Lesson 3: Transcendence

1. Transcendence came from the two Latin words trans, across, over or beyond, and
ascendere, to go higher or to climb. Hence, transcendence is to go beyond – to reach the
peak of existence through understanding the value of humanity in any sense.
2. The transcendental man focuses on reaching far beyond what he currently is. This notion
of transcendence helps man to aspire for more than what he is now without forgetting
his authentic identity as a human person.
3. ARISTOTLE
4. Man, being the subject of the ancient philosophers, cannot be separated from the idea of
duality. Aristotle taught man as a substance, having the composition of Body and Soul.
5. He then understood that man’s body has a psyche, the soul, which is the force of every
living being in the Greek culture.
6. The psyche is the structure of the body, which controls the reproduction, movement, and
perception.
7. The soul is the form while the body is the matter of a person. The body and soul are two
different things but in one entity, they cannot be separated because the separation of it
would mean death to a person.
8. PLATO
9. The stand of Plato with regard to the soul of man is in contradicting with the idea of
Aristotle. In his book Phaedo, Plato discusses the immortality of the soul.
10. Death is the separation of the soul from the body and it will survive death.
11. To support his theory of the immortality of the soul, Socrates provided four arguments
which Plato wrote, namely: cyclical argument, theory of recollection, affinity argument,
and argument from the form of life.
a. Cyclical Argument – this argument bases on the argument from opposites wherein
everything comes from out of its opposite. Since life is the opposite of death, life
and death has a perpetual cycle and after the death of the body, the soul will
continue to live.
b. Theory of Recollection – this theory asserts that learning is essentially an act
wherein we recollect our previous knowledge which we have learned before we
were born but forgotten. Socrates argues that true knowledge is the one that is
perpetual and unchanging. This can be proved by our innate knowledge of things,
for example, we can notice two things that are not of the same height or length
since we have the innate idea of equality which we know even before our birth. It
implies that the soul must have existed even before having a body, but forgotten
all the learnings which we need to recollect as we live by our body.
c. Argument from Affinity – this argument distinguishes between those that are
immaterial, invisible, and immortal, and those that are material, visible, and
perishable. The soul belongs to the former and the body to the latter. It is argued
that a soul who is not properly detached from the body will long to return to flesh
while the soul who properly detaches itself from the body will dwell free.
d. Argument from the Form of Life – this argument bases from the theory of forms
which states the a form is perfectly itself and does not admit its opposite. Since
 the form of the soul is life, this form can never have its opposite which is death,
and the soul will always be absolutely alive.
12. CONFUCIUS
13. Confucianism is based on the teachings of the most famous Chinese philosopher, or sage
in their concept, Confucius. He was born at around 550 BCE in the State of Lu (known now
as the Qufu County, Shandong, China), and was named Kong Qui. During his lifetime, he
worked to reform and create a peaceful world and was concerned with knowing one’s
place in the society. Because of his fame, many followed him and called him Master Kong.
His followers compiled his philosophy after his death as they recall their experience and
learnings with their master. The compilation was called the Lun-yu, commonly known as
The Analects consisting of 20 chapters and 492 sections. The Analects centered on the
concept of benevolence or humanity as it discussed political, educational, ethical, and
material wealth ideas. For Confucius, the ideal personality and goal of man is to become
a gentleman, in whom benevolence, justice, and morality are concentrated.
14. HINDUISM
15. The principal concepts of Hinduism can be found and read in the Bhagavad-Gita, the Song
of the Lord, which is part of the Great Epic Mahabharata. It also consists of beautiful
poetries of the Hindu culture. At the heart of Hinduism lies the idea of the human being’s
quest for absolute truth for the soul to be one with the Brahman, the absolute soul.
16. The foremost gods of Hinduism are known as the Trimurti, Sanskrit for three forms. The
Trimurti are Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. The world
is in great cycle, called as the Mahayuga which lasts for 4,320,000 years. The cycle of
creation-destruction-creation is constant in Hinduism and the Trimurti is in-charge of it.
