HUMAN PERSON as

EMBODIED SPIRIT

GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA

General Mariano Alvarez Technical HS 12
 TO THE LEARNERS

Here are some reminders as you use this module:

 Use the module with care especially in turning each page.
 Be reminded to answer the Pre-Test before moving on to the
Learning Module.
 Read and comprehend the directions in every exercises.
 Observe honesty in answering the tests and exercises.
 Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of this
material.
 Try to finish a given activity before proceeding to the next.
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Introduction to
the Philosophy
of the
Human Person
Plato’s Concept of a Human Being

GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA

Copyright 2019

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 WHAT IS THIS MODULE ALL ABOUT?

This module serves as a learning resource material in understanding the

target competency expected in the curriculum.

TOPIC
Plato’s Concept of a Human Being

CONTENT STANDARD
The learner understands the human person as an embodied spirit

PERFORMANCE STANDARD
The learner distinguishes his/her own limitations and the possibilities
for his/her transcendence

LEARNING COMPETENCY
PPT11/12-If-3.1: Recognize own limitations and possibilities

The presented activities or exercises and texts are developed

in order to meet the following objectives:

1. Explain Plato’s concept about human limitations

2. Classify human possibilities rooted from Plato’s ‘The Republic’

3. Appreciate own imperfections as a key towards self-enrichment

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 PRE-TEST

Read the following items carefully. Write the

letter of your answer in a separate sheet of
paper.

1. His idea of two worlds is evident in the Christian distinction between

this physical world and the world afterlife.

A. Plato
B. Aristotle
C. Socrates
D. Descartes

2. In the allegory of the cave, the cave depicts________________.

A. World of gods
B. World of abyss
C. World of Senses
D. World of Ideas

3. In the allegory of the cave, the outside of the cave depicts____________.

A. World of gods
B. World of abyss
C. World of senses
D. World of ideas

4. Man’s faculty towards acquiring knowledge is just mere –

A. Memorization; man’s brain is mechanical

B. Nostalgia; man tends to dream about the past
C. Remembering; man knows everything already
D. Intuition; man feels the hype of knowledge

5. Plato likened a man’s physique into a _______________.

A. State
B. Cave
C. Dog
D. World

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6. Plato’s concept of a human being is composed of -

A. Attitude and Body

B. Body and Soul
C. Soul and Intelligence
D. Intelligence and Attitude

7. This human body can be classified into three according to Plato’s ‘The
Republic’, ___________, ___________, and ____________ like a State.

A. Rulers, Soldiers, and Workers

B. Soldier, Peasants, and Farmers
C. President, Vice-President, and Secretary
D. Senators, Congressmen/women, and Police Power

8. The HEAD of a human person symbolizes the virtue of ___________

A. Courage; that plays a vital role to man

B. Wisdom; the rational ruler of all parts of the body
C. Temperance; the one that limits man’s desire
D. None of the above

9. The SOLDIERS from Plato’s ‘The Republic’ is likened to a man’s _______

A. Arms; depiction of strength and force

B. Legs; shows mobility of the personhood
C. Chest; being spirited and full of courage
D. Stomach; conveys hunger towards justice

10. Plato’s idea of a good life is a life ruled by______________.

A. Emotions
B. Actions
C. Questions
D. Reason

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 REWINDING THE PAST

Questions are always answered but answers may vary when we

speak about the truth. Truth may be coherent – if there is a fact as

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evidence. Truth may be correspondent to the experience of the matter.
Truth may also be pragmatic especially whenever it serves its purpose.
Now, for this next module, let us search for the truth about the
concept of the Human Body as an Embodied Spirit.

PLAYING THE CONCEPT

To begin with Plato’s concept of the human body, we must

always look back to the story of the allegory of the cave:

http://factmyth.com/platos-allegory-of-the-cave-and-theory-of-the-forms-explained/

The story reveals that there are two worlds Plato wants us to
remember: the world of ideas and the world of senses. Inside the cave
portrays the world of senses which tells us that the world we live in are just
mere copies of what is in the real world. Outside the cave conveys the world
of ideas – the place where all copies from the cave originates.

