The Human Person (Slides)
The Philosophy and Science of the Human Person
(Slides)
Philosophy: The mother of all disciplines
- Biology: One is either a male (XY chromosomes with more testosterone) or a female (XX chromosomes with more oestrogen/Estrogen). No Spiritual substance!
- Introduction of Artificial insemination and incubators.
Democritus (C 460 – 371 BC) (Materialism):
The human person is made up of body and soul atoms; the human soul is responsible for animation and consciousness; soul atoms survive the demise of the body & reconstitute to form new souls; they are too tiny to be detected by the senses; they get distorted sense data from the senses in the form of ‘miniature atomic copies’ of objects (hence we dispute about experience); these ‘miniature atomic copies’ from objects also get to the soul atoms (unmediated by the senses), and are better and truer copies of objects;
Plato (428/427 BCE – 348/347 BCE) (Dualist):
There are two worlds: the real world of ideas/forms or universals, and this material world of accidentals, shadows, contingent beings; human souls lived with and knew universals (without the senses) in the world of ideas/forms (where each being is One, Immutable and Eternal) before it was ‘imprisoned’ in the body; thus the human being is made up of two distinct and unique substances: a material body and an immaterial soul; the human soul is comprised of Reason (supreme), Spirit & Appetite, and it survives the demise of the body and is continually reborn.
Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) (Dualist):
Believes in the mind/body duality of the human person; famous for his ‘cogito, ergo sum’ – “I think, therefore I am”; the human mind is a thinking being that can survive the demise of the human body; knowledge is innate (we are born with them) and essentially of the mind for the senses do not interpret anything.
John Locke (1632 – 1704) (Dualist):
The human person is made up of two substances: body and mind/Soul; consciousness is an attribute of the human soul that thinks and connects with the past and future plans (the analogy of the Prince and the Cobbler). Knowledge is experiential.
K. C. Anyanwu & B. Hamminga (Dualists)
From the African Point of view: The human person is a unity of body and soul/spirit understood as vital-force. Genuine and adequate knowledge is the wisdom that goes with understanding the hierarchy of being, and the hierarchy of vital force that can be enhanced or depleted; the soul/spirit survives the demise of the body and carries the personality of the person; disembodied souls/spirits(ancestors) can vivify, enhance or influence other persons.
Transhumanism/Posthumanism: To modify the human person towards becoming a superman with longevity & intelligence via science and technology (genetic engineering, AI, etc)
Totally negates the Dualist conception of the human person; Will ultimately make humans robots devoid of moral actions.
Is Heterosexuality a cultural and religious nurturing against the background of Homosexuality in ancient Greece & Rome?
Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus Complex; & Electra Complex
I feel trapped in my body suggests dualism and a gendered mind, soul, or spirit.
How monumental is transgendering? Can minors make a major decision about transgendering?
The Conscious Mind (8 – 10 % of the Human Mind)
- Perceives with the 5 external senses
- Governs the 5 external senses
- Carries out an action at a time
- Communicates with words
- Controls voluntary action
- Lives by the past (memory), present and the future
The Subconscious Mind (90 – 92 % of the Human Mind)
- Perceives Intuitively and communicates with Feelings and Images
- Always awake and performs multiple tasks at the same time
- Lives solely in the present but has a copy of the past and present experiences.
- Perceives other minds and communicates with them
- Has unlimited power to accomplish its goals
Thus, the subconscious mind performs Intuition, feelings/telepathy, Dreams, & Magnetism/Mysticism.
Sylvester Idemudia Odia, Ph.D. (CEO)