What I Need to Know

The module is about recognizing how the human body imposes limits
and possibilities for transcendence.

Module in Introduction to
It does strike a funny chord thinking how some try their best to
escape from the influences of the body, while others do everything
they could to indulge such influences. The very same thing is true in knowledge
acquisition. For some, the body (empirical data) cannot be trusted as a source of
knowledge; For others, the same can also be said of the mind.

Philosophy But is the body really some kind of a lead weight that ties man down and
from which he must escape? Can the mind really work separately from the body?

of the Human Person Or is it not the case that for man to have a genuine understanding or through
knowledge of things, he must learn to accept an use the distinct functions of the
body and the spirit (mind) as well as the profound unity of the two?

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Distinguishing realistic from a partial point of view;

MELC 7 : Recognize how the human body imposes
limits and possibilities for transcendence.
2. recognize human activities that emanate from deliberate reflections;
3. realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a broad perspective in
life;
4. do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a holistic
perspective.

Let’s Read

Do an observant man, there are some forms of dialectic, i.e.

opposition, observable around us. On the level of the physical and
the empirical, there is this dialectic between the anti thesis change
and permanence . Thanks change; It is a fact of life. But is likewise a
fact that amidst the change, something remains permanent . On the level of the
rational in the academic, there is this dialectic between the idea and the practical.
Some claim that those grand ideas are pretty much divorced from reality and are
worth nothing more than fanciful ideals.

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What this lesson highlights is the synthesis between these anti thesis.
Activity 1: Observe the dress codes of the pre-colonial Filipinos from the
Ifugao and Ilongot Tribes before the colonization of the western people.
Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8c/07/b9/8c07b9d9c936825ac37719f77ac15771.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e5/4f/4b/e54f4bfcb64b84a04b6ca0c76312d12b.jpg
Discuss the following:
1. Note down the significant differences between the way tribal Filipinos
before the Spanish colonization dressed from the way we do now.
2. If some Filipinos were dressed this way in our cities today, what do you
think will be the general reaction of the other city dwellers? Why do you
think they would react like that?
3. Do you think the attitude of Filipinos, and of other people in general ,
towards the body has changed throughout history? What has change?
If you read the history of clothing in different cultures you would
note that the way people have dressed up has evolved through
time. This evolution is not entirely about fashion, or the
development of art, but also about how the attitude of persons towards their
bodies have changed through time. In our brief overview of the philosophy of
embodiment in history, we will see how in some periods the body has been
glorified in the same level ask the spirit, and how in others it has been denigrated
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as a source of corruption and sin. You will notice then that in different periods of
history all over the world, the clothing culture indicates the philosophical view of
the body. In the earlier appear huge there was less a sense of shame regarding the
naked body. This is more or less in line with the ancient tribal perspective where
the body is seen as one with the cosmos. You will see this in the integrated view of
the ancient Chinese view of the body, which is more or less close to the way pre
colonial Filipinos understood the body . The postcolonial Filipinos were very much
influenced by our western European Spanish colonial heritage. You will notice a
propensity forwards covering the body and the skin in this period . As you will see ,
the premodern period in western history , beginning from Plato's view of the body
down to the medieval philosophers such as Saint Augustine and finally the more
general liberal culture with regard to the body today can be attributed to the
gained insight on intertwined connection of body and spirit in the human person.
The learner’s will answer the activity below .
Activity 2: Reflect on your personal life. Think about the things
that change and that remain permanent in you. Write your
thoughts in the columns On a clean sheet of paper.
Things in my life that changed Things in my life that remained
permanent
Guide Questions: Write your answers on a clean sheet of paper
1. what do you think are the significant changes in your life that changed the
way how you think or see things on a different perspective?
2. Do you consider the changes important? Why or why not?
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 3. If there are changes in your life that you wanted to remain, what could it
be and why?
What’s In
the concept of embodiment
the term embodiment, according to merriam Webster dictionary, was
first used sometime in 1828. It is defined as something or someone
that is perfect representative of an idea or concept. It simply means that
embodying is putting flesh - a body - do something that is basically abstract, and
that flesh or body can really do justice to the abstract idea or concept it represents.
Let the following examples be examined:
a. Jesus grace is the embodiment of a utilitarian. (J. S Mill )
b. Filipinos are the embodiment of hospitality.
c. Eriond is the embodiment of a good student.
In the example cited above, the terms ‘utilitarian’ , ‘hospitality’ and ‘good student’
are “basically abstract”; They are pure concepts or ideas. ‘Jesus Christ’, ‘Filipinos’
and ‘Erioned’, because of manifesting perfectly certain qualities of such ideas or
concepts, make them “concrete” . The subjects embody the ideas .
so when we say that ‘Philip is kind’ , “kind” is an abstract idea and “Felipe” makes it
concrete .
try saying these…
 I am a person
 I am alive
 I exist
 I am here. I am present.
 I am living at this very moment.
Processing questions:
1. What did you feel after saying all those words?
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2. How did you say that you really feel alive today?
Let’s Examine
Little Carlo is playing in the living room while his mom is in the
kitchen. He accidentally bumps into a table, causing a vase to
fall. Upon hearing, his mom went to the living room and saw
him standing near the broken vase. She asked, “did you break the vase? “
What do you think Carlos answer will be? Create a group of 5 people in the
chatbox and discuss your answers. Take a screen shot of your discussion
and send it to me via messenger.
Parmenides - Heraclitus
As a concept embodiment has a very rich history that reaches as far back as the
pre-Socratics. It's early conceptualization and development can be traced back to
the well celebrated argument between change and permanence started by the
great thinkers Heraclitus of Ephesus and Parmenides od Elea - An argument that,
for some scholars today, is considered the progenitor of everything else that
happens in philosophizing .
The great man from Ephesus, on the one hand, posited the very idea that has been
the banner of the empirical Sciences ever since: the only constant thing in this
world is change. It is, indeed, an undeniable claim , for one can clearly notice
change with his senses. It is evident in the leaf which was once a deep green, that
turned to a pale yellow, and then withered. It is evident in the steady March of the
seasons as each seems to seek eternally to supplant the others. Even the very
mountains and seas are not immune to change period life starts at birth and ends
with death. And in death, another life will come. A seed of any kind needs to give
up its life to pave the way for another life to come. Truly, everything in this world
comes and goes. Everything that has a beginning has an end.
but the opposite is also undeniably true. Permanence is real, though not as
noticeable, as change period the seed undergoes change to allow a new plan to
come, but that new plant is the same one that the seed used to be. In his
cosmogony, Parmenides even went as far as saying that the manifest change one
observes is but an illusion. Zeno, a disciple of his, “proved” this claim in his
celebrated argument about the race fought by Achilles and the tortoise, Wherein
he exposed the absurdity of accepting the notion of space alongside motion. If Activity 3:
there is space, he said, then moving from the starting point to where the tortoise
what would require Achilles to traverse an infinite number of spaces .

