Nature of Man

WHAT IS
PHILOSOPHY OF THE
HUMAN PERSON?
DEFINITION
Philosophy of the Human Person
is a special branch of philosophy that
deals with the theoretical and
reflective study of the human being,
aimed at the acquisition of
knowledge regarding the meaning
and value of human existence.
DEFINITION
MAN
is the
SUPERSTAR.
What is man?
What
qualifies
man as
man?
Who is man?
“The what-who-man-question
has been the commonest yet the
hardest question that man
himself has ever invented…
However, nobody is as yet
satisfied with what had been
said about man.”
Indeed
man
is a
mystery
to
himself.
Hello! We are the
humans of the
earth.
ACTIVITY
If you were given a
chance to describe the
human beings to aliens,
how would you describe
the human species?
UNDERSTANDING
HUMAN
NATURE
DEFINITION
▪Human
✓refers to anything
exclusively pertinent to
the species that is man.
DEFINITION
▪Nature
✓derived from the Latin word
“natura” which came from
“nasci” meaning “to be
born” or “to originate”.
NATURE
✓The ultimate principle

of operation of a given
reality (fact, entity, being).
“A thing acts according to
its nature.”
Any thing or any being intrinsically

acts and its action is always
determined by its very nature or
kind of thing that it is.
ACTIVITY
Identify the nature

of the following
realities.
“A thing acts according to its
nature.”
MAN IS A RATIONAL BEING,

therefore, he should only think,
feel and act based on his
nature.
Outside the domain of his nature,
man can be readily charged
of being inhuman.
REVIEW
▪Nature
✓ Set of all things which are
innate to a being.
✓ Essential properties or
causes of individual things
REVIEW
Knowing the nature of things
will allow us to understand
them better, respond to these
realities accordingly and
utilize them effectively.
REVIEW
▪Human Nature
✓ Distinguishing
characteristics – including
ways of thinking, feeling and
acting – which humans tend to
have naturally.
PERSPECTIVES
OF THE
NATURE OF MAN
BIOLOGICAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL
ECONOMIC
THEOLOGICAL
BIOLOGICAL
Considers man as a part of the natural

world and a product of evolution.
BIOLOGICAL
✓ Can be traced back to Charles
Darwin, Father of Evolution.
✓ Modern humans are considered
to be the most successfully
adapted species on the planet
and closely related to the apes.
DISTINCT PHYSICAL FEATURES
• Bipedalism
• Highly developed hands
• Smaller jaws and teeth
• Larger and more developed
brains
DISTINCT PHYSICAL FEATURES
• Share primal instincts as

with other animals such as
survival and reproduction.
TRAITS AND CAPABILITIES
✓ Planning and intentional actions
✓ Innovation and creativity
✓ Communication (language and writing)
✓ Technology
✓ Symbolic interaction such as religion and

art.
✓Culture is considered man’s
most significant achievement
which sets them apart from other
species.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
Puts emphasis on human behavior and

thought processes in analyzing human
nature.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
✓ Man as a being having mental
faculties that enables him to possess
awareness, a sense of self and the
capacity to perceive and experience.
✓ Proponents of this view include

Sigmund Freud, Father of
Psychoanalysis
MAN’S MENTAL FACULTIES
AND CAPABILITIES
a. Psyche
refers to the human mind
which is divided into two – the
conscious mind and the
unconscious mind.
Division of Psyche
a1. Conscious – part of the mind

that governs awareness.
a2. Unconscious – consists of latent

and repressed emotions, thoughts
and desires.
AND CAPABILITIES
b. Rationality
the ability to understand
experiences in order to solve
problems or do tasks, and engage
in decision making and judgment.
AND CAPABILITIES
c. Intelligence
the ability to perceive
information, store knowledge,
and apply it in various
situations.
AND CAPABILITIES
d. Introspection
the ability to examine one’s own
conscious thoughts, feelings,
and mental state, and the
capacity for self-reflection.
ECONOMIC
Called man homo economicus or the

“economic man” and focuses on his ability to
engage in productive activities in an effort to meet
his wants and needs.
ECONOMIC
✓ Taught by Karl Marx, Father
of Communism
✓ Economic forces are
considered a great influence on
the actions of man.
THEOLOGICAL
Considers man as a special creation of God

having been made into His image and
likeness and given an immortal soul.
THEOLOGICAL
✓ Taught by medieval philosophers, St.
Augustine and St. Thomas
Aquinas.
✓ Man’s existence was brought about by
the purposive creative act of God, and
his ultimate destiny is part of the
Divine Plan.
PERSPECTIVES
OF THE NATURE OF MAN
BIOLOGICAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL
ECONOMIC
THEOLOGICAL
DISCUSSION
Which among the
perspectives of the human
nature of man best conform
to your personal ideas on
the nature of man?
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN NATURE
1. UNIVERSAL/ONE
2. STATIC
1. UNIVERSAL/ONE
- Absolutely present to all human
beings.
2. STATIC
- It remains as it is in every
man from birth to death.
- Constant, unchangeable,
immutable
3-FOLD LEVEL OF HUMAN NATURE
SOMATIC
BEHAVIORAL
ATTITUDINAL
SOMATIC
▪Refers to the body, substance,
constitution or stuff of man, and
accidentally, to bodily structure,
color, etc. which are conditioned
by culture and environment.
BEHAVIORAL
▪Refers to the mode of acting
of every man.
▪Man has a universal way of
acting or conducting himself
properly.
ATTITUDINAL
▪Refers to the mental reaction
of every man to a given
stimulus or the position of
every individual concerning
his opinion, feeling or mood.
ATTITUDINAL
▪Manifests the purposive
drive of every man to live in a
kind of life according to his
own discretion.
SUMMARY OF THE THREE-FOLD
LEVEL OF HUMAN NATURE
1. There is but ONE human nature.

2. There is no Filipino, American,
German, etc. human nature,
particularly in the somatic and
behavioral level.
SUMMARY OF THE THREE-FOLD
LEVEL OF HUMAN NATURE
3. There is a Filipino or American

human nature distinctively in the
attitudinal level.
4. Human nature changes only in
terms of accidental constituents,
i.e., the growth of the body, etc.

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WHAT IS

✓The ultimate principle

Any thing or any being intrinsically

Identify the nature

MAN IS A RATIONAL BEING,

Considers man as a part of the natural

• Share primal instincts as

✓ Innovation and creativity

✓ Communication (language and writing)

✓ Symbolic interaction such as religion and

Puts emphasis on human behavior and

✓ Proponents of this view include

a1. Conscious – part of the mind

a2. Unconscious – consists of latent

Called man homo economicus or the

Considers man as a special creation of God

1. There is but ONE human nature.

3. There is a Filipino or American

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