Unit 1 - Lesson 1

Biology

Humans or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo Sapien

Homo Sapiens

“Wise Man” or “Knowing Man” in Latin

Psychology

Humans have a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, and introspection. Humans are variously said to possess consciousness, self-awareness, and a mind, which correspond roughly to mental thought processes.

Sociology

“Man is by nature a social animal”. Man cannot live alone. He must satisfy certain natural basic needs in order to survive. He has to enter into relationships with his fellowmen for a living a life.”

Anatomy

The cerebral cortex is nearly symmetrical, with left and right hemispheres that are approximate mirror images of each other. Anatomists conventionally divide each hemisphere into four “lobes”, the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe.

Frontal Lobe

It is associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movements, emotions, and problem-solving.

Parietal Lobe

Associated with movement orientation, recognition, and perception of stimuli.

Occipital Lobe

Associated with visual processing

Temporal Lobe

Associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

We are members of one great body planted by nature. We must consider that we were born for the good of the whole.”

Titus Maccius Plautus

Homo homini lupus est” (Man is a wolf to his fellow man)

St. Thomas Aquinas

Individua substantia rationalis naturae (Individual substance of a rational nature)

Niccolo Machiavelli

“Men by nature are evil. They are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers; they shun danger and are greedy for profit.”

Rene Descartes

“Cogito ergo sum”. (I think, therefore, I am)

Thomas Hobbes

“The life of man (in a state of nature) is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”.

Albert Camus

“Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky

“Man is a mystery. It needs to be unraveled, and if you spend your whole life unraveling it, don't say that you've wasted time.”

George Berkley

“Esse est percipi” (To be is to be perceived)

Jean Paul Sartre

“Man is condemned to be free”.

Martin Heidegger

“Man is a being unto death”

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." God created man in his image; in the divine image, he created him; male and female, he created them.

Genesis 1: 27

"God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them"

St. John Paul II in his General Audience 1999

This statement is the basis of Christian anthropology because it identifies the foundation of man's dignity as a person in his creation "in the likeness" of God. At the same time, the passage clearly says that neither man nor woman separately is the image of the Creator, but man and woman in their reciprocity. Both are equally God's masterpieces.

Imago Dei

The divine image is present in every man. He is endowed with.

Intellect

God gave us the ability to learn about things and understand them by the use of our intellect. Through our senses, we gain knowledge of things around us.

Freedom and Responsibility

God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. But the exercise of freedom does not entail the putative right to say or do anything.

Philippine Constitution, Article 2 Section 11

“The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights.”

St John Paul II during the Celebration of World Peace January 1, 1990

"In our day, there is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened not only by the arms race, regional conflicts, and continued injustices among peoples and nations but also by a lack of due respect for nature, by the plundering of natural resources and by a progressive decline in the quality of life.“

Stewardship

Being an image of God also implies our responsibility to His creation.

Throwaway Culture

It is a culture that ruthlessly consumes, exploits, and discards human like and our natural resources as one of the root caues.

Pope Francis’ Laudato Si

The world is currently facing significant ecological challenges, including various forms of pollution, escalating deforestation, alarming climate change, depletion of natural resources like quality drinking water, loss of biodiversity, a decline in the quality of human life and relationships, and a widening global inequality gap between the rich and the poor. These interconnected issues highlight the urgent need for collective action to address the environmental crises impacting both the planet and its inhabitants.

Caring for and Cultivating the World

The essence of our responsibility towards the world encompasses a joyful appreciation of the divine beauty of nature, a commitment to protecting and preserving the environment through ecological stewardship, and a deep respect for human life by safeguarding it from harm and promoting its flourishing. Additionally, it involves the development of our world through noble human efforts across various fields, including physical labor, trades, professions, arts, and sciences, collectively known as "work," which is seen as a fulfilling vocation that contributes to the betterment of society.