Philosophy - Body, Soul and Spirit

By Slidesgo
Philosophy:
Body, Soul and
Spirit
Objectives:
1. To explain the different systems of thought about

man
having a body and soul
2. To recognize one’s limitations and possibilities for
transcendence
3. To determine the limitation and possibilities for
transcendence
4. To reﬂect on what makes man truly human
Introduction
Understanding what it
means to be a human
person is arduous. This has
been a perennial problem
even from ancient times. But
what is a human person?
How will you answer this
question? Human
persons indeed have
material needs, but they
also have non�material
aspects (Bernados, 2017).
THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN
EMBODIED SPIRIT and Soul
according to philosophers
“This is a quote, words full of wisdom that
someone important said and can make the
reader get inspired.”
—Someone Famous
Plato's view of the human person
rests on the dichotomy of the body
and soul. For him, the body is
material and is subject to changes
and destructions, while the soul is
immaterial and unchanging. He also
believed that the human soul is an
authentic part because the body is
just its prison cell (Bernados, 2017).
Hence, the body's existence is
dependent on the soul, while the
soul is independent of the
body. Accordingly, the soul has a
tripartite function, namely, the
rational function, the passion
function, and the appetitive
function (Stumpf & Fieser, 2012).
These three functions of the soul
are represented by the body parts,
i.e., head, chest, and abdomen.
The head does the soul's rational function,
which enables human persons to think,
analyze, comprehend, and make decisions.
This guides the passion and appetitive
functions of the soul. On the other hand,
passion function performs the actions
dictated by reason and is also responsible
for various feelings, such as hatred or
anger. Lastly, the appetitive function
enables a person to experience cravings or
anything that deals with man's physical
wants (Babor, 2001).
Aristotle disagreed with Plato that
the soul is separable. For him, the
soul and the body are substantially
united. There is no dichotomy
between the two, for none cannot
talk about the soul apart from the
body or talk about the body apart
from the soul (Stumpf & Fieser,
2012).
The word soul is an English
translation of the Greek word
psyche. Hence, for him, the soul is
the source of life. The soul then is
the form of the organized body. For
Aristotle, anything that lives has a
soul. Does this mean that animals
and plants also have souls? Yes.
Not only humans have souls.
St. Augustine had a deep interest
in Philosophy in his search for
meaning in the Christian faith. He
believed that God created the
world, and this includes the
creation of the immortal soul. A
human being is not only material
and rational but, most importantly,
a soul embodied in a material
substance. In other words, the soul
is a 'self-sustaining' substance.
With the soul’s self-subsistence, it
is the real person in man. It is the
principle of life which is also what
makes man authentic.
St. Thomas Aquinas Aquinas
believed that the soul is dependent
on the body, in the same way as the
body is dependent on the soul. The
difference between him and Aristotle
was that the latter only sees the
body and soul as inseparable. For
Aquinas, however, without the soul,
the body will not have its form, and
without the body, the soul will not
have its required sense organs to
gain knowledge.
Rene Descartes The foremost
person to have identiﬁed man on top
of the other animals is Rene
Descartes. He explicitly said that
animals have no souls; they cannot
think and are mere bundles of
instincts prepackaged by God. As a
rationalist, he praised the supremacy
of the human mind over the human
body.
Rene Descartes
“I think, therefore, I am” is

his famous dictum.
Rene Descartes
means that the fact that man
can think is proof that he exists.
This kind of rationalism
maintained that the human mind
is different from the human body
and can exist without the
other's presence.
Descartes believed that the
individual is responsible for
himself. Through
self�examination and
contemplation, a human
person can realize that his
existence is completely
different from others.
John Locke Locke
disagreed with Descartes
that human persons are
born with innate,
fundamental principles,
and knowledge (Kleinman,
2013).
For Locke, the human
mind is a tabula rasa or
blank slates. Knowledge is
acquired only through
sensory experiences. This
means that the soul begins
to know only when the
senses begin to perceive.
In Catholicism, “soul” when distinguished
from “spirit” means that which gives life to a
body. “Spirit” when contrasted with “soul”
simply means those aspects of human life
and activity that do not depend on the body or
the conditions of matter.
In Islam, within the body, it’s a soul and when
it leaves the body after death, it is a spirit or
“Ruh” (light).
By Slidesgo
Thanks!
Do you have any questions?
CREDITS: This presentation template was created by

Slidesgo, and includes icons by Flaticon and
infographics & images by Freepik

Philosophy - Body, Soul and Spirit

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Philosophy - Body, Soul and Spirit

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Philosophy - Body, Soul and Spirit

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

By Slidesgo

1. To explain the different systems of thought about

“I think, therefore, I am” is

CREDITS: This presentation template was created by

You might also like