This change versus permanence is also very much evident in man. One of the most
undeniable things about man is that he constantly changes. Physically, his body,
together with all aspects connected to it, including the intellect, inevitably goes
through the process of development and deterioration. Yep and equally undeniable
fact is that amidst the apparent changes, man remains the same. For example, the
Rudy the 30 that we know 10 years ago is the same Rudy Duterte that we know
today . He is the Rudy Duterte that we know as the firm father of the bonus, the
man with strong political will, and the mayor who lifted the bow on the pedestal.
Despite the physical, social logical, psychological changes that took place in him, he
is the same person that we knew before .

out of this debate between change and permanence, a new concept was born :
existence, that is the world and everything in it, it is composed of two realities -
one that undergoes change and the other that remains permanent. Philosophers
call these realities the body and soul, or matter and form, or body and spirit. Some
of these same philosophers draw a picture of the soul being imprisoned (limited )
by the body, while others look at the soul as “perfecting “ the body. still, others
considered the body as the instrument of purification an fortification of the soul .

Direction: Analyze the Text above about how the body and spirit are related.

Make a comparison of how Science defines LOVE and how Philosophy defines
LOVE using a Venn diagram. Write your answers on a clean sheet of paper.

Definition of LOVE Definition of LOVE

In Science in Philosophy

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 not have the natural ability to fly. We do not breathe underwater
try saying these… without using breathing apparatus. We cannot survive in certain
environments like other animals.
 Despite this limitations, we have used out intellect to device means
 I am a person.
to achieve several feats
 I am a person with dignity.
 I recognize that others have dignity, as well.  The ability to surpass limits is called transcendence, And it is also
 I must uphold human dignity in my thoughts and actions. one important trait that distinguishes the human person from other
beings in existence.

What is in our Human Nature that enables us to become persons? Activity 4.

