NOTES IN INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

When a person wonders, he asks.

To wonder is the beginning of philosophy . . . and by questioning or asking, man thinks and man philosophizes.
By knowing (or loving) to what is the truth, a person develops wisdom upon realizing the knowledge he/she learns. That’s why
it is called “Philos” and “Sophia”.
“Philos” means LOVE. “Sophia” means WISDOM
A “Human Person” is hooked on knowing what ‘the truth’ is. There is passion or love. His/her love of knowing what it is to be
known, he/she gains or develops wisdom after knowing all that “IS”. So, philosophy is the love of wisdom.
Reasoning, Critical Thinking, Questioning, Analyzing, Criticizing, Synthesizing, Evaluating and Judging are all elements of
Philosophizing
 Socrates taught that we examine ourselves, most especially our view of human life. He said, “The unexamined life is not
worth living”.
 Philosophical questions are meant to awaken us. We do not simply accept things as told.
 By means of philosophy, we can think about what is the most profound of all – HUMAN LIFE ITSELF.
 Socratic Method: The unreflected life is not worth living.

Socratic Method: The unreflected life is not worth living.

How to understand the truth?
1. EXAMINE LIFE
 Examine life Attain knowledge through docta ignorantia- knowing that I do not know
 True learning is not a blind obedience to a master
Julian Marias
 Distiguish between human life and our biological existence
 Thinking begins from the very moment we ask questions
 It is our way of engaging with the reality

2. An insight into reality

1We need to know what it means to philosophize.
It means able to think well that allows grasping the meaning of reality.
An insight is a kind of seeing with the mind (Fr. Roque Ferriols)
3. Marcelian Reflection
 The reality of human life puts us to task in terms of questioning how and why things come be.
 We ask about meaning because it is important.
 Reflection is never exercised on things that are not worth the trouble of reflecting about.
2 levels of reflection
1. Primary Reflection
= the act of deriving clear concepts from the process of abstraction
= Absraction refers to the analysis of concepts to look into the various aspects of an experience.

Primary Reflection
 The attributes of objects are examined
 We do so by means of observation.
 The different aspects of objects become manifest to the senses.
2. Second reflection
 An attempt to go beyond what is physical
 Deals with reality that is truly felt from the inside
 This type is Instrospective. ( from within)
 By it, we see life holistically.
 It refers to the innermost judgement about the holistic meaning of our experiences.

WHAT PHILOSOPHERS THINK ABOUT?

 WHAT IS THERE?
 WHAT CAN BE KNOWN?
 HOW SHOULD A LIFE BE LIVED?
 WHAT IS GOOD REASONING

WHAT IS there?
 The basis of the branch of Philosophy called Metaphysics.
 Plato, Socrates’ student- draws the sharpest possible between reality and appearance.
 Nothing we experience in physical world without our five senses is real.
According to Plato;
Reality is unchanging, eternal, immaterial, and can be detected only by the Intellect.
Plato calls these realities as ideas of forms.

How do we tell GOOD from evil or right from wrong?

 ETHICS – is the branch of Philosophy that explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions.
 It is generally a study of the nature of moral judgements.
Greek Triumvirate
 SOCRATES, PLATO AND ARISTOTLE
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HAPPY?
FOR SOCRATES, TO BE HAPPY, A PERSON HAS TO LIVE A VIRTUOUS LIFE.

VIRTUE – is not something to be taught or acquired thru education, but rather, it is merely an awakening of the seeds of
good deeds that lay dormant in the mind and heart of a person
What can be known?
 This is a core question for epistemology
  It deals with nature, sources, limitations and validity of knowledge
 It explains:
 1. how we know what we claim to know
 2. how we can find out what we wish to know
 3. how we can differentiate truth from falsehood
How do we acquire reliable knowledge?
 1. Thru the senses. This method is called Induction and philosophers who feel that knowledge is acquired in this way are
called empiricists.
 Empiricism – is the view that knowledge can be attained only through sense experience.

