SH1617

The Concept of Human Subjectivity

Man is a subject. Subjectivity essentially means that each
man possesses the freedom or the intrinsic capacity to look
into the core of his being and ask himself questions about
truth of his life. It is mans nature to be. Since being is a
being for man, the truth of man therefore is the truth that
his subjectivity, his reflexive self, brings. Truth, in this
sense, is a truth for oneself.

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Subjectivity implies that man is in search for his

authenticity. But he looks for this meaning not merely in
the factual or the practical. This is because man is not a
mere collection of observable phenomena. Physicists can
translate into laws what they observe. The same cannot be
said of man. This is because as a subject, man is free.

Since man is a subject, man is a being for another. Man, in this sense, is a moral being. But
goodness is something that we are free to choose. Evil, however, as exemplified by the fall of Adam,
is also there. The fact that there is nothing automatic in mans moral life implies that man as a subject
is ultimately and fundamentally governed by his free nature.
To be a subject demands self-examination. This is because man is morally obliged to know
himself if he wants to live well. Outside, there exists a crowd that tempts every man and woman
towards an inauthentic existence. Being dissolved in them means being dissolved in the they-self or
the uncaring self that knows nothing except the pleasure of the crowd. It also means being immersed
in routine where man loses his wonder and the hunger of the human spirit.
Fundamentally, man finds himself above the scheme of things. Thus, man must not simply go
with the flow, as if he were some kind of a fallen nut dancing in the waves. Being a subject, he is an
autonomous being, free to determine himself and become the person he wants to be. Subjectivity, in
this regard, implies human possibilities possibilities for becoming, possibilities for self-realization.
Take for instance a boy who collects trash. Every boy who does so is an unfinished task; but
this boy and those around him have to see that he is an unfinished task: Life, in the end, will depend
on how well he handles his life. It is about believing in what one can do to change life. Thus, man,
finally, sees the meaning of his authentic humanness when he finds himself in charge of his life, in
pursuit of his dreams, and in a position to say yes to life. He has to believe in his own capabilities.
Man has to think that he is not a faceless number, but a builder erecting the temples of human
civilization, or a teacher drawing the truth in every students heart, or a postman who has the power to
bridge.
Reference: Maboloc, C. R. (2009). Philosophy of Man: The Existential Drama-Fundamental topics
and thinkers. Quezon City: Rex Bookstore Inc.
02 Handout 1

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