Aside from the physical characteristics, another aspect of the human that defines Enumerate things that you want to do but cannot because of the
us aspersions is the spirit. This intangible element enables us to exercise taught, physical reactions caused by your body by the help of completing the chart
possess awareness, interiority in the capacity to reach out to the outside world
below. You may consult your parents about your answer. Write your
and other persons .
answer on a clean sheet of paper.
What is it
Age Things that I can do Things that I cannot do
Imagine a man who badly wants to be with his family in 0-3
America on Christmas Eve but simply could not because
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he is physically and geographically bound here in the
Philippines. Or, think of a man who professes Fidelity to his spouse but 8-11
simply could not make good on his promise because he often succumbs to
the illicit desires of his flesh. 12-15

These are facts of life . There are some things that we want to be or do but 16-21
we simply cannot because of the restrictions or limitations our body gives
us . Indeed sometimes our body weights us down, physically and
figuratively.
Of Embodiment and Limitation
How does our human nature enable us to explore our limits ?
Plato - Aristocles , the philosopher's real name, answer to the problem of change
 Human nature still has limits despite being an embodied spirit. It can an permanence is summed up in his duty of substance dualism. According to him,
be said that the person is very biologically deficient being. We do
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reality is made up of two worlds, namely: the world of forms and the world of
senses, and human beings participate in these two different worlds.
On the one hand, there is the world of senses. This is the world that we see, that
we experience; It is the world of objects. This is the world of change period
everything in it changes. This world is made up off matter, which is subject to the
composition. This is Heraclitus’ world.
On the other hand, there is the world of forms or ideas - a world that is eternal,
perfect, and unchanging. This is the world defined by Parmenides.
for Plato, reality is eternal and unchanging. Hence, the real world is the world of
forms. Everything in the world of senses is but an imitation or a mere shadow off
the idea. For example a table can be circular, rectangular, square, etc. It can be
created and it can be destroyed. This table is just an imitation of the universal
table. Universal means dealing with something which is possessed or shared or
participated by many things. This universal table is in the world of forms.
Human beings participate in the shed 2 worlds. A human being possesses an
element from both worlds of senses and world of ideas. A material body and an
immaterial soul, respectively. Within man, as well as in other corporeal existences,
is found the synthesis of change and permanence, with the body being the
principle of change and the soul being the principle of permanence .
let us remind ourselves of the following :
1 . our mind is an important tool that allows us to go beyond many of our
physical limits. Although we have this physical limitations, we can transcend
them because of our spiritual dimension.
2 . as human persons, we have natural tendencies or inclinations. Some of
these are felt bodily functions like hunger, fatigue, etc. Transcendence
means overcoming oneself or being in control even if the body reminds us
observed in tendencies. Although these tendencies are felt the person can
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govern them and ensure that they are exercised within the bounds of
reason.
3. Each individual carries within himself the possibility of transcending his
limits by exerting enough effort and perseverance.
4. Philosophy gives us useful tools to explore our limits and possibilities.
The essence of transcendence is to acknowledge our limitations, identify
possibilities for development and change ourselves for the better.
5. Opening yourself the new experiences and ideas is another aspect of
transcendence.
6. Our capacity for transcendence gives us the opportunity work forward
becoming better version of ourselves.
What’s More
Activity 5. Complete the table below. Enumerate 5 moral dilemmas that you have
experienced because of the tug-of-war between what you think is right and what
your body desires.
1. Example. You wanted to attend a party during this time of pandemic
however, it is not allowed to held gathering but then you went to the
party.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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 Activity 1. Complete the chart by rewriting your present limitations with reference
to your answers in the previous chapters. Make an action plan towards
transcendence and write your answer on a clean sheet of paper.

My Limitations My Plans towards transcendence

Of embodiment in transcendence
MELC 8 : Evaluate own limitations and the possibilities
contrary to what Plato and origin believe in common
for their transcendence some holds that the body is not to be considered a prison
of the soul but as something that is perfected by the soul
and, Conversely, through which the soul is purified and
fortified (transcendence )

1. Aristotle - the most brilliant of Plato students, propose a solution to the

change and permanence debate that was quite different from that of his
teacher. His main argument with plato's two worlds was that the world of
ideas - the world Plato regarded as the real world - he is nowhere to be
found. So, by rejecting the existence of the world of ideas, Irish hotel
affirm that this world that man is in - the world that Plato called an illusion
- is the real one .