Deduction Method
To find a general law according to which particular facts can be understood or judged
 Its advocates are rationalists.
 What distinguishes real knowledge from mere opinion?
 Real knowledge should be based on the logic, the laws and the methods that reason develops.
What is good reasoning?
 Reasoning is the concern of the logician.
 This could be reasoning in science and medicine, in ethics and law, in politics and commerce, in sports, and games and in
mundane affairs of everyday living.
 Greek word: logike was coined by Zeno, the Stoic, a treatise on matters pertaining to human thought
Logic
 We are human beings possessed with reason.
 We use it when we make decisions or when we influence the decisions of others, or when we are engaged in argumentation
and debate.
 A person who has studied logic is more likely to reason correctly than another, who has never thought about the general
principles involved in reasoning.

What therefore is beauty?

 When humanity has learned to make something that is useful to them, they begin to plan and dream how to make it beautiful.
 Aesthetics is the science of the beautiful in its various manifestations including the sublime, comic, tragic, pathetic and ugly
Importance of this branch of Philosophy:
 1. It vitalizes our knowledge
 2. It helps us to live more deeply and richly.
 3. It brings us in touch with our culture.
 Dialog or conversation is important in interpreting works of art.

Methods of Philosophizing
1. PHENOMENOLOGY: ON CONSCIOUSNESS
 FOUNDED BY EDMUND HUSSERL
 ESENTIALLY, A PHILOSOPHICAL METHOD
 FOCUSES ON CAREFUL INSPECTION AND DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENA OR APPEARANCES, DEFINED AS
ANY OBJECT OF CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE THAT IS, THAT WHICH WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF.
 PHENOMENON COMES FROM GREEK, PHAINOMENON, MEANING APPEARANCE TO REFER TO THE WORLD
OF EXPERIENCE (EMMANUEL KANT)
 SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF THE ESSENTIAL STRUCTURES OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

The sorts of experiences and phenomena that phenomenologists have sought to describe:
 Time consciousness
 Mathematics
 Logic;
 Perception and experience of social world
 Our experience of our bodies
 Moral, aesthetic and religious experiences
The phenomenological standpoint is achieved through:
 Series of Phenomenological reductions
(Eliminate certain aspects of our experience from consideration)
1. Epoche or suspension- brackets all questions of truth or reality and simply describe the contents of consciousness.
2. Focuses on the essential features, the meaning of consciousness.
2. EXISTENTIALISM: ON FREEDOM
 ONE’S SEARCH FOR TRUTH MIGHT BE BASED ON ONE’S ATTITUDE OR OUTLOOK.
 IT IS NOT PRIMARILY A PHILOSOPHICAL METHOD, NEITHER A SET OF DOCTRINES
 BUT MORE OF AN OUTLOOK OR ATTITUDES
COMMON THEMES:
 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHOICE AND DECISION IN THE ABSENCE OF CERTAINTY AND;
 THE CONCRETENESS AND SUBJECTIVITY OF LIFE AS LIVED, AGAINST ABSTRACTION AND FALSE
OBJECTIFICATIONS
 THE HUMAN CONDITION OR THE RELATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL TO THE WORLD;
 THE HUMAN RESPONSE TO THAT CONDITION
 BEING, ESPECIALLY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BEING OF PERSON AND THE BEING OF OTHER
KINDS OF THINGS;
 HUMAN FREEDOM

