s own desires. It is inward,
producing a harmful fixation only on the
relationship.
3.
Love is “other-centered”, seeking mainly the
well-being of the beloved. It is outward,
maintaining a healthy interest in other
people, problems, needs, etc., outside the
relationship.
4.
Infatuation views the person as separate
from oneself.
4.
Love identifies oneself with the other person.
5.
Infatuation can “love” two or more persons at
the same time.
5.
Love can commit itself only to one, single
person.
6.
Infatuation is insecure, producing anxiety
over the ability to hold the other person’s
affection.
6.
Love trusts, confident that their love is
maturing.
7.
Infatuation seeks superficially impress the
other person.
7.
Love allows a person to be himself, certain
the other person accepts him as he is.
8.
Infatuation is idealistic, refusing to see the
other person’s flaws.
8.
Love is realistic, acknowledging
accepting the beloved’s deficiencies.
9.
Infatuation is irresponsible, neglecting duties,
job, etc., to be with the other person.
9.
Love is responsible, fulfilling one’s
commitments, thus making limited time with
the beloved even more precious.
10. Infatuation
emphasizes
stressing glamour and sex.
the
physical,
11. Infatuation is temporary; it does not last.
17
Ibid.
and
10. Love keeps the physical in its proper place
and concerns itself with the mental, social,
and spiritual aspects as well.
11. Love is permanent; it sticks around.
12
The self must love the Other because the Other is a person like him. If the self is in need and worthy of
love, so thus, the Other. A community of men is a society not merely of individuals but of persons:
therefore, they should love one another because they partake of the same nature, purpose, and destiny;
no one should do harm to anyone. If men do really love others, then there would be no evil; for evil is
essentially hatred, the turning away from good.
True love of self does not exclude love for others; for love is never selfish. Love is never confined to the
self. It reaches out; it radiates itself to another, to the Other. This is the basis of FRIENDSHIP, the
brotherhood of men, and the unity of human family.
When we truly love, the emphasis is on loving rather than being loved. When we truly love, the emphasis
is on the faculty of loving rather than the object18 loved. That is growing in love and not simply falling in
love (the initial feeling).
The perfect love:
Ang pagmamahal, ayon kay Kristo, ang siyang una sa mga kautusan ng Diyos… Ang
pagmamahal ay pagbibigay nang higit pa sa itinatakda ng batas… Ang katarungan
(pagtupad sa batas) ay nagsisimulang matupad lamang kapag nagsimula ng magmahal
ang tao. Utos ng katarungan ay mahalin mo ang iyong kapwa. Hindi sapat na binigyan
mo ng sweldo ang trabahador mo dahil nagtrabaho siya. Hinihingi ng katarungan na
swelduhan mo siya dahil mahal mo siya at dahil sa sweldong iyan ay nakamkamtan niya
ang kanyang ninanasang kaganapan ng kanyang pagkatao.19
What if I could speak all languages, but didn’t love others – I would be nothing like noisy
gong or clanging cymbal.
What if I could know and understand all secrets and knowledge; what if I have faith that
moved mountains – I would be nothing unless I loved others.
What if I gave away all that I owned and let myself be burned alive – I would gain nothing
unless I loved others.
Love is kind and patient; never jealous, boastful, proud or rude
Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered
It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do
Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil
Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting
Love never fails…
1Corinthians13
Responsibility
Another vital concept in relationship is responsibility, viewed in terms of one's response to another. Thus,
the dialogue became a central focus. Genuine dialogue depends upon authenticity wherein
 men communicate themselves to one another as what they are [walang kaplastikan]…
 upon being (totoo) rather than seeming (parang totoo)
Thus, in being responsible, one needs the courage to be oneself in relationships…
he needs to be authentic…he needs to be true and genuine…
18
19
Object here refers to the “ideal” boy/girl.
Hornedo, Florentino H. UST Journal of Graduate Research V.19, No.22, pp.97-108. 1990)
13
Responsibility is a response-ability. It is the capability or ability to respond to answer or respond to
others’ appeal for help.20
Analogy: If a person is drowning, anyone of the following can happen:
causes of failure to save the
drowning man:
I hear the call for help, but I cannot swim, so I cannot save him

Inability
I don’t hear the call because I am deaf, and I don’t save him although I can swim

Insensitivity21
I hear the call, and I can swim, but I refuse to help him, and he dies

Plain bad will
I hear the call, and although I can’t swim, I attempt to save him and we both die

Tragic-pathetic goodwill
I hear the call, and I can swim, and I respond, and I save him

Response-ability
MAN IS A PARADOX22
Paradox is a maxim, a proverb, a figure of speech, or an analogy, embodying a logical opposition
between contrasting elements that seem and sound contradictory.

