Philosophy Grade 12

2. VOCABULARY
• ASSIMILATION - THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATING TWO DIFFERENT IDEAS TO FORM AS ONE
• TENET- AN IMPORTANT POINT, PRINCIPLE OR POSITION IN PHILOSOPHY
• SUBJECT- REFERS TO THE TERM USED BY EXISTENTIALISTS AND PHENOMENOLOGISTS TO REFER TO THE
CONSTITUTIVE VALUE OF THE HUMAN PERSON AS DIFFERENTIATED FROM ANY OTHER THING IN THIS
WORLD.
• TRANSCENDENCE -GOING BEYOND THE USUAL LIMITS OF THINGS.
• BODY - A CONSTITUTIVE COMPONENT OF THE HUMAN BEING THAT REQUIRES PROPER CARE AND RESPECT.

3. ? WONDER ON THIS
• ARE YOU MIND WITH BODY OR A BODY WITH A MIND?

4. EMBODIED SPIRITS
• SPECIFICALLY REFERS TO THE INSEPARABLE OF UNION OF BODY AND SOUL. THUS, WHEN WE SAY
“EMBODIED SPIRIT” WE MEAN THAT THE BODY IS NOT SEPARATED FROM THE SOUL, JUST AS THE SOUL IS
NOT SEPARATED FROM THE BODY.

5. • WHEN WE SAY HUMAN PERSON IS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT, WE SPECIFICALLY THAT HUMAN PERSON IS THE POINT OF
CONVERGENCE BETWEEN THE MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL ENTITIES, THAT IS BETWEEN THE BODY AND THE SOUL.
• THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN PERSON HAVING BODY AND SOUL IS EVIDENT IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF PLATO, ARISTOTLE AND
AQUINAS.
• PLATO SERVED AS A TEACHER OF ARISTOTLE. AQUINAS WAS INFLUENCED BY ARISTOTLE ON THE RELATION OF BODY AND
SOUL BUT INCLINED TO FOLLOW PLATO AS TO IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.
GABRIEL MARCEL AND THE HUMAN PERSON AS A SUBJECT GABRIEL MARCEL – WAS ONE
OF THESE PHILOSOPHERS WHO OPTED TO EXPLORE A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THE HUMAN BEING. MOST OF HIS IDEAS EMERGED FROM HIS
EXPERIENCE OF THE WAR.
HE WAS ALSO KNOWN FOR HIS PREFERENCE OF THE ORDINARY SPOKEN LANGUAGE OVER THE TECHNICAL PHILOSOPHICAL LANGUAGE WHEN
WRITING DOWN HIS PHILOSOPHICAL TENETS.

6. • MARCEL LOOKS AT THE HUMAN BEING NOT FROM THE TRADITIONAL, ESSENTIALIST AND UNIVERSALIST
PERSPECTIVE THE ONE USED BY PLATO, ARISTOTLE AND AQUINAS. FOR HIM,THE CONCEPT OF THE HUMAN
BEING HAVING BODY AND SOUL IS UNREAL.
• MARCEL PROPOSES TO LOOK HUMAN BEING AS A SUBJECT, ONE WHO STARTSWITH WHAT IS
CONCRETELY EXPERIENCED THE BODY. ONE CANNOT ENCOUNTER, LITERALLYA BODY AND SOUL PERSON.
YOU CAN ONLY ENCOUNTER A PERSON WITH A BODY. THE BODY IS THE FIRST THING THAT YOU COULD
NOTICE.THIS BODY MAKES YOU DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER THINGS LIKETREES, STONES, GRASS,
ANIMALS AND PENCILS. YOU ALSO IDENTIFY YOUR SELF THROUGH BODY FEATURES LIKE THE WAY YOU
TALK, RUN, AND MOVE.

7. THE QUESTION ABOUT THE PERSON IS NOT,
•WHAT IS THE PERSON?” BUT “ WHO AM I?”

8. THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS
“I AM MY BODY. I AM A SUBJECT. I AM NOT AN OBJECT”
YOUR BODY PRESENTS OTHER CHARACTERISTICS LIKE THE ABILITY TO THINK,IMAGINE,
LOVE, TO BECOME JEALOUS, OR EXPRESS ANGER OR JOY. THESE ARE BEYOND YOUR
PHYSICAL BODY BUT BECOME MANIFEST THROUGH YOUR BODY. WITH THE DISPLAY OF
AFFECTION, LOVE, YOU TRANSCEND YOUR BODY CONSTITUTION AND ESTABLISH
RELATION WITH THE OTHER SUBJECTS.

9. MARCEL, TRANSCENDENCE IS GOING BEYOND THE NOTION OF THE PERSON SIMPLY AS AN OBJECT OF
ABSTRACTION BUT THE PERSON AS EMBODIED SUBJECT WHO IS ALIVE AND CAPABLE OF FEELING PAIN,
LOVE, JOY AND RECOGNIZES THE OTHER AS AN EMBODIED SUBJECT. YOU RECOGNIZE THE OTHER NOT AS AN
OBJECT THAT YOU COULD MANIPULATE. IF YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY, THEN YOU MUST ALSO TAKE CARE
OF THE OTHER BECAUSE THE OTHER IS ALSO A SUBJECT LIKE YOU.