The First Existentialist is Soren Kierkegaard – which insisted that the authentic self was a personally chosen self.
 Our search for truth by means of critical thinking is a rational choice.
 Jean Paul Sartre, French Philosopher- emphasizes the importance of free individual choice, regardless of the power of other
people to influence and coerce our desire, beliefs and decisions.
  Sartre argued argued that Concsiousness(being-for-itself) is always free to choose(though not free not to choose) and free to
negate the given features of the world.
 One is never free of one’s situations, but is always free to negate that situation and to change it.
 To be human, to be conscious, is to be free to imagine, free to choose and responsible for one’s life.
3. Postmodernism: On Cultures
Pre-Modern
 The pre-modern era was one in which religion was the primary source for truth and reality. God’s existence and revelation
were widely accepted in pre-modern culture.
Modernity
 In the modern era, science became the predominate source for truth and reality. Religion and the morality based on it were
arbitrarily demoted to a subjective realm.
Postmodernity
 In the postmodern era, there is no single defining source for truth and reality beyond individual preference.
 Truth and reality are individually shaped by personal history, social class, gender, culture, and religion. These factors,
according to postmodern thinking, combine to shape the narratives and meanings of our lives as culturally embedded,
localized social constructions without any universal application.
 Postmoderns are suspicious of those who make universal truth claims. All claims of universal meaning are viewed as
imperialistic efforts to marginalize and oppress the rights of others. The most important value of postmodernity is the
inadmissibility of all totalizing ways of viewing any dimension of life.
 Postmodernity, as a worldview, refuses to allow any single defining source for truth and reality. The new emphasis is on
difference, plurality and selective forms of tolerance.
 One observer noted that, “Modernity was confident; postmodernity is anxious. Modernity had all the answers; postmodernity
is full of questions. Modernity reveled in reason, science and human ability; postmodernity wallows (with apparent
contentment or nihilistic angst) in mysticism, relativism, and the incapacity to know anything with certainty
 During the 1960’s and 70’s, the prevailing attitudes against authority, institution and establishment produced overwhelmingly
negative effects on our nation. During this same period, we experienced a massive societal shift away from the institution of
marriage and family with exponential increases in divorce rates and widespread acceptance of non-marital co-habitation.
4. Logic and Critical Thinking
 Tools in Reasoning
 Logic (from the Greek "logos", which has a variety of meanings including word, thought, idea, argument, account, reason or
principle) is the study of reasoning, or the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration
 It attempts to distinguish good reasoning from bad reasoning.
 Aristotle defined logic as "new and necessary reasoning", "new" because it allows us to learn what we do not know, and
"necessary" because its conclusions are inescapable. It asks questions like "What is correct reasoning?", "What distinguishes
a good argument from a bad one?", "How can we detect a fallacy in reasoning?"
 The centered in the analysis and construction of arguments
 It is one of the branches of Philo.
Logic and Critical Thinking
 Serves as paths to freedom from half-truths and deception
 In making rational choices, we must suspend beliefs and judgement until all facts have been gathered and considered.
 Though facts are important, critical thinking also takes into consideration cultural systems, values, and beliefs
 It helps us uncover bias and prejudice and open to new ideas not necessarily in agreement to the previous thought.
 Deductive reasoning was developed by Aristotle, Thales, Pythagoras and other Greek philosophers of the Classical Period.
 At the core of deductive reasoning is the syllogism (also known as term logic),usually attributed to Aristotle), where one
proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two others (the premises), each of which has one term in common with the
conclusion.

Major premise: All humans are mortal.

Minor premise: Socrates is human.
Conclusion: Socrates is mortal

*All apples are fruit.

All fruits grow on trees.
Therefore all apples grow on trees.

 All philosophers are wise (major premise)

Confucius is a philosopher (minor premise)
Therefore, Confucius is wise( Conclusion)
Inductive Reasoning
 Inductive reasoning is the process of deriving a reliable generalization from observations (i.e. from the particular to the
general), so that the premises of an argument are believed to support the conclusion, but do not necessarily ensure it.
 Inductive logic is not concerned with validity or conclusiveness, but with the soundness of those inferences for which the
evidence is not conclusive.
 An example of strong induction (an argument in which the truth of the premise would make the truth of the conclusion
probable but not definite) is:

All observed crows are black.

Therefore: All crows are black.

An example of weak induction (an argument in which the link between the premise and the conclusion is weak, and the
conclusion is not even necessarily probable) is:
 I always hang pictures on nails.
Therefore: All pictures hang from nails.
FALLACIES
 Is a defect in an argument other than its having false premises.
 To detect fallacies, it is required to examine the argument’s content.
  Here are some of the usually committed errors in reasoning and thus, coming up with false conclusion and worse, distorting
the truth.