In man, the flesh and the spirit are antithetical realities (body/soul; material/immaterial;
tangible/invisible). The two seemingly contradictory concepts yet are realized and united
intimately in man. They are ONE yet DIVIDED… CONJOINED yet DISJOINED. MAN IS A
DIVIDED UNION…

Why paradox and not mystery or contradiction?
 Mystery is a truth above and beyond reason. Paradox, on the other hand, is within the
bounds of human understanding.
 Contradiction implies an absolute irreconcilable opposition between elements that can never
admit any reconciliation. Paradox, on the other hand, is open to reconciliation.
Examples:
 Man: The Individual and the Universal
 Individuality: every person is unique (height, weight, complexion, personality,
attitude…etc…);
 Universality: as human being, man shares the same nature with all other men and is
therefore universal.
Ang kalayaan ay lakas o kakayahan. Sa lahat ng bagay na tayo ay may lakas, tayo ay may kalayaan… tayo ay walang
kalayaan sa lahat ng bagay na tayo ay mahina… samakatwid, ang pagpapalaya ay pagpapalakas, pagbibigay-kakayahan…
diyan makikita ang dahilan kung bakit labag sa katarungan ang pang-aapi at pag-aalipin sa kapwa. Ang taong gustong maging
responsable ay dapat munang magkaroon ng kakayahan dahil ang taong responsible ay taong kayang tumugon sa sa
pangangailangan ng kapwa. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit ang mga magulang na hindi makagbigay sa mga anak nila ng wastong
edukasyon ay “malaking kahoy na walang lilim”. (Hornedo, Florentino H. UST Journal of Graduate Research V.19, No.22, pp.97108. 1990)
21 Bahagi ng pananagutan ang gawaing maging mulat at sensitibo sa pangangailangan ng iba. Madalas sumala dito ang tao
dahil sa labis na pagkatuon ng pansin sa sarili lamang at hindi sa iba. Ito ang tinatawag na egoismo o labis na atensyon sa sarili
na siyang kalaban ng responsibilidad o pananagutan. (Hornedo, Florentino H. UST Journal of Graduate Research V.19, No.22,
pp.97-108. 1990)
22 According to Soren Kierkegaard, figuratively, paradox is defined as “the passion and perfume of human thought.” To him,
thought without paradox is like a flower without a scent.
20
14



Man: Change and Permanence: being and becoming
 Change: Man constantly change – physically, psychologically, physiologically
 Permanence: Man remains unchanged by change
Moral and Divine Paradox
 What you want, you don’t get; what you get, you don’t enjoy; what you enjoy is not
permanent; what is permanent is boring.
 What makes you happy is that what makes you sad. What made you strong is what
made feel weak. The greatest difficulty can come from people but the greatest fun and
enjoyment can also come from man. The same heat that melts the wax hardens the clay.
 He who is exalted himself will be humbled, and he who is humbled will be exalted.
 Man’s perfection consists in knowing his imperfections.
 Life is certain only with uncertainties. The only permanent is this world is change.
 Wisest is he who knows not. It is in knowing that we learn to realize how ignorant we are.
 The only thing you cannot doubt is doubt itself.
Importance of Paradox
- Exploring paradox will enlighten and broaden our minds in the solution of human problems. If
we try to deeply reflect on things, we will find out that the root cause of all human problems is
in man himself. He is the meeting point of contrasting and conflicting forces.
- Solution:
- To look on things, the emphasis should be on the union rather the division.
- Examples: Follow the Golden Mean: the law of moderation
The Dialectics of Hegel23
The working together of relationship in man and woman
The union of church and state, family and the school…
Integration:
MAN AND NATURE

An analogy: Man is one with nature. It is his body. Man should take good care of nature just as
he takes good care of his body. Just as man must master, control and harmonize his self (his
passions, his will, and actions), he must also harmonize with nature 24.

2 things we can do with nature:

Destruction
 Exploitation, pollution, abuse and misuse
 Avoidable and controllable
 Rooted in the selfishness of man (slavery of passion)
 Law of Dissipation of Energy (Entropy25)
 Unavoidable and uncontrollable
 This law states that energy and matter tend to run down into waste.

Preservation and Conservation
 The VISION: Responsibility of man over nature. Proper use would lead to the
betterment of human living condition. Technology, industrialization and globalization
would be harmonized with agriculture. Experiment and scientific researches would be
In the dialectics, it proves that CONTRADICTION is a motor for development. It states that a thesis (a position) is produced
which develops an anti-thesis (opposition) which results to a dialectic (conflict) between them. This conflict is resolved into a
synthesis which includes the valuable aspects in each of the thesis and the anti-thesis.
24 The inner mastery within man is reflected in his outer mastery over nature.
25 Entropy is the stagnation of all energy and the death of the universe.
23
15
nature-friendly. If that would be the case, then there would be no other reason why we
cannot attain and have DEVELOPMENT. Would that not make us happy?
MAN AND CULTURE26
Culture - the general way of life of a human society, including ways of thinking, beliefs, customs,
language, technology, art, music, literature, and traditions.
- the cumulative creations of man, the totality of human heritage. 27
- refers to all those things which mean the refining and developing of all man’s powers and
natural endowments.



