MAN AS A PERSON

BASIC ANTHROPOLOGY MAN IS A PERSON A concrete individual substance endowed with reason MAN IS A SUBSTANTIAL UNITY: A. A UNION OF BODY AND SOUL Man possesses a complete specific nature. Man is not merely an individual substance with a unique existence, a self-subsistent substance B. MAN IS AN AUTONOMOUS BEING Because of his rational nature man is endowed with: Intelligence to understand the world Freedom to self-govern in the world The human person is the most perfect In the whole nature (saint Thomas Aquinas) With reason to understand the world & Will to direct himself to true good MAN IS A SOCIAL BEING Man is a relational being. He is open to himself and to others. Hence, man is inter-subjectivity, a community of LOVE MAN POSSESSES DIGNITY AND RIGHTS Dignity is related to goodness, excellence, and perfection The characteristics of man that point to his dignity are Intelligence, freedom, & love In his encyclical entitled humanae vitae, pope john Paul ii highlighted the incomparable worth of the human person The human person possesses dignity that has No price but value (immanuel kant) To be a human being is to be a fellow human being (Martin buber) I exist in the measure that i exist for others For after all, to be is to love (E. Mounier) The face of the other tells me that it is impossible to kill the person with that face (E. Levinas) KEY CONCEPTS OF MAN AS PERSON 1.) AUTONOMY Man must be viewed in the light of the unique vocation of each person 2.) SELF-REALIZATION Through his free activity, man cannot be judged in abstraction from the concrete state of the acting person 3.) RESPONSIBILITY Man develops his personality through Inter-subjectivity

CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY MAN IS A CREATURE God is immanent to his creatures just as he is transcendent To believe in god as creator is to look upon cosmic evolution as gods continuing action This vision should make man responsible, loving, and caring To affirm god as creator is to highlight mans relationship with god All human activities are seen as expressions of the creative, immanent and personal action of god MAN IS THE IMAGE OF GOD Man appears as the first creature that is conscious of where he has come from And of the potentialities open to him Mans likeness to God is not only in his reason but also in his responsible

conduct. He has the capacity to respond freely to the call of God. Because of this reality of man care must be taken that there be no manipulation that makes man less human that violates the dignity of his personality made to the image of god. MAN IS FALLEN BUT REDEEMED From the dawn of history, man abused his freedom, set himself against god and sought to find fulfillment apart from god. As a consequence, man became aware of his limitations and his ability to become what he ought and desires to become. Mans reason has been clouded, and his will weakened by sin and thus the image of god has been distorted. Through the incarnation, God has entered human history and restored the image of god in man. on account of his great love, he became what we are that he might make us what he is. (st. Irinaeus) The Christian response to gods call must involve entrusting oneself completely to the lord. Each moral choice is a step of faith into the future, which prepares for the next step into the unknown destiny which god has prepared for those who love him. NATURE AND GRACE Grace is a gratuitous gift of god to all persons. It is a share in the very nature of god It implies the indwelling of the blessed trinity in the soul of man Christian life consists in conforming to the workings of the Holy Spirit in the depths of mans heart. This is a destiny going beyond the capacity of man, hence it is called supernatural.