The human person in the environment

Paradigm shift
a change from mythical explanation of the origins of the cosmos to a more rational explanation.
Two Main Frame Works
1. Anthropocentric Model
 humans are superior and central to the universe; thus, it is human centered.
 Human
 Culture
 Individualism
 Mind
 Calculative
 Human over/against Environments
 Global/Technological
 it follows that human arrogance toward nature is justifiable to satisfy human interest.
 humans adopt an exploitive attitude whenever nature is merely considered as an instrument for
one’s profit or gain.
SOME EFFECTS OF ANTROPOCENTRIC MODEL

2. Ecocentric Model
 the ecological or relational integrity of the humans provides meaning of our morals and values
and it is nature centered.
 Nature
 Wild
 Holism
 Nature/ Cosmos
 Body
 Relational
 Earth/Wisdom
 Ecology over/ against humans
Carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use
and end-of-life of a product or service.
Carbon Footprint has Eight Categories
Construction
Shelter
Food
Clothing
Mobility
Manufactured Good
Services
Trade
Recognizing that respect for indigenous knowledge.
• Article 29 Sect. 1: Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the
environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources. States shall
establish and implement assistance programmes for indigenous peoples for such conservation
and protection, without discrimination.
ANCIENT THINKERS
• Anaximander, employed the term “boundless” to convey further thought that nature is
indeterminate- boundless in the sense that no boundaries between the warm and cold or the
moist and dry regions are originally present within it.
• According to Anaximander’s sketch of the genesis of the world (cosmogony), the evolution of
the world begins with the generation of opposites in a certain region of nature.
• Pythagoras
• He sees our relationship with universe involving biophilia (love of the living things) and
cosmophilia (love of other living beings).
• Pythagorean beliefs such as vegetarianism, abstinence, refusal to eat beans, refusal to wear
animal skins, celibacy, self-examination, immortality, and reincarnation were conceived by the
author as ethical and ecological.
MODERN THINKERS
• Immanuel Kant expressed that beauty is ultimately a symbol of morality.
• According to Kant, we must ignore any practical motive or inclination that we have and instead
contemplate the object without being distracted by our desires.
Deep Ecology
• Is an ecological philosophy developed by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in the early 1970’s
asserting that all life forms have an equal right to exist, and human needs and desires have no
priority over those of other organisms. Believes that the living environment should be
respected and regarded as having rights to flourish, independent of its utility to
humans.
Social Ecology
• is defined as the study of the relation between the developing human being and the settings
and contexts in which the person is actively involved.
Ecofeminism
• branch of feminism that examines the connections between women and nature.
• A philosophical idea that combines feminism and ecology concerns, emphasizing that both
suffer from their treatment by a male dominated society.