Culture leads to the realization of the being of man. It reaffirms the intimate and inseparable
relation of culture with education28. They have a common goal – the continuous, complete,
harmonious, and all rounded development of man.
We are urged to recognize the continuity between learning and life, rather than the
encouragement of knowledge for its own sake. It is insisted that learning be related to
consequent action. Thus, the educated person is not one who merely had his cognitive faculties
trained but one whose inmost spirit had been infused by what he had learned.
If a person has no consideration for others, one may say he is uncultured and uneducated. Thus,
in order for man to be considered cultured and educated, he should be responsible, and be
caring. And this could only be done by love, by transcending the selfishness of man.
MAN AND HAPPINESS
Man fundamentally longs for three basic realities: the meaning of life, truth and love… condensed in one
essence HAPPINESS.
What kind of happiness? A perfect, lasting happiness. Although men differ from their own happiness,
ultimately, perfect enduring happiness lies at the bottom of all men’s deepest yearnings.
Titles, wealth, power, ambition, honor, healthy body, glory, social glamour and not even true love
(although love is the best among them) cannot offer man a complete and lasting happiness. Perfect
happiness cannot be found in this world because all the goods of this earth are finite, unstable, and
transitory. It is because all things here are imperfect and therefore cannot give us perfect happiness.
What we have here in this earthly life are just fractions of life, of truth, and of love.
This perfect happiness can only be found in a perfect being, perfect good, or the Summum Bonum.
Culture comes from the Latin terms Cultus-Colere, which means to cultivate, develop.
This involves all material and spiritual values – physical, intellectual, moral, technological, aesthetical, social, political…etc…
28 Education is the integral, optimal, harmonious, balanced, all-rounded and continuous development, enrichment, and
actualization of all of man’s powers, capacities, and natural endowments. EDUCATION comes from the term “educare”, which
means to lead or to guide, or “educere”, which means to draw out. “To draw out” what? To draw out the BEST in each person;
and thus, transform his potentialities to actualities. With this, we may conclude that the primary duty/aim of education is to
enable…to empower…to strengthen…to set free…to liberate man to find his fulfillment as a social being, to pass from being
merely a potentially fulfilled person into a truly fulfilled one. It should help man grow into scientifically knowledgeable and
informed, skilled and productive, self-respecting, morally uprooted and committed person. Education, more so, should guide and
facilitate man to be AWARE, OPEN, AVAILABLE, and SENSITIVE to the needs of the others. Education is LIBERATION. It sets
man free from the confines of ignorance and non-being.
26
27
16
MAN AND BEAUTY
Beauty is a thing that delights not only man’s external senses but also his whole soul. Thus, beauty taken
as a transcendental reality equates with the absolute perfect Being.
MAN AND PEACE
Man seeks happiness. Man seeks beauty. Just as he naturally does these, he likewise seeks for peace.
Peace always starts from within.
There are three elements of peace:
1. peace with the self
2. peace with others
3. peace with god
MAN, GOD AND MYSTICISM29
Ethics is the means.30 Mysticism is the end. Mysticism is not normative. It doesn’t prescribe rules of
action or so. It is a free way.
In Christian Philosophy: Happiness and perfection are only realized in God.
Means:
1. By receiving Holy Communion
2. Prayer, Meditation and Contemplation
3. Constantly following the Divine (the commandments)
In Oriental Philosophy:
According to Buddhism31: Man’s highest good are to be found in the attainment of union with the allpervading ultimate reality. It is the false self, the root cause of all earthly desires, which individuates man
and thereby separates him from the Universal. Selfish desires therefore make him miserable and
unhappy. Thus, in order to be happy, man must destroy and annihilate all selfish desires, the cause of all
human misery and suffering. [Suffering = Non-satisfaction]
Some Thoughts of Buddha:
1. The Four Noble Truth
1.1 Suffering is a universal fact
1.2 There is a cause of suffering
1.3 Suffering can be overcome by eliminating selfish desires
1.4 Selfish desire can be eliminated by following the Eight Noble Path 32.
2. Ignorance is the root of all evils.
3. Prayers and sacrifices are useless. What is needed is to follow the Eight Noble Path.
4. The aim of life is not earthly pleasure or earthly happiness but the practice of Ten Perfections. 33
5. There are Four Abodes.34
Mysticism connotes and includes perfection and happiness attainable by union with the Perfect and Boundless Good.
It is necessary that we lead a good upright life in order to be united with the All Holy One.
31 Siddhartha Gautama (Gautama Buddha) 563-483 BC, India (Sacred Book – Tripitaka)
32 The way to end suffering is by following the Eight Noble Path: VACSVAEC: Right View (truth), Right Aspiration (intention),
Right Conduct (action), Right Speech (language), Right Vocation (occupation), Right Alertness (concentration), Right Effort (to
do good, to avoid evil), and Right Contemplation (calmness).
33 Giving, Duty, Renunciation, Insight, Courage, Patience, Truth, Resolution, Loving-kindness, Serenity.
34 Metta – pagmamahal, Karuna – pagmakabahagi, Mudita – pakikipagkapwa, Upekku – pakikipamayapa sa sarili at sa lipunan.
29
30
17
According to Confucianism35: By practicing the Jen36, living the Jen, or identifying with the Jen, only
then universal peace, harmony, brotherhood, and ultimate happiness can be achieved.
The Jen is expressed in two ways:


Chung – do not do unto others, what you do not like others to do unto you.
Shu – do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.
For Confucius, there are six stages of life37:






15 – learning
30 – understanding
40 – no doubts
50 – know thy fate (ming) / destiny
60 – obey thy fate
70 – free
Two elements in life (there must be balance between the two):


Chih – natural inclination to be good and to do what is right
Wen – formative process (education) [this is in order to make the seed grow because a
seed cannot grow by itself. “Education is not a preparation for life, education is life.”
Some Thoughts of Confucius:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Man must live according to his own nature
Reason governs appetites
Golden Rule: What you do not want to yourself, do not do unto others.
Society should emphasized sincerity in personal and public conduct.
Be a gentleman. A gentleman is one of good moral character and truly reverent in worships
and sincerely respected his father and ruler, (emphasizes respect for ancestors and
government authorities).
6. He teaches that rulers must govern according to high moral standards.
7. Study constantly and practice self-examination. After fixing the individual, only then one can
fix the society.
According to Taoism38: Lao Tzu affirms that happiness can only be attained by living naturally, by simply
being what you really are. Men are unhappy because in life, in thought and in action, they pretend to be
what and who they are not.
Man should be humble, modest, calm and ready to meet misfortunes in life, and fearless even in death.
Man must not seek worldly possessions because in owning little does he possess much; because by
owning much, he will just be worried about losing it sooner or later. In fact, in wanting more and more, he
eventually experiences life’s suffering.
Chiu Kung (Confucius) 479 BC, China
Jen may mean Law or Love. It is from which all the other virtues spring – justice, generosity, kindness, liberality, temperance.
37 Note: ages are not literal.
38 Lao Tzu, China. (Sacred Book – Tao Te Ching)
35
36
18
Some Thoughts of Lao Tzu:
1. The Tao (the Way) represents the characteristics or behavior that makes each thing in the
universe what really it is. The word also used to mean reality as a whole, which consists of all
individual ways.
2. The Taoist ideal is a person who avoids conventional social life and leads a simple spontaneous
and meditative life of close to nature.
3. Sought to attain immortality through magic, meditation, special diet, breath control, or the
recitation of scripture.
4. Yin –Yang Theory: There is a harmony and balance of nature. Search the knowledge of nature.
5. Wu Wei Principle: Action through inaction. It teaches man to do his work with all his best and
leave the rest to the Tao. It is aggression the root of all evils because it serves as an attraction of
the other force.
6. Man must return good for evil done to him.
MAN, SEX AND SANCTITY
Question: could there possibly be reconciliation between self-indulgence (sex) and sanctity?
Viewed in its totality (sexuality), in the full context of natural law of which it is inextricably a part, sexuality
in itself can never be in conflict with morality (and hence with spirituality and sanctity) as all these are
inseparably united in the harmonious whole of the natural order of things.
The sex act in procreation is not only pure passion between the sex partners. It is the ultimate expression
of love (in the context of marriage).
The apparent conflict and disorder that seems to arise between sex and sanctity comes only when the
lower sex appetite39 is allowed to dominate the higher rational spiritual power of man40.
Sex, as purely sensual, is concentrated only on genitals.
What is the secret of success? – right decisions
How do you make right decisions? – experience
How do you get experience? – wrong decisions
(generally true, isn’t it?)
Considered purely and primarily as passing sensual pleasure, the sex act soon and momentarily passes away, as the heat it
endangers, leaving the sex partners cold and indifferent, without enduring the affection that binds them together. This is purely
self-gratification. Sex passion tends to be selfish, self-centered.
40 Considered in the totality of life, the sex act is connected through the binding force and power of love.
39