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H Lesson 2 Man and His Existence

This document provides an overview of philosophical approaches to studying human existence, including cosmocentric, theocentric, and anthropocentric approaches. It then summarizes the views of major philosophers from ancient Greece (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), Christian traditions (Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas), and Eastern traditions (Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha). Key points discussed include their views on the nature and components of the human soul, the role of reason, and the path to happiness or enlightenment.

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486 views21 pages

H Lesson 2 Man and His Existence

This document provides an overview of philosophical approaches to studying human existence, including cosmocentric, theocentric, and anthropocentric approaches. It then summarizes the views of major philosophers from ancient Greece (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), Christian traditions (Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas), and Eastern traditions (Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha). Key points discussed include their views on the nature and components of the human soul, the role of reason, and the path to happiness or enlightenment.

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irageorgeforones
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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EUTHENICS 1

Lesson 2: Man and His


Existence
Who is Man?
3 Philosophical Approaches to the Study of Man

1. Cosmocentric Approach
The study of man in relation to the universe
Man is part of the cosmos, a microcosm
(micro=small; cosmos=universe)
Like the universe, Man is made up of matter (body) and
form (soul)
3 Philosophical Approaches to the Study of Man

2. Theocentric Approach
The study of Man in relation to God.
- Man as a creature of God made in His image and likeness
- the apex of God’s creation
- is often linked with stewardship and environmental ethics.
It is the belief that human beings should look after God’s
creation.
3. Anthropocentric
- with the emergence of Descartes’ cogito (Cogito Ergo Sum),
philosophy became anthropocentric
- a human-centered approach
- refers to the point of view that humans are the only, or
primary, holders of moral standing
GREEK THINKERS

a. Socrates (470 -399 BC)


• One of the founders of Western Philosophy, teacher of Plato
• His teachings indicate that man is uniquely defined through his ability to think and question
his own existence. It centers around the claim that man has the ability to examine himself
through dialogue with others and that "the unexamined life is not worth living.
• He was a rationalist and believed that the best life and the life most suited to human
nature involved reasoning. He believed that nobody willingly chooses to do wrong and
he pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness. For
him, the highest value of man is happiness.
• He believed the soul is immortal.
• Death is not the end of human existence.
b. Plato (427-347 BC)

• Student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle


• He founded a school in Athens called the Academy (387 BC)
• He postulates that Man differentiates from animals in three
ways:
the soul, which is immortal;
the desire for the acquisition of knowledge
The tendency of Man to become social and political.
• Plato’s TriPartite Theory of the Soul
 the rational or logical part,
 the spirited part, and
 the appetitive part.
• The rational soul on the other hand is the thinking element in every
human being, which decides what is factual and merely obvious, judges
what is factual and what is untrue, and intelligently makes sensible
decisions. Plato considers that the well-being of Man depends upon
harmonious interactions of three aspects of the Soul. And the
harmonious interactions would only be possible when reason controls
both spirit and appetite
• Plato believed that:
 the soul cannot exist without the body
 the soul is immortal and pre-exists the body
He supported this statement by observing that humans possess
a special kind of knowledge in the ability to draw
comparisons. This is evidence of a pre-existent soul.

the soul goes through cycles of rebirth or reincarnation


c. Aristotle

Aristotle –(384-322 BC) made significant and lasting contributions to nearly every
aspect of human knowledge, from logic to biology to ethics and aesthetics. He
was known as “The First Teacher” among Medieval Muslim Scholars; and in the
West, he was “The Philosopher.” He was a Greek philosopher and polymath during
the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the
Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition
Aristotle

Man is a “political animal.” In this Aristotle means that man lives in a more
“polis”. Man becomes man among others, living in a society governed by laws
and customs. The man develops his potential and realize its natural end in a
social context.
• Thus Aristotle develops, in the Nicomachean Ethics a theory of what is the
good life for human beings. The good life is, for a human being to live in the
way that is most suitable for a human that is according to reason.
• According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a
whole lifetime, all the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. — that
lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life.
• The soul cannot exist alone without the body. He argued that the soul’s main
purpose is development and that this is only possible in association with the
body.
• According to Aristotle, the soul is the animating principle of a living being
• The soul has three parts:
 Vegetative Soul – lowest level of the soul, shared by all living beings
 Sensitive Soul – found in animals, capacity for perception and desire
 Rational Soul – highest level of the soul, it sets humans apart from all other beings
Christian Philosophers