According to Plato, our body is composed of two different realities –

the one mentioned in the first paragraph. In particular, a human body is not
just a mere body, but a composition of a body and soul – where the tangible
body lives in the world of senses while the soul comes from the world of
ideas. So what’s the point of Plato?

Plato’s body and soul is separable in a sense that when the body dies
the soul comes back to the world of ideas, while the body remains in the
world of senses where it decays. The soul is perfect as it existed from the
world of ideas where the soul is capable of knowing all things. But then

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again, the reality of the body kicks in which slams us with the idea that the
soul is being limited (like the prisoners in the cave) by the body, or needless
to say, imprisoned inside a body. Therefore, man’s body, in reality, is always
limited – full of imperfections and flaws.

PAUSE AND TRY AN ACTIVITY

Know thy limits!

List down…
…all the things you can do! …things that you cannot do!

Answer the following questions:

1. How do you feel about yourself knowing that you can do a lot of things?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

2. How are you going to improve yourself more?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

3. What are your plans about the things you cannot do?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

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4. Do you wish to be a better person? Why?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

PAUSE AND ANALYZE THE ACTIVITY

Human limitations do exist.

It is essentially normal to a lot of people.

Doing things that you can do practically liberates

you from being imprisoned to human limitations.
But then again, it doesn’t immediately guarantees us
that we can do a lot things.

We cannot be like super heroes .

We cannot be like the ones you envy most.
We cannot be the person that we ideally want to be.

Frantically, we are just who we are today.

Answering the activity on the previous page helps us to

understand that we are indeed limited in all aspects. There are things
that our body cannot do. There are times that our mind just cannot
comprehend some lessons in every school day we attend. It is
definitely normal.
The activity helps us to realize
that in spite our limitations, there
is still a desire that lingers in our
personhood – a desire to be better,
to do better. At the end, we all
realize that life is worth it if we
desire to develop more ourselves.
Let us go out of the cave! But the
question is, ‘how are we going to
develop ourselves?’

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 What do you think Plato wants us to realize in his concept of the
body and soul?

PLAYING THE CONCEPT ONCE AGAIN!

The body may limit us from doing

things, but definitely the soul has the
capability to rule over us.
Apparently, Plato’s concept of the
body and soul directs us to his ideal
man – the man that is rational and
governed by his own intellect and will.
This is evidently seen in his work The
Republic wherein Plato compared the
human person into a state.

Here is a table that sums up the comparison of a person to a state:

State Individual Function Virtue

Ruler Head Rational Wisdom
Soldiers Chest Spirited Courage
Workers Stomach Appetite Temperance

For Plato, the state is composed of a ruler, soldiers, and

workers. Each position in a particular state corresponds to man’s
body parts – the head, chest, and stomach consequently. Each part
corresponds with a particular function – being rational, spirited, and
the appetitive function. Each function of the body corresponds with
soul’s virtue – wisdom, courage, and temperance.
Plato wants us to realize that a human person’s body must not
be ruled over the desire of the chest and the stomach. He wants us to
have a firm conviction that the head or the ruler is supreme over all.
Therefore, the human person must be ruled by his head. For him,
there must be an ideal relationship between these parts of the body,
and only reasoning can make this possible.
Our limitations can be transcended when rationality takes over.
There are a lot of human possibilities only if a person uses his head
and not their hearts.

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 LET’S STOP AND APPLY WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

Plato’s idea of a good life is a life ruled by reason, as rational

part controls. It is logical indeed to have our life controlled
intellectually by our own reasoning.

Reality check! We cannot deny the fact that a lot of people

today do not understand this concept – and all they care about is how
they are going to survive another day. People nowadays only care
about their heart’s desire, emotionally speaking. Worse comes to worst
if people’s desires are reduce into the desires of the flesh.

That’s why there are few things we must always remember:

 Accept our flaws

o Knowing imperfections, we are tend to perfect it
o There is always a room for improvement, because
after all, we are all perfect beings and we just need
to transcend our lives back to its originally state.