17. In Hinduism, God first created sound and the universe arose from it. The Aum (Om), the
most sacred sound, is the root of the universe and everything that exists and it continues
to hold everything together.
18. The human being, for Hinduism, have dual nature: the spiritual and immortal essence
(soul) and the empirical life and character. Between the two natures, the soul is the
ultimately real.
19. The immortal soul is enclosed in a body like a prisoner and is bound by the Law of Karma;
it can only be liberated after spiritual progress through endless cycle of rebirth.
20. The basic goal of the people is the liberation (moksha) of the spirit (Jiva). As they live,
being bound in the Law of Karma (Action), their life is in a continuous cycle of rebirth, the
samsara. The spirit lives continuously but the body goes through a transmigratory series
of birth and death. This transmigration or metempsychosis is a doctrine that adheres to
the belief that a person’s soul passes into some other creature, may it be human or
animal.
21. The soul can go to an upward scale only if the person lived a good life while on the
contrary, those who lived in bad or evil ways will be passed into a body of an animal. The
more they become good, the better life they will have in their rebirth. As they face the
unending cycle of rebirth, they should focus on the ultimate liberation, the freedom from
rebirth, which can be achieved the moment an individual attains the stage of life
emancipation – the total realization of one’s spiritual nature. They must learn to live in
accordance to their spiritual existence. The Moksha is the enlightened state wherein one
 attains one’s true selfhood and finds himself one with the ultimate reality, the all-
encompassing reality – the Brahman.
22. In the process, the Hindu should have the attainment of self-knowledge, to overcome the
congenital ignorance. The Upanishads, sometimes called as the Vedanta, is interpreted
as the “last chapters or parts” of Veda, a large body of religious texts of Hinduism.
23. The Vedanta is considered as the highest purpose of the Veda. The central concepts of
the Upanishad are the Brahman (Ultimate Reality) and the Atman (soul, self), where it
teaches, “Know your Atman”.
24. In attaining this reality, one should have the Vidya, the true knowledge which consists the
understanding and realization of one’s real self (atman) in contrast with the lower
knowledge based on sensed experience which is the way of life in flesh.
25. When a soul achieve the ultimate moksha, the spirit will escape the endless cycle of life
and death and enters into the state of “Nothingness”, Nirvana, in the physical being. This
state of Nothingness does not speak of not doing anything, but by not being bothered by
any thoughts brought about by sufferings and wanting in life. Once they die, the soul will
be in Nirvana, the bliss of being one with the Brahman which compensates for all
sufferings.
26. The four supreme ends or primary values of Hinduism are:
a. Artha – Material Wealth – though hinders them to reach Brahman, it can be good
and desirable when kept in perspective.
b. Kama – Physical Pleasure – this is the end that they should left behind since
pleasure of the body corresponds to the suffering of the soul and keeps the focus
on the body rather than the soul.
c. Dharma – Spiritual Value of Duty – this refers to patience, sincerity, fairness, love,
honesty, and other similar duties. This is also known as righteousness. To fully
achieve Moksha, one should live in accordance to his Dharma.
d. Moksha – Spiritual Value of Enlightenment – one is illuminated and liberated and
most importantly, finds release from the wheel of existence. Those who do not
achieve enlightenment are bound to repeated existence, samsara.
27. In the teachings of Hinduism, enlightenment or selfhood is the end of Samsara, and this
focuses on the Karma. This Law of Karma is the reward or punishment of their actions,
Purva is the immediate Karma while Apurva is the delayed Karma which they will receive
in life or in the next. The wheel of existence turns until one achieves enlightenment and
escapes the series of rebirth.