Freedom of Human Person

Aristotle: The Power of Volition
• Humanity’s capacity to make choices, also called free will, is an instrument of free choice.
• It is within the power of everyone to be good or bad, worthy or worthless.
• This is borne out of:
• Our inner awareness of an aptitude to do right or wrong;
• The common testimony of all human beings;
• The reward and punishment of rulers;
• The general employment of praise and blame.
• 2 kinds of MORAL
- IMMORAL
• that is against what is norm of morality and right reason.
- AMORAL
• which is neither good nor evil.
• For Aristotle, a human being is rational (Rational Animal).
• The characteristics of human beings rational is the characteristic that the philosophers such
Plato and Marcus Aurelius said to be unique to us.
• Our capability of reason is the thing the separates us from the beasts.
 Happiness is the ultimate goal of the human being. It is the result from the unique
attribute of reason, which functions harmoniously with human faculties.
• To attain happiness, a person must develop two kinds of habits:
• Mental activity such as knowledge, which leads to the highest human activity, contemplation.
• Moral Virtues by pursuing the golden mean, the principle of moderation.
Thomas Aquinas: Love is Freedom and Spiritual Freedom
• Love is Freedom
• Of all creatures of God, human beings have the unique power to change themselves and the
things around them for the better.
• Human beings are the only creatures who could shape their environment and civilization
according to their thoughts, plans, and beliefs.
Aquinas’ Four Fold Classification of Laws
ETERNAL LAW
• is the decree of God that governs all creation. It is the law which is the Supreme Reason
cannot be understood to be otherwise than unchangeable and eternal.
• Example: The God’s plan
NATURAL LAW
• imperative to do good and avoid evil.
DIVINE LAW
• is concerned with those standards that must be satisfied by a human being to achieve eternal
salvation.
• Example: ten commandments
HUMAN LAW
• promulgated by human beings
Aquinas pointed to a higher form of happiness possible to humanity beyond this life.
Jean Paul Sartre: Individual Freedom
• Sartre’s existentialism stems from the principle “ existence precedes essence”.
• On the other hand, the human person who tries to escape obligations and strives to
be an en-soi (e.g., excuses such as “I was born this way” or “I grew up in a bad
environment”) is acting on bad faith (mauvaise foi).
Thomas Hobbes: Social Contract
• Law of Nature (lex naturalis) is a precept or general rule established by reason by which a
person is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life or takes away the means of
preserving the same, and to omit that by which he thinks it may be best preserved.
• This becomes his first law of nature. The reasonableness of seeking peace immediately suggests
a second law of nature, which is that we mutually divest ourselves of certain of certain rights.
• The mutual transferring of these rights is called a “contract” and is the basis of the notion of
moral obligation and duty.
• If one agrees to give up his right to harm you, you give up right to harm him.
Leviathan
• “The fundamental law of nature seeks peace and follows it, while at the same time, by the sum
of natural right, we should defend ourselves by all mean that we can”
• The third law of nature is that human beings perform the covenant they made.
• Further, this law is the fountain of justice. When there has been no covenant, no action can be

unjust. However, when a covenant has been made, to break it is unjust.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• In his book The Social Contract, he elaborated his theory of human nature. In Rousseau, a new
era of sentimental piety found its beginning.
• While Rousseau interpreted the idea in terms of absolute democracy and individualism,
Hobbes developed his idea in favor of absolute monarchy.
• Both Rousseau and Hobbes have one thing in common, that is, they believe that human beings
have to form a community or civil society to protect themselves from one another.
• On the other hand, Rousseau believed that a human being are born free and good. But society,
civilization, and learning corrupts him as he progresses.
• Social contract is a philosophical fiction, a metaphor, and a certain way of looking at society of
voluntary collection of agreeable individuals.
• However, the constitution and the Bill of Rights (Art III of 1987 Constitution) constituted as an
instance of a social contract.
Intersubjectivity

Intersubjectivity means something that is shared between two minds.

Intersubjectivity relates to the way a person experiences something in his or her own.
Ontology is a branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being.
Martin Buber and Karol Wojtyla
 Both philosophers were influenced by their religious roots and experiences.
 Believed in the notion of concrete experience/existence of the human person.
 Emphasize that life, people, and experiences are connected to us and we are connected to
them.
Martin Buber
 Jewish existentialist philosopher
I-You relations
 relationship of mutual and reciprocal connection
I –thou philosophy
 is about the human person as a subject, a being different from things or from objects.
I-It relationship
 is a person to thing, subject to object that is merely experiencing and using.
We relations
 Social dimension
Karol Wojtyla or Pope John Paul II
 In his encyclical letter, Fides et ratio, he criticized the traditional definition of human as “rational
animal.”
 Human person is the one who exists and acts (conscious acting, has a will, has self-
determination).
Augustine of Hippo said “No human being should become an end to himself/herself. We are responsible
to our neighbors as we are to our own actions
Weltanschauung
 a particular philosophy or view of life; the worldview of an individual or group.
 For example, Filipinos want to be in harmony or sakop with others and nature.
 The weltanschauung or diwa of Filipinos vis-à-vis thinking is nondual.
 A Filipino has the harmony-with-nature orientation. In short, the Filipino is interpersonalistic,
who would fulfill the sakop.
 Loob has been inseparable from the religious concerns.
 Through loob, there is communion with self, others, and God.
In Hinduism, the Vedantist observes the three stages to commune with God:
1. Faith (spirit) – seeker simply accepts the laws of nature as expression of divine existence.
2. reason (intellect) – the seeker attempts to understand these laws by rational and logical process
though God is beyond the power of any created intellect to comprehend.
3. experience (physical body) – seeker overcomes the worldly attachments.
Appreciating the Talents and Contributions of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and Those from the
Underprivileged Sectors of Society
A. On PWDs
 The term “person with disability” (PWD) is used instead of the word “disabled person”
because this term maintains the dignity and value of the person.
 “Disabled person” implies that the personhood of the individual is broken and
problematic, when in fact, it is only his body that has a disability.

