HUMAN PERSON as EMBODIED SPIRIT

TRANSCENDENCE – the existence that is present beyond normal or physical level

HINDUISM – oldest religion, 1500 AD, eternal religion

3 Main Gods
BRAHMA – the creator VISHNU – the preserver SHIVA – the destroyer

Atman – means eternal self

- Spirit or soul
- Indicates true self or essence which underlies our existence

Karma – every action produces a justified effect based on its moral worthiness

Samsara – the wheel of rebirth which means the soul is reborn from one life to another depending on their karma from
their present life.

MOKSHA – attained when one overcomes ignorance and no longer deserves anything at all.
- The ones who reach this stage no longer struggle with the cycle of life and death.
- The way to get to MOKSHA is not to create any KARMA

BUDDHISM
- Founder SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA or the BUDDHA
- 4TH largest religion
- No supreme god

Essence of Buddhism
- Attainment of enlightenment points to a way of life that avoids self-indulgence and reincarnation

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

- To live is to suffer
- The cause of suffering is self-centered desire and attachments
- The solution is to eliminate desire and attachments
- To reach Nirvana one must follow the 8 fold path

EIGHT FOLD PATH

1. Right Intentions – free your mind of evil

2. Right speech – say nothing that hurts others
3. Right action – work for the good of others
4. Right effort - resist evil
5. Right livelihood – respect life earn by honorable means
6. Right mindfulness – control your thoughts
7. Right meditation – practice medication
8. Right view – know the truth

REINCARNATION – one must go through many cycles of rebirth living and death after many such cycles, if a person releases
their attachment to desire the self can attain NIRVANA

NIRVANA – EXTINCTION
St. Augustine of Hippo - a Roman African, early Christian theologian and philosopher from Numidia whose writings
influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy.

Theistic hypothesis – god exists as a hypothesis

St. Thomas Aquinas – Italian Dominican Theologist

- Father of Thomistic School of Theology
- One of the most influential medieval thinkers of Scholasticism

God – eternal law

- Humanity must do well and avoid evil

HUMAN PERSON IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Explores Nature

Eastern –through spiritual sages

Sage – someone who has attained the wisdom which a philosopher seeks

Greek – through cognitive and scientific eyes (systematic investigation)

Anthropocentric Model – humans are superior and central to the universe

Ecocentric model – everything in the ecological system has its importance

- Anything that we see aroud us should be given utmost care which builds morals and values.

Notice Disorder in the Universe

Anthropocentric model
- Domination of humans
- Human arrogance toward nature is justifiable
- Result to ecological crisis
- Humans adapt an exploitative attitude

Ecocentric Model
- The natural world has an intrinsic value
- Nature is invaluable

Anthropocentric attitude
- Humanity claims authority over something that is a part of the nature

Ecocentric attitude
- Love, respect, admiration for nature and a high regard for its value is essential

Carbon footprint
- The amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to to the fossil fuels by an individual,
event, organization or product

Greenhouse gases
- Carbon dioxide
- Methane
- Nitrous
- Oxide
- Fluoride

*due to hunting and fishing 52% of wildlife population deteriorated

-Humanities need to develop an ecological conscience which motivates us to adopt a lifestyle that involves
simple living that honors that right of all life forms to live, flourish and create a rich diversity of human and non-
human life.
NOTICE THINGS THAT ARE NOT IN THEIR PROPER PLACES AND ORGANIZE THEM IN AN AESTHETIC WAY
 Ancient thinkers

Milesians – regarded nature as spatially without boundaries

Anaximander – employed the term “boundless” to convey the further thought that nature is indeterminate

Chinese Philosophers – all that happens in the universe is continuous while like a chain of natural
consequences

Phytagoras – described the universe as living embodiment of nature’s order, harmony and beauty

Modern thinkers

Immanuel Kant – expresses that beauty is ultimately a symbol of morality

Herbert Marcuse – humanity had dominated nature. There can only be change if we will change our
attitude toward s our perception of the environment

George Herbert Mead – as human beings we do not have only rights but duties

SHOW THAT CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT CONTIRBUTES TO HEALTH, WELL BEING AND SUSTAINABALE
DEVELOPMENT

1. Deep Ecology – ecological crisis is an outcome of anthropocentrism. The controlling attitude of human kind is
extended to nature when in fact humanity is part of nature
- Deep ecologists encourage humanity to shift from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism

2. Social ecology – ecological crisis results from authoritarian social structure

- Destroying nature is a reflection wherein few people overpower others while exploiting the environment for profit
or self-interest
- Social ecologists call for the small scale societies which recognize that humanity is linked with the well being of
the natural world in which human life depends

3. Ecofeminism – ecological crisis is a consequence of male dominance in this view, whatever is superior is entitled
to whatever is inferior.
- Male traits as in the anthropocentric model are superior as opposed to female traits as in the ecocentric model

These theories value that care for conservation, preservation of nature, and humanity, our search for the meaning of life
must exlore not just own survival but calls for a new sociological order.

DEMONSTRATE THE VIRTUES OF PRUDENCE AND FRUGALITY TOWARD ENVIRONMENT

1. ERICH FROMM – German humanistic philosopher believes that it is about time that humanity ought to recognize
not only itself but also the world around it.
- he created some of the functions of his envisioned society with the emergence of a new human being that will
foster prudence and moderations or frugality toward environment.

a. the willingness to give up allforms of having in order to fully be.

b. being fully present where one is

c. trying to reduce greed, hate and illusions as much as one is capable

d. making the full growth of oneself and one’s fellow beings as the supreme goal of living

e. not deceiving others, but also not being deceived by others, one maybe called innocent, but not naïve

f. freedom that is not arbitrariness, but the possibility of greedy desires, but as a delicately balanced
structure that at any moment is controlled with the alternatives of growth or decay, life or death.
 g. happiness in the process of ever growing aliveness whatever the furthest point is that fate permits one
to reach, for living as fully as one is so satisfactory that the concern for what one might or might not attain
has little chance to develop

h. joy that comes from giving and sharing not from hoarding and exploiting

i. developing one’s capacity for love together with one’s capacity for critical, unsentimental thought.

j. shedding one’s narcissism and accepting that tragic limitations inherent in human existence.

If all the sectors of life agree on the same goals the possibility of change would seem to be considerably greater.