The Usually Committed Errors in Reasoning:

1. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum ad misericordiam)
- A specific kind of appeal to emotion in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting his or her
opponent’s feelings of pity or guilt
 Jack Taylor was ill-equipped for his job at the plant, and, after a three month probation period, Jack’s supervisor fired him.
Jack explained to his supervisor that his two children had been very ill and required multiple surgeries. He explained that
because of these hardships he should be allowed to keep his job.
 Jackie enrolled in an art history class and for her first assignment was required to spend the day at the local art museum
viewing the art of ancient Rome and Greece. With a groan, she raised her hand and plead with the professor. "I don’t think
we should be forced to spend the day looking at things done by some old dead guys thousands of years ago. None of that has
anything to do with me today."
2. Appeal to Ignorance (Argumentum ad ignorantiam)
 Whatever has not been proven false must be true, and vice versa
3. Equivocation (Fallacies of Ambiguity)
 Arguments that are ambiguous due to ambiguous meaning given to a word that is use to create the illusion of good argument,
yet they lead to vague and fallacious reasoning.
 What a miracle it was to observe the patient regaining consciousness after a two week coma. Witnessing such a thing, how
can one doubt the miracle of the resurrection and other miracles cited in the Bible?
 Having to take his exams over again is a real pain in the neck for Dale. Aspirin takes away pain. Therefore if Dale takes an
aspirin, he will not have to take his exams over.
 Human beings have hands; the clock has hands. He is drinking from a pitcher; he is a baseball pitcher.
4. Composition
 This infers that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some part of the whole. The reverse of this
fallacy is division
5. Division
One reasons logically that something true of a thing must also be true of all or some of its parts.
6. Against the Person(Argumentum ad Hominem)
This fallacy attempts to link the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise.
However, in some instances, questions of personal conduct, character, motives, etc are legitimate if relevant to the issue.
 At the time of the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton scandal, many people, including high government officials, argued
that the president had lost his credibility with the American people. They said that a man who would lie about an affair could
not run the government
 Randa stood in the dressing room of an expensive department store. A salesperson was helping her on with a luxurious fur
coat. When Randa expressed reservations about buying it because of the price, and her guilt over wearing animal fur, the
saleswoman looked incredulously at her and said, "my dear, of course you should. If ever I saw anyone who epitomized the
class and bearing of the rare person who indulges in fur, it’s you."
7. Appeal to force(Argumentum ad baculum)
An argument where force, coercion, or threat of force, is given justification for a conclusion
 In Nazi Germany, many non-Jewish citizens turned a deaf ear to the plight of the Jews. The reason these people later gave for
not protesting the treatment of Jews was the fear that if they seemed to be Jewish sympathizers, they themselves might be
sent to a concentration camp and killed
 Ms. Hart was assistant to a highly successful investment banker. As they worked late one evening, the banker asked her for a
date. When she declined his invitation, he argued that she should reconsider since he had the power to fire her if she said no.
Needing the job, Ms. Hart was persuaded by the banker’s argument.
8. Appeal to the people(Argumentum ad populum)- An argument that appeals or exploits people’s vanities, desire for
esteem and anchoring on popularity
I will pray online. Why not go to the Church? Who will tag my prayer there?
9. False Cause(post hoc)
 Since that event followed this one, that event must have been cause by this one. This fallacy is also referred to as
coincidental correlation, or correlation not causation.
 Tumaas na naman ang presyo ng mga bilihin . Siguro kaya konti lang ang nakakain .Dahil sa presyo
Hindi dahil mataas ang cholesterol.
10. Hasty Generalization
One commits errors if one teaches an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence. The fallacy is commonly based
on a broad conclusion upon the statistics of a survey of a small group that fails to sufficiently represent the whole population.
11. Begging the question(petitio principali)
 This type of fallacy in which the proposition to be proven is assumed implicitly or explicitly in the premise
 II believe in God because the Bible tells me God exists. It was written by men and women who actually received the word of
God.
 A young man asks a girl he has dated only twice, "would you like a June or December wedding? I’ll let you decide." Review
fallacies of presumption. Answer.

