SOCIAL PERSON
TO BE A SOCIAL PERSON
Ronald Q. Quinto
Introduction
My interest in this paper is the clarification of the person in relation to his being as a social person. In this view, I will discuss the concept of a person, its nature and social character; man’s relation with others and the responsibility of a person as he completes his task of self-becoming.
That man is social by nature has long been recognized not only by Philosophy but even by Science. History shows how men depend on each other in order to survive and achieve whatever element needed for social transformation and human development. This dependency, however, demands certain duties to men in the fulfillment of their common end. It is the goal of this paper to discuss those duties and consequences of his social nature.
The Concept of A Person
Etymologically, person comes from the Greek word prosophon, which refers to the mask used by stage actors. Philosophically, the concept person is conceived as composite body and spirit or soul. In this sense we may speak of a person as a human nature hidden by the mask of individuality, but manifested or projected to it. A person, therefore, is an individual human nature. Man is born into this world as an individual; and we call him a person and not human nature. A person is an individual existing separately and independently from other, capable of knowing and loving in an intellectual and deciding for himself.
As an embodied subjectivity, man has that drive to improve and develop himself in the journey of life. He cannot to be remained stagnated for a person is never a finished product. He has to move to social ladder. He has to work out to move from manhood to personhood. In the view of Phenomenologists, man is more than a rational body soul composite. Man is a dynamic agent or subject always actively performing. He undergoes continuous charge. By virtue of this human nature, he is capable of acting according to his nature or essence, and thus
Ronald Q. Quinto
Introduction
My interest in this paper is the clarification of the person in relation to his being as a social person. In this view, I will discuss the concept of a person, its nature and social character; man’s relation with others and the responsibility of a person as he completes his task of self-becoming.
That man is social by nature has long been recognized not only by Philosophy but even by Science. History shows how men depend on each other in order to survive and achieve whatever element needed for social transformation and human development. This dependency, however, demands certain duties to men in the fulfillment of their common end. It is the goal of this paper to discuss those duties and consequences of his social nature.
The Concept of A Person
Etymologically, person comes from the Greek word prosophon, which refers to the mask used by stage actors. Philosophically, the concept person is conceived as composite body and spirit or soul. In this sense we may speak of a person as a human nature hidden by the mask of individuality, but manifested or projected to it. A person, therefore, is an individual human nature. Man is born into this world as an individual; and we call him a person and not human nature. A person is an individual existing separately and independently from other, capable of knowing and loving in an intellectual and deciding for himself.
As an embodied subjectivity, man has that drive to improve and develop himself in the journey of life. He cannot to be remained stagnated for a person is never a finished product. He has to move to social ladder. He has to work out to move from manhood to personhood. In the view of Phenomenologists, man is more than a rational body soul composite. Man is a dynamic agent or subject always actively performing. He undergoes continuous charge. By virtue of this human nature, he is capable of acting according to his nature or essence, and thus
References: Agapay, Ramon: Ethics and the Filipino. Mandaluyong City: National Bookstore. 1991 Dy, Manuel B. Contemporary Social Philosophy. Quezon City: JMC Press Inc. 1994 New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1983 Gualdo, Rosendo S. Ethics: Basic Concepts and Moral Issues. Valenzuela City: Mutya Publishing House. 2000