 There are three possible things a person is inclined to:

o Bodily desire
o Emotional stability
o Rational think
 And you must acknowledge the one who
controls the two other possibilities

 Never let yourself be boxed in your own limitations

o Let your limitations be your way towards
perfection – GO OUT OF THE CAVE!

The soul is perfect, yet it is imprisoned to a body that limits the

real perfection. The body limits man to know everything. That’s why,
acquiring knowledge is just a mere REMEMBERING of all the things in
reality – we remember knowledge, we acquire wisdom!

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 POST-TEST

Read the following items carefully. Write the

letter of your answer in a separate sheet of
paper.

1. His idea of two worlds is evident in the Christian distinction between

this physical world and the world afterlife.

A. Plato
B. Aristotle
C. Socrates
D. Descartes

2. In the allegory of the cave, the cave depicts________________.

A. World of gods
B. World of abyss
C. World of Senses
D. World of Ideas

3. In the allegory of the cave, the outside of the cave depicts_________.

A. World of gods
B. World of abyss
C. World of senses
D. World of ideas

4. Man’s faculty towards acquiring knowledge is just mere –

A. Memorization; man’s brain is mechanical

B. Nostalgia; man tends to dream about the past
C. Remembering; man knows everything already
D. Intuition; man feels the hype of knowledge

5. Plato likened a man’s physique into a _______________.

A. State
B. Cave
C. Dog

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 D. World

6. Plato’s concept of a human being is composed of -

A. Attitude and Body

B. Body and Soul
C. Soul and Intelligence
D. Intelligence and Attitude

7. This human body can be classified into three according to Plato’s ‘The
Republic’, ___________, ___________, and ____________ like a State.

A. Rulers, Soldiers, and Workers

B. Soldier, Peasants, and Farmers
C. President, Vice-President, and Secretary
D. Senators, Congressmen/women, and Police Power

8. The HEAD of a human person symbolizes the virtue of ___________

A. Courage; that plays a vital role to man

B. Wisdom; the rational ruler of all parts of the body
C. Temperance; the one that limits man’s desire
D. None of the above

9. The SOLDIERS from Plato’s ‘The Republic’ is likened to a man’s _______

A. Arms; depiction of strength and force

B. Legs; shows mobility of the personhood
C. Chest; being spirited and full of courage
D. Stomach; conveys hunger towards justice

10. Plato’s idea of a good life is a life ruled by______________.

A. Emotions
B. Actions
C. Questions
D. Reason

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 LET’S REPLAY!

 The allegory of the cave is created by Plato to explain the two worlds of
reality

 There are two worlds according to Plato – the world of senses and
ideas

 These two worlds corresponds with the concept of a human being –

that there is two composition of a human being, the body and soul

 The body is limited while the soul is perfect

 The human person has a lot of limitations in life because of the fact
that the soul is imprisoned to a body

 We shall remember the state of Plato as it is compared to a human

body

 The Head as the ruler as it is rational in function thus manifest

wisdom

 The Chest as soldiers who is spirited in nature and thus manifest

courage

 The Stomach as works that explicates the function of appetite and

thus manifest the virtue of temperance

 All these parts must be ruled by the head or the rational faculty of
man

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 Answer Key

Pre-Test

1. A
2. C
3. D
4. C
5. A
6. B
7. A
8. B
9. C
10. D

Post-Test

1. A
2. C
3. D
4. C
5. A
6. B
7. A
8. B
9. C
10. D

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 REFERENCES

Vinzons, M. P. (2016). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person. Quezon City: Vibal Group,
Inc.

Media Sources
http://clipart-library.com/blind-man-cartoon.html
http://factmyth.com/platos-allegory-of-the-cave-and-theory-of-the-forms-explained/
https://www.clipart.email/clipart/wheelchair-race-clipart-35030.html
https://www.redriverradio.org/post/treasures-noel-platos-republic

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 This module maybe adopted, modified and
reproduced for educational purposes with appropriate
credit to the author.
For inquiries, feedback and suggestions, please
contact the author through the Division Learning
resource Supervisor at Tel. No. _________________ and/or
email address ________________ @deped.gov.ph

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