The human person as an embodied spirit, her/his limitations and the possibilities of
transcendence
Transcendence IN PHILOSOPHY
• THE ADJECTIVE “TRANSCENDENTAL” AND THE NOUN TRANSCENDENCE FROM LATIN= OF CLIMBING OR
GOING BEYOND
• There are many aspects of Transcendence, this lesson covers the 3 main Spiritual Philosophies namely: Hinduism, Buddhism
and Christianity.
A.Hinduism
 At the heart of this: the human quest for Absolute truth
 That the one’s soul and the Brahman or Atman ( Absolute soul) might become one.
  For the Indians, 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.

Dual nature of human beings:

• Soul – the spiritual and immortal essence.
_ it is ultimately real and eternal but is bound by the law of Karma(action) to the world of the matter.
- it can only escape after spiritual progress through an endless series of births.
_ temporarily encased in his body.
• Body- is empirical life and character. It is considered as nothing more than an illusion and an obstacle to the realization of
one’s real self
Humanity’s basic goal in life:
• Liberation (moksha)of spirit (jiva)
• Humanity’s life is a continuous cycle (samsara) while the spirit is neither born not does it die, the body goes through a
transmigratory series of birth and death.
• Transmigration or Metempsychosis – a doctrine that adheres to the belief that the person’s soul passes into some other
creature, human or animal.
Different views about the method of release:
• 1. the individual attains the stage of life emancipation that arises a total realization by the individual of spiritual nature as well
as the transient character of his the body.
• 2. The attainment of self-knowledge – to overcome congenital ignorance
• True knowledge (vidya) consists an understanding and realization of the individual’s real self (atman)
• Hinduism – one of the oldest Eastern traditions for about 5000 yrs.
• Common to all Hindu concepts/thought;
 Oneness of reality. This oneness is the Absolute/ Brahman. Only Brahman is Real
 Four Primary Values: Wealth, Pleasure are worldly values; Duty/righteousness refers to patience, sincerity, fairness, love,
honesty and similar virtues; Enlightenment- by which one is illuminated and liberated and finds release from the wheel of
existence.
 Repeated existence is the destiny of those who do not achieve enlightenment
• Finally, to understand enlightenment, one must undergo the law of Karma
2.Buddhism: From tears to enlightenment
• Founder: Siddharta Gautama (560-477BC)
• Turning away from Hindu Polytheism and palace pleasures, He began searching for answers to the riddle of life’s sufferings,
disease, old age and death.
• Solution: in his own mind (Puligandla1997)
• His life was devoted to sharing his “Dharma” or Law of Salvation – a simple presentaion of the gospel of inner cultivation of
right spiritual attitudes, coupled with a self-imposed discipline whereby bodily desires would be channelled in the right
direction.
Four Noble truths:
• 1. life is full of suffering
• 2. suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts, cravings;
• 3. only as these are obliterated, will suffering cease
• 4. eradication of desire may be accomplished only by the following Eightfold Path of earnest endeavour.
Eight fold path:
• 1. right belief in and acceptance of the 4fold truth
• 2. right aspiration for one’s self and for others.
• 3. right speech that harms no one.
• 4. right conduct, motivated by goodwill toward all human beings
• 5. right means of livelihood or earning one’s living by honourable means.
• 6. right endeavor or effort to direct one’s energies toward wise ends
• 7. right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought
• 8. right meditation or concentration
The way to salvation:
• Lies through self-abnegation, right discipline of mind and body, a consuming love for all living creatures, and the final
achievement of that state of consciousness which marks an individual’s full preparation for entering the
NIRVANA( enlightened wisdom) of complete selflessness.
Buddhism stresses the cultivation of wisdom and discernment(Velasquez,1999)
1. Refrain from destroying life;
2. Refrain from taking what is not given
3. Refrain from misuse of the senses;
4. Refrain from wrong speech (do not lie or deceive) ; and
5. Refrain from taking drugs or drinks that tend to cloud the mind ( abstain from intoxicants; eat moderately and etc)
The four states of sublime condition:
• 1. love
• 2. sorrow of others
• 3. joy in the joy of others
• 4. equanimity as regards one’s own joy and sorrow
St. Augustine of hippo:
• Philosophy is Love of God
• Teachings of Christianity are based on the love of God
• Christianity, as presenting the full revelation of the true God, is the only full and true philosophy.
• But, we can love only that which we know.
When comes this knowledge of God?
• It begins with Faith
• Made Perfect by understanding..
• All knowledge leads to God .
• Faith supplements and enlightens reason
 • Without the enlightenment of faith, reason invariably sooner or later goes astray.

