Rational Psychology

Philosophy of the Human

Person:
An Introduction

Peter Emmanuel A. Mara, AB

Instructor
 What is Rational
Psychology?
• It is a branch of Philosophy that
studies the principles of Man as a
composite of Body and Soul.
• It is also known as:
– Philosophy of the Human Person,
– Philosophy of Man, and
– Philosophical Anthropology
 The Course Description and
Objectives
The course is aimed at disclosing the inherent
richness of the Human Person and the exigency of
integration with the Self. It surveys different
perspectives of various cultures and schools of
thought on the beginning, nature, value and end of
the Human Person. Moreover, aside from these
queries on Human Person, this course will also explore
the human existential conditions as an individual
dwelling in the World. At the end of this course, the
students are expected to develop an authentic
 The Subject Matter
• The Human Being
• Man
• The Human Person
• The Human Subject
• The Human Individual

• ITS ALL ABOUT YOU AND YOUR SELF!

 But…
• Who is the Human Being?
• What is Human Being?
Ways in Understanding Human
Being
1. Cosmological Type
– Views man as a being-in-the-world, as a part
of the “cosmos”
– Aristotelian Definition of man
• Homo est animal rationalis (Man is a rational
animal)
• It characterizes man according to
– species (Human Being)
– Proximate genus (Living Being/animal)
– Specific Feature (Rational)
– However, it accentuates of man’s reducibility
to the world.
• Man is seen merely as part and object in the world
• As an animal, but rational, among other animals.
– It explains man in terms of genus and specific
difference as a corporeal and mundane
creature, an animal.
Ways in Understanding Human
Being
2. Personalistic Type
– Inward characterization of man
– The belief in the primordial uniqueness of
the human being, and thus in the basic
irreducibility of the human being to the
world
– Human Being as a Person
Irreducibility – man cannot be cognized
- his essence cannot be reduced
- but only manifests and revealed
thru experience.
– This inward characterization transcends the
corporeal limitations propounded by the
cosmological understanding of man
• Cosmological – exteriority and concreteness of man
(Body)
• Personalistic - interiority and inward character of
Ways in Understanding Human
Being
Cosmological Type Personalistic Type
Views man as a part of the world Views man as Distinct among the
among other creature other animate creatures
Emphasizes the commonality of Points to the unique character of
man and other creatures as the human being as incomparable
objects in the world to other creatures
Views man concretely and as an Views man as somebody who has
embodied existent creature an inner characteristics that
allows him to be distinguished
Reducibility to the world, confined from other creatures
Irreducibility to the world, enables
in the character of man as a man to transcend his corporeality
corporeal and mundane creature through actions and experience.
There is more than the concrete
existence of man, i.e. actions and
experience.
 Synthesis

With all these differences, Cosmological

and Personalistic Types of understanding
Human Being complement each other,
with the latter recognizing the former. The
personalistic type needs the corporeal
aspect of understanding man, in as much
as the cosmological also needs
personalistic type in order to fulfill the true
nature of man, not only thru concrete
existence, but also his unique and distinct
character as a Human Person
 Dimensions of the Human
Being
The Human Being can be better known
as:
• a Man
• an Individual
• a Subject
• a Person
 Human Being as a Man
• Bears the Aristotelian definition of
Man as a rational animal
• Points to the corporeal and mundane
character
• Man as a Part of the World (relationship)
• Man as an embodied existence
• In this dimension, man is considered
as a creature that is no different from
other animals, only that he has a
rational character.
• Rationality – distinct character
 Human Being as an
Individual
• Individuality presupposes human corporeality
as a separated embodied entity of this world.
• Individual – separated from the others as an
existent
» Has a concrete body that is separated from others
» It allows name to hold his existence privately, only
to himself.
• Separatedness – not an absolute
exclusion
• But also implies a certain relation with other
“individuals”
• Through individuality, one’s own
existence cannot be shared by other
Human Being as a Subject
Human Being as a Person
 Characteristics of the Human
Person
1. A Subject
• Agent of action, existence, or simply
experience
2. Rational
• Has the ability to think and understand through
the faculty of reason
3. Free
• Actions must derive from the free will of the
human person

The Human Person is more than a

concrete existing individual, but makes
something out of his existence with the use of
his faculty – reason and will.
 Conclusion
The study of the Human Person is a complex
pursuit as it is commonly experienced in our
everyday life. The human being cannot be just
understood under one aspect. The approach in
knowing the person must be holistic, i.e.
recognizing his embodied concreteness as a
man, his private and separate existence as an
individual, his efficacious ability as a subject,
and his uniqueness as a person. In order to fully
understand the human being as is, one should
not miss the fundamental fact that the human
being is not only a part of this world, but has a
role to play in every action he executes. The
human being is more than a plant, an animal.
He is a complex reality, a mystery that can
hardly be grasped. Nevertheless, we study not
just a thing nor a specimen, but our selves, our