28. BUDDHISM
29. As Hinduism flourished, one major eastern tradition began at around 500 BC through the
teachings of its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Buddhism rooted from the
deep contemplation and life questions of Gautama as to the sufferings in the world. He is
a highborn prince from the Sakya Clan who should have been the successor of their
family’s political venture. His father tried to conceal all things related to Hinduism since
Gautama is curious of the mysticism around him. When he was travelling, he saw people
with their life’s sufferings, disease, old age, and death. As a person who was concealed of
these things, he asked his chariot driver about the things the he have seen. His quest for
answers in these riddles of life began by studying the philosophies of Hinduism, then
 trying a rigorous act of asceticism which the ascetics in the forest followed him because
of his great discipline and perfection of it. To no avail, he did not find the answers he was
looking for. As he rests and meditates under the Bo tree he then realized that the solution
lies into making and sharing his Dharma, the Law of Salvation. His dharma consists of the
cultivation of right spiritual attitudes and self-imposed discipline to master the bodily
desires toward the right direction. He rejects philosophical speculations and rejected
religious rights and scriptures.
30. The teaching of Buddha, the enlightened one, has been set to the belief on the “Four
Noble Truths” leading to the “Eightfold Path”, this will then help them achieve the
perfection of character, Aratship.
31. Gautama taught that the Four Noble Truths are:
a. The Truth of the Suffering (Dukkha)
b. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering (Samudāya)
c. The Truth of the End of Suffering (Nirodha)
d. The Truth of the Path that leads to the End of Suffering (Magga)
32. The Truth of the Path that leads to the End of Suffering is called the Eightfold Path,
namely:
a. Right belief in and acceptance of the “Fourfold Truth”
b. Right aspiration for one’s self and for others
c. Right speech that harms no one
d. Right conduct, motivated by goodwill toward all human beings
e. Right means of livelihood
f. Right endeavor or effort toward a wise end
g. Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought
h. Right meditation to the point of complete absorption to mystic ecstasy
33. The eightfold path is a preparation for entering Nirvana (enlightened wisdom) after death,
a completeness of selflessness. When one achieves this Nirvana, he breaks the Law of
Karma and exits the cycle of unending rebirth or samsara, if not, they will be born again
depending on their karma. This complete selflessness speaks of being free from the
positive and the negative karma in life. One should be free from these karmas, but one
must pursue doing the path to achieve Nirvana.
34. Because of Buddha’s teachings, followers began to practice his dharma. These followers
are called “Sangha”, community of monks and nuns, who dedicated themselves to self-
purification and loyalty to the Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha. They evangelized India
by disseminating the doctrine of the middle way between extreme asceticism and self-
indulgence. They were bound to follow these rules but not to the point of blind
obedience. They refrain themselves from: (1) destroying life, (2) taking what is not given,
(3) misuse of the senses, (4) wrong speech, and (5) taking drugs or drinks that tend to
cloud the mind.
35. Buddha’s legacy led the people to attaining transcendence by doing what is good and
becoming selfless in order to perfect one’s character and be ready in entering the Nirvana.
36. CHRISTIANITY
37. The mystery of Christianity’s faith is the reality of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and second
coming. As the way to God the Father, Christians all over the world follow the teachings
 of Christ based on the Decalogue as he summarized it into two: the love of God and the
love of neighbors as yourself. The teachings of Christianity is basically focusing on the love
of God to humanity and as to how humanity should do that same love to other, a self-
sacrificing love.
38. The transcendence of man can be achieve if one lives a holy life, becoming selfless and
always for others. Hence, Jesus’ example of servant leadership has become the
framework of how a person should live, as a servant even if he is a leader, and on the
other hand, as a faithful follower as a servant. Christianity’s search for God led them to
the service to others as they balance a prayer life and helping other people. The Catholic
Church finds herself in the midst of the saintly people who are created good but tends to
choose what is more pleasurable than the good of the others.
