Understanding Our Being: Introduction to Speculative Philosophy in the Perennial Tradition

Part 2. Our Personal Being

part 2 Our Personal Being 2.1 Approaches to the Human Common and Scientific Language In this part of our book, general notions we have articulated about being (e.g., “substance,” “form,” “causality,” “act” and “potency,” etc.) are applied to the understanding of our specific type of being— namely, human and personal being. The reader will recall that we often referred to human reality and activity in our discussions in part 1. On reflection, this should come as no surprise. For, in spite of being’s analogical generality, our acquaintance with it can come only by way of beings we actually know; and, it seems, the beings we in some way know best are ourselves. (As we shall see, however, a rational articulation of this knowledge requires much careful effort.) In Fides et ratio, John Paul II went so far as to say that “the person constitutes a privileged locus for the encounter with being, and hence with metaphysical enquiry.”1 We may expect, accordingly, that some of our metaphysical notions will become clearer—and their implications more sharply delineated—as we proceed through the second part of our book. For example, the notions of “subsistence” and “supposit” will be taken up again in our discussions of human soul or spirit. Clearly, however, we cannot begin with such difficult matters. Rather, let us start by surveying certain terms commonly used in speaking of the human person, as well as images associated with these terms. Such a survey might provide a clue to whatever common sense understanding of our nature is available—and thus serve, in John Paul II’s terminology , as “a reference point” for the philosophical efforts to follow. Such terms obviously would include “human being” and “person,” but also “self,” “mind,” “soul,” and “spirit.”2 1. John Paul II, Fides et ratio, sec. 83. 2. The terminological notes summarized in the succeeding paragraphs are taken in part 103 104 Our PERSONAL BEING The term “human being” may be regarded as most basic. It refers in a general way—i.e., apart from age, race, and other qualities or determinants —to any member of our biological species, Homo sapiens. (Interestingly, this species name includes the Latin word for “intelligent ” or “wise”; the reader will recall that the related term sapientia means “wisdom.”) As an initial point, then, we may say that “human being” picks out our specific kind of being—without, however, conveying any precise notion of what it is to be a being of our kind (although the Latin word sapiens in the species name perhaps can be taken as suggestive). “Person” too is a basic term, one that in its primary meaning can be used of any human individual. However, it also conveys the image of an “inner” life, that is, a life characterized by personality or selfhood. Our English word “person” comes from the Latin persona (itself rooted in per plus sonare, “to sound through”). The characters appearing in a play often are listed in the program under the heading “Dramatis Personae” (literally “persons [i.e., roles] of the drama”). We might say that by “sounding through” their masks, garb, actions, etc., these players make their characters’ inner lives known to the audience . Similarly, and more generally, those beings we call “persons” are ones that might reveal themselves to us in some way. In its everyday use, the term “self” often refers to the whole individual person. However, it too carries a suggestion or image of “inner” life, as well as a sense of uniqueness—as in the expression “my true self.” Moreover, a self, and only a self, can be an initiator of chosen actions , and accordingly ascribed moral responsibility. Other terms are used somewhat synonymously with “self.” Thus we speak of “subjects” in referring to human individuals who become the focus of biomedical research. Again, sometimes the word “heart”—which of course primarily designates a bodily organ—is used metaphorically for the self or the seat of moral character, as in the expression “He has a good heart” (when this is said by a moralist, not by from the relevant entries in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2003). a cardiologist!). “Heart” also can suggest a seat of perception and understanding , especially in matters of deep personal concern, as in “She knew in her heart that he would return.” (Incidentally, the same metaphor is used in biblical...