Sensation
• is the Lowest form of Knowledge
• As we ascend higher to knowledge of rational principles, it is the Will which directs the mind’s eye to Truth.
Man as a rational soul using a mortal body(Platonic view)
• Man is a rational substance constituted of soul and body. Apart from the body, the soul may be considered as a substance.
St. Thomas Aquinas:
• Of all creatures, human beings have the unique power to change themselves and things for the better.
• Human being is a moral agent. Both spiritual and body elements.
• The unity between both elements indeed helps us to understand our complexity as human beings.
• Our spirituality separates us from animals, through it, we have a conscience. Thus Moral being.

The Experiences of the Riddle/Mystery of life that transcend us:

1. FORGIVENESS – freed from anger and bitter vs. the hardness of the heart that is reinforced by whole series of rational arguments.
2. The Beauty of Nature –
• There is perfection – in every single flower, for a hug, for every sunrise and sunset, to eat together as a family, are our
miracles.
• Truly, moments of grace. Touch us deeply and the human heart is spontaneously lifted
During this experience, we need to offer praise.
3. Vulnerability
- Without acknowledging the help others, is to live without meaning and direction. Such moments of poverty and dependence on
others are not a sign of weakness but being true with ourselves.
4. Failures- force us to confront our weaknesses and limitations and force us to surrender to a mystery or look upon a bigger world.
Such acceptance of our failures makes us hope and trust that all can be brought into good.
5. Loneliness – can be rooted from our sense of vulnerability and fear of death. But it is our choice to live in an impossible world
where we are always happy.
6. Love – is to experience richness, positivity and transcendence.
- Buddhist view, the more we love, the more risks and fears there are in life.

A. Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma

B. Buddhism: Nirvana
Nirvana- means the state in which one is absolutely free from all forms of bondage and attachment. It means to overcome and remove
the cause of suffering.
C. St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas: Will and Love
• For St. Augustine: Physically we are free yet .morally bound to obey the law. The Eternal law is God, Himself.
• All are called to be chaste whether married / single.
• Rightness means pleasing God
The limits and possibilities of human beings common to all Indian thought:
• It the spiritual that endures and is ultimately real. What we believe is how we live; if our beliefs are in error, and then our
lives will be unhappy.
 The road to enlightenment stretches inward. To understand nature and the universe, we must turn within.
 There is an emphasis on the nonmaterial oneness of creation. This means that there are no polarities; a single spirit
provides cosmic harmony.
 There is the acceptance of direct awareness as the only way to understand what is real. The Indians find this direct
perception through spiritual exercises, perhaps through the practice of yoga. .
 There is a healthy respect for tradition, but never a slavish commitment to it. The past can teach but never rule.
• St Augustine of Hippo, “Whatever you understand cannot be God” simply because you understand it.
• St. Thomas of Aquinas, would affirm in the Summa Theologica, “ God is honoured by silence – not because we cannot
understand anything but because we know that we are incapable of comprehending Him”
Evil and suffering:
• Suffering is close to the heart of biblical faith. In comparison to Buddha who saw life and tried to control it instead of cursing
it.
• In Christianity, suffering leads to the Cross, the symbol of reality of God’s saving love for the human being.

Suffering in Buddhism:
• Gives rise to compassion for suffering humanity.
• Compassion is the heart of religion.
• Without compassion becomes law and burden imposed in its adherents.
• If there is no compassion, religion can start wars that destroy enemies.