39. As they flourish, heretics try to destroy the Church’s foundation by spreading lies and
debunking the existence of God. They spread philosophical inquiries and satisfied people
by arguing that God is not existing at all. St. Thomas Aquinas, the angelic doctor of the
Church, came with his philosophical arguments as he proved the existence of God through
his Quinque Viae, the Five Ways. This argument is found in his book, Summa Theologica,
Question 2, Article 3; as it states that the five proofs of God’s existence are:
a. Argument from Motion – The first argument is the argument from motion in which
a thing is moved by another that is also moved by something or someone. It can
be said that a thing that moved a thing can also be moved by another, “therefore,
whatever is in motion must be put in motion by another”.
b. Argument from Causality – There is an original first cause of everything but not
itself because nothing can exist prior to its existence to create itself.
c. Argument from Contingency – There must be something necessary to exist first, a
necessary being, which did not exist from another necessary being. This being
must be the root of all from which the second argument is telling.
d. Argument from Degrees and Perfection – The fourth argument is the gradation to
be found in things. Gradation from which we can classify everything as more
“good” or less “good”, they can be seen according to their perfection. A supreme
good which is the source of all “good” in this world should be existing without
depending on others.
e. Argument from Finality – The fifth argument is the governance of the world.
Beings that do not have enough knowledge cannot go to an end. The theme of the
fifth argument states that there must be a being which does not lack in knowledge.
That being is the one that directs us to our destiny.
40. Man’s transcendence in Christianity is to be reunited with God by following the Church’s
precepts and striving perfection to become holy.

Lesson 4:The Human Person in their Environment

1. Biocentrism is an ethical perspective that all life deserve a morally equal standing in the
society and environment. Though this can be seen in the philosophies since the ancient
time, it is just in the late 20th century that the western world had a systematic
understanding of this.
2. This is brought about by the destruction to the environment made by man and the
unequal treatment to human being due to culture, race, color, and religion.
3. It presents the simple criterion that all living being, alive as such, deserve to be treated
morally equal.
4. Anthropocentrism speaks of man being more important than that of the environment. It
came from the Greek word Anthropos, which means human. Its view is that man is the
central or most significant entity in the world. The idea of anthropocentrism holds that
man is superior to all things and that the other existing beings.
5. On the other hand, environmentalists believe that man should not over exploit the
environment. They hold the stand on Ecocentrism, which presents the idea that
ecosystem, habitats, specie, and population are the central objects for environmental
concerns. Humanity, as a single object in the ecosystem, should not be the only focus and
should be understood as one with the nature itself. The holistic concern of ecocentrism is
the preservation of the whole ecosystem rather than the preservation of certain species.
It condones the use and exploitation of the environment as long as it poses balance to the
ecosystem. The ecological or relational integrity of humans provides meaning of our
morals and values.
6. The different views and theories on cosmogony, specifically on the origin of the world
began through wonder and deep reflection on things. The ancient philosophers give
theories that contradicts one another due to the fact that the world, during their time,
has no idea of what the universe really made out of.
a. Thales of Miletus – Thales is considered as the Father of Western Philosophy. He
stated that the universe/world is made up of water. Explaining that the world is
like a log floating on the vast water. This idea of water as the primary source of all
things came up when he fell in a dried well, noticing that every morning everything
has moisture. He then stated that everything is made up of moist/water.
b. Anaximander – He is a student and a contemporary of Thales. Anaximander
argued that the universe could not be made up of water or any other elements.
He said that the original stuff is the Apeiron, the indeterminate boundless.
Everything is finite and there should be an original source that is infinite. This
boundless is an essential stuff. Anaximander himself cannot point out what and
where it is.
c. Anaximenes – He proposed that air is the primary substance from which all things
have originated. He stated that the rarity, loosening (hot), and the density,
tightening (cold) made up the universe. When air is rarified, it can become fire and
when it is condensed, it becomes wind, then clouds, when still more condensed it
becomes water, then earth, then stones. Everything else comes from these.