B. On Underprivileged Sectors of Filipino Society

Dimensions of Poverty
 The notion of poverty is multidimensional.
 This means a person can be poor not only in terms of money, clothing, and food but also in
terms of education, love, and relationships.
 Dimensions have common characteristic of representing deprivation that encompasses:
a. Income
b. Health
c. Education
d. Empowerment
e. Working condition
Income poverty
 Most common measure of the underprivileged and defined in terms of consumption of goods
and services.
Poor health
 Also an important aspect of poverty.
 Almost always a direct result of income poverty.
 Health deprivation had become the focal point for the underprivileged.
Human rights
 Also relevant to issues of global poverty in its focus on shortfalls in basic needs.
 The Church, in its pro-poor stance, is constantly challenged wherein justice is being denied to
sectors like farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous people, and victims of calamity and labor.
C. On the Rights of Women
 Society should allow women to attain equal rights to philosophy and education given to
men.
 Women must learn to defend and nourish their dignity and self-respect
Explaining the Authentic Dialogue that is Accepting Others Regardless of Individual Difference
We Are a Conversation
 In his essay, Martin Heidegger said that humankind is a conversation.
 Conversation is more that an idle talk but a dialogue.
 Language is a tool for communication, information, and social interaction.
 A dialogue is a conversation that is attuned to each other and to whatever the participants are
talking about.
Performing Activities that Demonstrate the Talents of PWDs and Underprivileged Sectors of Society.
Executive Order No. 417
 Mandates all national government agencies and state-run corporations to allot at least one
percent of their annual budget for programs that will benefit the sector.
 It addresses the need for the government to provide capitalization for PWD livelihood activities,
which include support for technical skills through the labor department.
QUESTIONS.
 . If Rousseau interpreted the idea of social contract in terms of absolute
democracy and individualism, how Hobbes developed his idea regarding social
contract? Monarchy
 Who among the following argues that humanity had dominated nature and
change takes place if we will change our attitude towards our perception of the
environment?Herbert Marcuse
 It is a general rule established by reason by which a person is forbidden to do
which is destructive of one’s life. Law of Nature
It is said to exist by acquisition when the sovereign power has been acquired by
force. . Commonwealth
 Genesis 1:26-28 states that God giving dominion to humanity over other
creatures are tasked to subdue the earth. What quality is highlighted when we
have the ability to regulate one’s action and behavior? Prudence
 Which among the philosophers’ assert that our biological urge for survival turns
into selfishness and laziness? Erich Fromm
 . What recent typhoon in the Philippines made its drastic landfall in Patnanungan,
Quezon on November 11, 2020?Vamco
 . Which among the following qualities comes from giving and sharing? Joy
 According to him, as human beings, we do not only have rights but duties in the
environment. George Mead
 Which among the choices refer to equal consideration to each human life?
Justice
 This is also called bad faith. mauvaise foi
 His philosophy is considered to be a representative of [Link]
Paul Sartre
 It should not only be obeyed but also obeyed voluntarily with understanding. Also
known as legal laws.s