But by denying the existence of the world of ideas, aristotel was

confronted with the question: “ if this world is the real one, where can we
find the immutable, unchanging reality? “ Aristotle's answer was his theory
of hylemorphism.
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Briefly, hylomorphism speaks of all things being a composite of matter and
form. It is matter that undergoes change; What is left unchanged is the
form . It bronze statue, for example, is composed of the bronze as its
material component and the “statue-ness” as its formal component. The
branch may be melted and recast into a different object like, say, sword or
gate. Despite the change in the bronze, the form “statue-ness” , however,
remains. In fact, the very same statue ness may be used to inform other
material components like concrete, marble or rock, to create another
statue.
For living beings, aristotel further explained, it is the body that is the
principle of change (matter ) in the soul - as all living beings are in “ensoul”
- is the principle of permanence (form ). and giving the bronze its form and
making it the thing that it is , the soul informs the body and makes it the
thing that it is. For plants, it is the vegetative soul (life )that gives form to
the tangled mass of leaves and branches and roots. For animals, the
process of informing is a joint one between the vegetative soul and the
sensitive soul (senses ). For human beings, more than the vegetative soul
and the sensitive soul, it is the rational soul (reason ) makes man, MAN
and not any other mode of existence
from the above discussion, one can glean two points: a. That limitation is
both in the body and in the soul and B. That the body even serves as the
conduit of the soul for its perfection.
Irish hotel discussed potentiality and actuality, and possibility. And
disguising between potentiality an possibility, aristotel hinted at the body
as the limiting factor. When one says that a bronze is potentially a statue,
he means that the bronze ‘already has actual features in virtue of which it
might be made to be a statue by the imposition of a statue - NESS form
upon it . but the bronze, because of being the thing that it is is not
potentially a bubble gum or a rubber ball since it does not contain such
features needed for the actualization of a bubble gum or a rubber ball .
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2. Augustine - Aurelius Augustinus, popularly known as Augustine of Hippo
or Saint Augustine, is another of those great medieval thinkers who have
inherited multitudes of ideas from the ancient Greeks.
One of the areas we're in one may see this complexity is in augustine's
thoughts on the mind -body discussion period the artist Italian in him
speaks of man as neither a body nor a soul alone . Man is a composite of
mind and body (matter and form ). but the platonist in him speaks of the
soul as superior to the body and “it is the province of the soul to rule the
body “
however, this does not imply that the body is some kind of evil that the
soul must rule over. In fact, the idea of the body as a prison for the soul
did not occur to Augustine. Instead, he even criticized origin for
maintaining that the soul is castigated because of satiety and given the
body as it’s punishment . the Christian in him cannot just accept the fact
that the body, fashioned in the image and likeness of God and is
considered to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, is some kind of an evil
implement designed to punish the soul. The body here clearly does not
serve as oppression but as an enabling tool, that is, it enables the soul to
become more virtuous. It would not be a surprise if Augustine harbored
the very same thoughts
3. Aquinas - like Augustine before him , Saint Thomas Aquinas also had the
hellenistic philosophy incorporated to his Christian teachings. His
treatment of the body and soul argument echoes much of Aristotles ‘.
following Aristotle, for Aquinas, a human being is a composite of body and
soul, with the body being the material principle and the soul the formal
principle of human substance. P
Although Aquinas maintained that the soul is capable of existing apart
from the body, which basically is non Aristotelian, he also pointed out that
the soul is a constitutive element of the nature of human substance . The
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 source existence apart from the body is only a subsistence and not as a Ex.
substance . While man as a substance is complete in nature, neither the 1. Even if Jose wasn’t able do minor climbs to prepare himself for one major
soul nor the body is. climb, he still pursues climbing Mt. Apo without so much practice.
2. Miss Tina run for 10 lapses around the oval even if she is already tired.
Therefore, while the soul can exist apart from the body, its existence is an
incomplete one . Even if it is the component that determines what the
nature of the substance is, the soul does not have its own nature. This is
why Aquinas argued for the complete unity of the soul with the body.
Activity 4. Self -Reflection Activity
From this, one can clearly see that the body is not the same evil that limits
the soul . On the contrary, it is something that compliments the soul and Take some time to look at your body in front of the mirror . Identify those
restores it , or gives to it, it's natural imperfect state. This has been, parts you like most about your body. Identify those parts you hate the most.
according to some, an imitation of Aquinas regarding the resurrection of Write everything down in a tabulated form - one column for likes, another for
the body. dislikes.

