The Structure of Human Nature

Norris Clarke

Are we just simply bodies or souls within bodies? This is a question, no matter how many
times it has been asked, would remain a mystery. All we have now are theories and discourses
on the existence of man. No matter how long and deep I contemplate on the answer to such an
intriguing question, I know that there will always be an area left unanswered. The following
essay by Norris Clarke extrapolates Thomas Aquinas metaphysics of the human person.

The article assumes a creative retrieval and completion of St. Thomas view of the human
person. In here, Clarke illustrates how the concept of person, drawn partly from theological
grounds, provides an enriching new perspective on St. Thomas view of the human person. He
discusses man as a rational human being one that is gifted with unique and exclusive intellect
and free will making him the highest of the animals. Initially, St. Thomas philosophical process
of discovery of the nature of the human being followed Aristotelian path, he quickly went beyond
Aristotle to construct his own Christian synthesis on the topic. He offered a more profound and
more exact description of the human being and that is man as an embodied spirit. An
embodied spirit signifies mans place in the hierarchy of beings. In this perspective, man his
pace as the lowest of the spirit, slowly integrating the human spirit to his body bin his quest for
self-realization. According to Clarke, the relationship of the body and soul is an intrinsic one. He
argues that the body is the only apt vehicle for the souls expression in matter in this world. For
St. Thomas, the human person (body and soul) is the frontier being in Gods creation one who
lives between matter and spirit, and time and eternity.

The essay further discussed St. Thomas conception of the act of existence. Clarke presented
his creative reconstruction of the characteristics of personal living. To him, the essence of being
is dynamic and extensive. It is not an independent act but a naturally pouring over phenomenon
where man gives himself to others in self-expression and self-communication. The relationality
of man becomes a central theme of the act of existence. St. Thomas believes that the structure
of a real being is to be substance-in-relation. Clarke further expounds on this thought and
discusses that in order to achieve this level of relationality, one must be in touch with oneself
first this he called self-possession. This enables a real being to be in touch or aware of itself
not as a separate entity but as subject immediately present to itself from within. He relates this
concept to Sleeping Beauty. He states that we must first be touched by another in order that we
can wake up to ourselves thus we must relate to other persons first, then return to ourselves
having been awakened to recognize ourselves as persons. The process of self-possession
through self-knowledge, however, does not reach a final stage of completeness. Throughout the
life of a human person, he is always in a cycle of known-unknown, a place where the unknown
dominates a persons life like the tip of an iceberg emerging above the water.

Self-possession pours over to Clarkes second retrieval which is Personal being as self-
communicative and relational. Clarke emphasized that St. Thomas believed that man is a
social being. It is but natural for man to interact with others to take delight in living with others
in a community. This reminds me of the famous saying, No man is an island. Apparently, even
philosophers and theologians of long time ago, believed that it is innate in man to socialize and
to interact even as he continues on the journey of self-discovery.

Clarkes last creative retrieval is that of self-transcendence. This is the ultimate goal of St.
Thomas discourse on the human nature. Man has always been directed to get out of himself
and reach out to others in order to form larger unified entities and as such, moving toward the
Infinite Good. Self-transcendence highlights the relational nature of being and when applied to a
person, the person achieves the highest perfection and most intense expression of existence. A
personal being, therefore is an act of existing; it is the manifestation of all things what it means
to be and to exist. In other words, person means an act of existence that transcends matter
which is the body and becomes an act of presence having made aware of itself (self-
consciousness).

Therefore, human beings are substantial unities of body and soul, existing to give/share
themselves and receive from others. Perfection or actuality is the natural end of things and as
beings; man continues to seek things to be completed in and through God. And because of the
belief that God pervades and sustains all things, all things have potential to affect each other
and the world at large.
The Dynamism of the Spirit and the Infinite Within

It is mans nature to be curious. It is innately human to question the nature of the world and the
meaning of his own existence. In mans quest in knowing God, man tends to look into what they
can see and explain. St. Thomas approach to God seems to tap on the dynamism of the human
spirit, both as an intellect and will toward the Infinite. It is quite a challenge to grasp what he
means though. I look into the definition of dynamism and Merriam-Webster defined it as the
energy and strong desire to make something happen. It is a definition that aptly described
human beings.