d. Pythagoras of Samos – Pythagoras, as a mathematician, proposed that everything
must have come from numbers. He described the universe as the representation
of naure’s order, harmony, and beauty. Since everything is measurable and can be
numbered, then everything must have originated from numbers. Numbers or
mathematical principle give order, harmony, rhythm, and beauty to the world. He
was the one who coined the term “cosmos”. For Pythagoras, our relationship with
 the universes involves Biophilia (love of other living things) and Cosmophilia (love
of other living beings).
e. Heraclitus of Ephesus – Heraclitus focused on the problem of change. Everything
is in a constant flux, in constant motion or change. Saying that, “no one can step
the same river twice”. Since everything is changing, he proposed that fire is the
origin of all things because everything that passes through fire changes.
f. Parmenides of Elea – He did not agree with his teacher, Heraclitus. He said that
change is just an illusion. Everything is permanent and whatever we perceive are
just the deception of our senses.
g. Empedocles – He argued that change and motion are made possible because
objects are composed of many particles, which are in themselves changeless.
These four changeless elements are earth, air, fire, and water.
h. Leucippus – He is the founder of the atomist school, where Democritus of Abdera,
known as the father of modern science, elaborated his philosophy. He stated that
everything is made up of atoms moving in empty space. Everything is a product of
the collision of atoms moving in space.
7. Environmental Ethics
8. The growing environmental concerns in our era pose a big challenge to all people as to
how they should live a worthy life taking care of the environment as their own. In the
philosophical and ethical perspectives, theories have been presented to us as to how we
relate to our nature or environment. These theories demonstrate how we relate and treat
other beings in this world. Here are some theories to consider:
a. Deep Ecology – this theory began in the late 20th century as it looks on the
environmental crises we face as outcome of man’s anthropocentric view on the
environment. For this theory, the identification of the ego with the nature will help
man understand the extension of his existence with the environment. Hence, for
man to be fully aware of the importance of the environment, he should start
looking on himself as part of the nature rather than treating it as an object. This
view pursues that man should shift from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism so that
humanity may save the environment.
b. Ecofeminism – this theory of feminism with the environment focuses on the
treatment of humanity to the environment like that of a woman. It blames the
superiority and dominance of male in the society, which gives way to different
crises. Ecofeminists believe that the way the society neglects women in many
aspects, so, too, that the environment is being neglected due to the patriarchal
thinking and male superiority in the dominance of nature. Instead of treating the
environment as a conformant to what is superior, it should be tamed, ordered,
and submit to the will of the superior; hence, removing the idea of superiority and
inferiority in the relationship.
c. Social Ecology – this theory is related to the political and geographical placement
of the people in the environment. It views that the crises we have are brought
about by imbalance in the distribution of the resources we have. The different
social strata divide the resources unequally, as how few people in the higher
stratum overpower the environment as they exploit it for self-interest while many
 suffers due to the lack of resources to use. Giving balance in this distribution of
good shall be practiced for the safe keeping of the fruitful existence of man and
his environment.
d. Disenchantment and New Animism – in this theory, the outlook of man is based
on Animism, which views that personalized souls are found in animals, plants, and
other material objects. It gives man the feeling of oneness with the nature since
their souls represent other beings in the environment. Disenchantment turn away
from this view and caused destruction to the environment since they do not see
the environment as part of their identity. New animism is an attempt to re-
enchant and save the environment by looking again at nature as mystical and
united with one’s soul.
9. Immanuel Kant in his third critique, The Critique of Judgment, poses the importance of
beauty as a symbol of morality. He emphasized that even we can see chaos, ugly nature,
in the form of natural forces that are destructive, there is still hope to see beautiful things.
10. Herbert Marcuse in his book “One Dimensional Man” shows how humanity has
dominated the nature. The domination has caused destruction because of our attitudinal
relationship on things, especially with nature. The only way to renew and transform this
negative domination of man is to change our point of views on things, to nature rather
than exploit.
11. George Herbert Mead believed that as inhabitants of this planet and as part of a particular
society, we are bound to duties aside from having rights.
12.