THE HUMAN PERSON IN THE ENVIRONMENT:

ANTHROPOCENTRIC MODEL
 Humans are superior and central to the universe
 The domination of humanity is linked to the domination of nature.
 Unjust and Unfair utilization of the environment result to ecological crisis.
 Human arrogance toward nature is justifiable in order to satisfy human interests.
 Humans adopts exploitative attitude whenever nature is merely considered as an instrument for one’s profit or gain
Carbon Footprint:
 concrete indicator and environmental impact for the abuses of natural resources and the generation of waste and emissions
 Part of the production of goods and services consumed in many countries
Eight Categories of CF:
  1.Construction
 2. Shelter
 3. Food
 4. Clothing
 5. Mobility
 6. Manufactured of Goods
 7. Services
 8. Trade.
ECOCENTRIC MODEL:
 Puts the ecosystem first and assumes that the natural world has an intrinsic nature
 Love, respect, and admiration fro nature and a high regard for its value is essential.
 Land will be considered not an instrumental mode of production but will be preserved with integrity, stability and beauty.

The Development of Ecological Conscience based on individual responsibility:

Ecological Conscience:
 Belief stems from an awareness of our dependence to other forms of life, not a master-slave relationship
 Challenges to adopt a lifestyle that involves simple living that honours the right of all life forms to live, flourish and create a
rich diversity of human and nonhuman life

A. Ancient Thinkers
 ANAXIMANDER:
NATURE IS INDETERMINATE-BOUNDLESS IN THE SENSE THAT NO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN WARM AND COLD,
OR MOIST AND DRY REGIONS ARE ORIGINALLY PRESENT WITHIN IT
 PYTHAGORAS
_described the universe as living embodiment of nature’s order, harmony and beauty
_ he sees our relationship with the universe involving biophilia (love of other living things) and cosmophilia ( love of other
living beings)

B. Modern Thinkers
 IMMANUEL KANT
- expresses that beauty is ultimately a symbol of morality
-the beautiful encouraged us to believe that nature and humanity are part of an even bigger design.

 HERBERT MARCUSE
-HUMANITY HAD DOMINATED NATURE. THERE CAN ONLY BE CHANGED IF WE WOULD CHANGE OUR
ATTITUDE TOWRD OUR PERCEPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

 GEORGE HERBERT MEAD

- AS HUMAN BEINGS, WE DO NOT HAVE ONLY RIGHT BUT DUTIES.
- WE ARE NOT ONLY CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY BUT HOW WE REACT TO THIS COMMUNITY AND IN
OUR ENVIRONMENT, CHANGE IT.

Theories to show care for the environment:

 1. DEEP ECOLOGY – ecological crisis is an outcome of anthropocentrism. The controlling attitude of humankind is
extended to nature, when in fact, humanity is part of nature.
 Deep ecologists encourage humanity to shift away from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism.

2. Social Ecology
 Ecological crisis results from authoritarian social structures.
 Destroying nature is a reflection wherein few people overpower others while exploiting the environment for profit or self-
interest.
 Social ecologists call for small-scale societies, which recognize that humanity is linked with the well-being of the natural
world in which human depends.

3. Ecofeminism
 Argues that ecological crisis is a consequence of male dominance.
 In this view, whatever is “superior” is entitled to whatever is inferior
 For the adherents of this view, freeing nature and humanity means removing the superior vs. Inferior in human relations.

Erich Fromm (2013)

 Proposed a new society that should encourage the emergence of a new human being that will foster prudence and moderation
or frugality toward environment
 Functions of Fromm’s envisioned society:
 1. The willingness to give up all forms of having, in order to fully be.
 2. being fully present where one is.
 3. trying to reduce hate, greed and illusions as much as one is capable
 4. Making the full growth of oneself and of one’s felloe beings as the supreme goal of living.
 5. Not deceiving others, but also not being deceived by others; one may be called innocent but not naive.
 6. Joy that comes from giving and sharing, not from hoarding and exploiting
 7. Developing one’s capacity for love, together with one’s capacity for critical, unsentimental thought.
 8. Shedding one’s narcissism and accepting the tragic limitations inherent in human existence.