INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

• Motivation mindfulness exercise is adapted from Mindful Journaling by Tara Ward, 2017
• Motivation mindfulness exercise


  Identify where stress emerges in your body and use mindfulness to release it, because humans are complex and diverse, we all have distinct places where we store tension
• The ancient philosophical thoughts centered on the nature and observation of the cosmos "Universe", pre-Socratic thinkers are generally called "natural thinkers" and their primary goal was to know and discover the physical world through empirical observation and conjectures
• Greek Philosopher, Socrates, changed the philosophical landscape
• Socrates said "The unexamined life is not worth living"
• Rationality


  (in classical economic theory) economic agents are able to consider the outcome of their choices and recognise the net benefits of each one
• Rational agents will select the choice which presents the highest benefits
• Consumers act rationally by

  Maximising their utility
• Producers act rationally by


  Selling goods/services in a way that maximises their profits
• Workers act rationally by


  Balancing welfare at work with consideration of both pay and benefits
• Governments act rationally by


  Placing the interests of the people they serve first in order to maximise their welfare
• Rationality in classical economic theory is a flawed assumption as people usually don't act rationally
• Marginal utility


  The additional utility (satisfaction) gained from the consumption of an additional product
• If you add up marginal utility for each unit you get total utility
• How did you discover the activity?
• What makes it harder for you to locate your stress points?
• How did you deal with your stress before learning about and participating in this activity?
• How does stress impact you? How did you feel after you completed the exercise?
• Can you see a link between your mind and body?
• Earliest Philosophical thoughts centered on the nature and observation of the cosmos "Universe"
• Pre-Socratic thinkers are generally called "natural thinkers"
• Their primary goal was to know and discover the physical world through empirical observation and conjectures
• This period was the discovery of nature (physis)
• Socrates: 'The unexamined life is not worth living'
• Socrates placed a premium on the value of thinking or the life of thought
• Human beings have a SOUL (psyche or mind)


  The fundamental attribute of being human
• The nature of this soul is non materialistic


  It is imperceptible to/by senses
• Socrates' philosophy suggests that reflecting on principles like justice and integrity can help navigate these situations
• Making ethical choices may involve standing up against wrongdoing, advocating for fairness, or prioritizing stakeholders' well-being over short-term gains
• Man's Soul as Arete, or the seat of human excellence, was the starting point of Socrates anthropology
• Socrates prioritized the INNER LIFE rather than the sense of worldly existence of the individual
• When a person is well-trained and educated

  He/she places a premium on the individual's mind (Soul) or inner life
• Plato: 'Knowing the Good entails doing the right thing'
• In order to become a person of excellent character, one must understand the necessary and sufficient conditions, namely, knowing what is good for the nourishment and cultivation of the mind and putting it into practice by living well
• The Soul is the real and true nature of the human person


  The body is just the prison cell of the soul
• The soul must be trained, cultivated, and educated
• Three parts of the human soul

  • Rational soul (nous)
  • Spirited soul (thymos)
  • Appetitive soul
• For Socrates and Plato, knowing the difference between good and bad (right or wrong) does not make a person virtuous
• For them, the root of evil is ignorance
• The Solution or the way to overcome evil or this tendency is knowledge of the GOOD