1. Augustine of Hippo(354-430 AD)


- He informs us himself that he was born in Tagaste,
Numidia, North Africa on Nov. 13, 354; he died at Hippo
Regius (just south of the modern Bona) Aug. 28, 430 AD.
St. Augustine of Hippo
 fourth century philosopher whose groundbreaking philosophy infused
Christian doctrine with Neoplatonism.
 In a proof for existence similar to one later made famous by René
Descartes, Augustine says, " If I am mistaken, I am." He is the first Western
philosopher to promote what has come to be called "the argument by analogy"
 He believes that time is not infinite because God "created" it.
Augustine tries to reconcile his beliefs about freewill, especially the belief that
humans are morally responsible for their actions, with his belief that one’s life
is predestined. Though initially optimistic about the ability of humans to
behave morally, at the end he is pessimistic, and thinks that original sin makes
human moral behavior nearly impossible: if it were not for the rare
appearance of an accidental and undeserved Grace of God humans could not
be moral.
2. St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033/4–1109)

• He was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and


theologian of the Catholic Church, who held the office of
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. After his death, he
was canonized as a saint; his feast day is 21 April. Saint Anselm
was one of the most important Christian thinkers of the eleventh
Century. He is most famous in philosophy for having discovered
and articulated the so-called “ontological argument;” and in
theology for his doctrine of the atonement. Ontology is the
philosophical study of being. More broadly, it studies concepts
that directly relate to being, in particular becoming, existence,
reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their
relations.
2. St. Anselm of Canterbury

He also worked on other philosophical and theological matters:


 Understanding the aspects of and the unity of the divine nature
 The extent of our possible knowledge and understanding of the
divine nature
 The complex nature of the will and its involvement in free
choice
 The interworkings of human willing and action and divine grace
 The natures of truth and justice
 The natures origins of virtues and vices
 The nature of evil as negation or privation o The condition and
implications of original sin
3. St.Thomas of Aquinas- (1225 – 7 March 1274)
– he was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher,
Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. An
immensely influential philosopher, theologian,
and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, he is
also known within the latter as the Doctor
Angelicus and the Doctor Communis.
Despite his interest in law, Thomas’ writings on ethical theory are actually virtue-centered and

include extended discussions of the relevance of happiness, pleasure, the passions, habit, and

the faculty of will for the moral life, as well as detailed treatments of each one of the

theological, intellectual, and cardinal virtues. Arguably, Thomas’ most influential contribution

to theology and philosophy, however, is his model for the correct relationship between these

two disciplines, a model which has it that neither theology nor philosophy is reduced one to

the other, where each of these two disciplines is allowed its own proper scope, and each

discipline is allowed to perfect the other, if not in content, then at least by inspiring those who

practice that discipline to reach ever new intellectual heights. In his lifetime, Thomas’ expert

opinion on theological and philosophical topics was sought by many, including at different

times a king, a pope, and a countess. It is fair to say that, as a theologian, Thomas is one of

the most important in the history of Western civilization, given the extent of his influence on

the development of Roman Catholic theology since the 14th century


ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHERS

a. Lao Tzu
• A Chinese philosopher and writer.
• He is the author of Tao Te Ching that describes Tao as the source of all existence.
• In Tao Te Ching, it intends to lead people to return to their natural state in
harmony with Tao.
• It is not that he wants people to reject technology, but to seek the state of wu
wei.
• Wu wei is the state of non-acting, the central concept of Tao Te Ching.
• This concept is used to explain ziran, harmony with Tao.
• Its key virtues are simplicity and humility, which are in contrast to selfish actions.
b. Confucius
• A Chinese thinker, known for his philosophy, Confucianism – which
traces to the texts known as Analects.
• He claims that Tian or heaven is aligned to the moral order but is
dependent to human actions.
• Its emphasis is on the importance of family and social harmony.
c.Gautama Buddha
• The founder of Buddhism, his teachings are based on dukkha or
suffering and its end – the state of Nirvana.
• He taught a spiritual path that included ethical training and
meditative practices.
• Its goal is to overcome suffering because of attachment to self.

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