Now focus on the column of dislikes. For each item you write, focus on the
Activity 2. Compare the ideas of Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas on the things that you won't be able to do or miss if that body part is lost, destroy or
idea of Body and Soul and their idea of transcendence. Write your answer severely injured. Write at least one down for each body part you dislike.
on a sheet of paper.
Going back to the same column of dislikes, think of your many achievements
Philosophers Definition of body and Your interpretation and ask yourself whether or not it was possible to achieve those if the body
soul
parts you dislike were injured or permanently destroyed.
1. Aristotle
Finally, think of all your dreams and aspirations. Ask yourself if it is possible to
achieve those dreams and aspirations if your dislike body part were injured or
2. Augustine
permanently destroyed.

after asking yourself this questions , write a long letter of reconciliation

3. Aquinas
addressing your body expressing you feel about it.

Activity 3. Enumerate five of your personal experiences of transcendence.

Write your answer on a sheet of paper.

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Read This Article. 3. “Every minute, every hour, every day that you sit around trying to
figure out what to do, someone else is already doing it. Make a choice,
or a choice will be made for you.”
6 Inspiring Quotes on Transcending
Limitations and Reaching Greatness Don’t sit around too long overthinking what to do. Ultimately, we are
judged by what we do. Don’t wait until you are ready. None of us ever is.
Nov 7, 2015  |  by Sara Debbie Gutfreund
4. “Anyone can start something. Few can finish. Priorities change if you
How to live relentlessly.
don’t constantly protect and defend them.”
"In the beginning is effort and in the end is a gift" (Path of the Just, Ch. 26).
If we don’t consistently work to make our values the most important
How do we motivate ourselves to dedicate ourselves to consistent effort in
elements in our lives, we will lose our grasp on what is essential for us.
our lives? Tim S. Grover, the creator of Attack Athletics and author
Guard your values.
of Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, teaches us about the
incredible power to transcend our limitations and reach our full potential.
5. “Whether you’re an athlete, an entrepreneur, a CEO, a rock star, or
you’re just starting out in life, know what you know and what you
Here are six core Jewish values embedded within these choice quotes from
don’t know. Most of the time when we ask for advice, we don’t want
his book Relentless.
the truth. We want the answer we are seeking. Be open to advice that
goes against what you want.”
1. “In order to have what you really want, you must first be who you
really are.”
Be open to new ideas and different approaches to life. We need to be clear
about what we know, but we also need to be honest about what we don’t
Search for yourself. Go beyond the surface. Learn what makes you tick. What
know.
motivates you? What challenges you? Before Avraham could become a
leader, God told him “go to yourself.” First find out who you are and then
6. “The greatest battles you will ever fight are with yourself, and you
have the courage to stay true to what you find.
must always be your toughest opponent. Always demand more of
yourself than others demand of you. Life can be complicated. The truth
2. “Bottom line if you want success of any kind: you have to be
is not.”
comfortable being uncomfortable. You control your body, it does not
control you.”
The most important challenges we will ever confront happen inside of us.
Our bodies are tools that we are given to achieve our goals in life. Stay in
Rabbi Shimshon Pincus taught, "That's the way it works. We get up, fall and
the driver’s seat. When we allow the body to take the steering wheel, we
get up again. That's the key to it all." With God’s help and our steadfast
lose direction. Harness the power of the physical and make it work for you.
commitment to make the hard choices, we can win the battle.

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Processing Questions: write your answers on a clean sheet of paper.
1. What did you realize in reading the article?
2. What is the connection of the body and soul in achieving your life goals?
3. Why does the writer says that values is important in our lives?
Activity 5. What have you realized after reading the article? On a clean sheet of
paper, draw your ladder of success and write down your dreams and aspirations
on the right side and write down the things on how you can achieve it on the left
side.
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Summative Test #3 – Philosophy
I. Identification - Identify the concepts described in each item and write the
answer on the blank space .
1. it is define ash something or someone that is perfect representative of an idea
or concept .
2. it is the only reality according to Parmenides.
3. it is the only reality according to heraclitus .
4. it is where the unchanging reality can be found according to Plato .
5. it is where the changing reality / illusions can be found according to Plato .
6. it is the material element of a living being .
7. it is the principle of permanence according to Aristotle .
II. Fill in the blanks . supply the missing concepts by filling in the blanks .
1. According to Aristotle , -------------------- soul is the formal element that
informs plants .
2. for an animal, the soul that makes it the thing that it is and not any others
is the ------------------------ soul .
3. ---------------soul is the formal element of a human person .
4. in Augustine's philosophy --------------hypothesis states that God sent the
soul to administer the body .
5. the only permanent thing in this world is -----------------.
6. For Aristotle, the body is the -----------------or tool for the exercise of
human functions .
7. according to Parmenides the manifest change around us is just an
---------------------.
8. For aristotle, substance is essentially a composite of matter and ----------.
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