St. Thomas believes that despite mans knowledge being finite, it still has the capacity to
expand. He believes that this in itself explains that the mind has an affinity to the totality of
being. While he believes that man does not have direct intellectual understanding of God, St.
Thomas insists that we must always begin with the knowledge of the sensible world and allow
ourselves to be led by the hand of material things in comparison with the sensible things which
leads us to an indirect knowledge of God. The material world, in a sense, leads man to God.
Mans unquenchable thirst for knowledge makes me realize that only an Infinite being can fulfill
mans quest for knowledge.

The fast development of mans intellect should match mans unrestrained will to do well. Just as
man searches for boundless knowledge, we also long for contentment. St. Thomas argues that
man a pre-conceived knowledge of something that is good. The tendency of man to be attracted
towards the unrestricted good gives us a vague and implicit knowledge of the mysterious infinite
good that makes sense of our every desire for partial goods. Even mans tendency to seek
happiness and fulfillment through power, drugs, alcohol or sex is unconscious act of searching
for God. It is however how we seek it that prevents us from getting the result we desire
incomparable peace of authentic happiness. None of the things we do whether physical or
spiritual can satisfy that craving only God can.

The dynamism of the spirit is the convergence of the intellect and the will. Spirit is defined and
seen in several ways. The spirit serves as an expression of the supernatural and personal faith
experience. The manifestation of divine infinity in man is that of mans ability to have infinite
capacity for God. I firmly believe and agree that St. Thomas has presented a vivid conclusion on
the existence of God based on the dynamic forces experienced by all human beings and that
the existence of God is manifested in our totality as human beings, having been created in his
image and likeness.
CASE STUDY

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Chief Executive thinks that the mission statement needs to be redrafted to
include key areas where HR activities can be developed so that they make a more
significant contribution to the companys performance.
III. CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM
There was a decrease in sales due to lack of manpower and dissatisfaction of
employees.
IV. RELATED LITERATURE
Boxall, P, Purcell, J. & Wright P. (2007). Human resource management: scope,
analysis and significance, in Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management,
(ed) P Boxall, J Purcell and P Wright, Oxford University Press
Guest, D., Michie, J., Conway, N., & Sheenan, M. (n.d.). Human resource
management and corporate performance in the UK. British Journal of Industrial
Relations, 41 (2), pp 291314
Guest, D. (2007). HRM: towards a new psychological contract. Oxford Handbook of
Human Resource Management, (ed) P Boxall, J Purcell and P Wright, Oxford
University Press)
Kauffman, Gary (2006). How to Fix HR. Harvard Business Review, p. 30
Paauwe, Jaap (2004). HRM and Performance: Achieving long term viability. Oxford
University Press
Kochan, T.A. (2007). Social legitimacy of the HR profession, in Oxford Handbook of
Human Resource Management, (ed) P Boxall, J Purcell and P Wright, Oxford
University Press
V. CRITERIA AND ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS
Alternative Solutions:
1) cost--can we afford it; will it be cost-
effective?
2) reliability--does it have proven success, or
is it subject to failures?
3) stability--will it still work if conditions
change?
4) invulnerability--will it work if one of its
component parts fails?
5) flexibility--can it accomplish more than one
thing?
6) riskiness--is there a high chance of all or
nothing?
7) communicability--is it easy to understand?
8) merit--does it address the problem?
9) simplicity--is it easy to implement?
10) compatibility--is it congruent with existing
norms and procedures?
11) reversibility--can we return to our prior
state if it fails?
12) robustness--can it succeed in different
future states

VI. SOLUTION, RECOMMENDATION AND JUSTIFICATION