PHILOSOPHY

(Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person)

LESSON 7: THE HUMAN PERSON IN SOCIETY

Most Essential Learning Competencies:

 Compare different form of societies and individualities
 Explain how human relations are transformed by social systems
 Recognize how individuals form societies and how individuals are transformed by societies

WHAT IS SOCIETY?
Have you ever pondered how your world has defined you? Have you ever thought about your place in
this world and among the people you interact with every day? Have you ever reflected on how your presence
has affected the world and people around you?
The human person exists to relate with other. The person is by nature a social being because he or she
has a tendency to go out of himself or herself to form bonds and relationships with others. Throughout a
person’s life, he or she experiences a variety of relationships that help shape him or her as a person. As we grow
into adulthood, our relationships and responsibilities also change because we play more significant roles in the
communities we live in.
Our freedom gives us the opportunity to pursue various activities to achieve our goals and attain well-
being or happiness. As we live our lives and expand our experiences, we also encounter other people who are
acting in similar ways. However, the pursuit of our goals is made easier by the fact that we do not need to do
our activities alone, that we can live our life and pursue our happiness with other people by other people by our
side.
The tendency to form group is not exclusive to human beings, other animals also form groups for mutual
protection and survival. Humans, however, are the only beings capable of establishing a SOCIETY, which is
an organized group of people whose members interact frequently and have a common territory and culture.
Society also refers to a companionship or friendly association with others, an alliance, a community, or a
union.
Society and its various aspects provide supports that ensures the development of the human person. For
instance, your education first starts at home with your family members teaching you the rudiments of speech,
reading and writing. This education continues and is further developed as you go to school and interact with
other children, your teachers, and other people in the school.
Society also provides you opportunities to further your growth in the coming years. An evident influence
of society on individuals is the emergence of specific traits and characteristics unique to a certain society which
are manifested by its members. For example, we Filipinos values our ties with family members. This is seen in
our practice of taking care of our elderly family members.

STAGES OF SOCIETY

1. HUNTING & GATHERING STAGE - the simplest and earliest societies that adopt a lifestyle dependent
on resources readily available from their surroundings. These societies are often described as “primitive” since
they utilize the simplest technology.
2. AGRICULTURAL STAGE - are those engaged primarily in agricultural activities such as farming, fishing,
and livestock- raising as a primary way of life.
3. INDUSTRIAL STAGE - are centered on mechanized production and the exchange of goods and services.
4. MODERN STAGE - are technologically- advanced societies characterized by industry, mass production,
and advanced communication and transportation.
“VIRTUAL SOCIETIES” - are composed of individuals coming from various social backgrounds.

SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY- focuses on studying society and its influence on the human person. It
applies philosophical concepts in a social context and looks into how social interactions shape people’s
perception, experience, ideas, and values.
 HOW IS SOCIETY FORMED?

“THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY”

Humans are considered to have a natural tendency to cooperate and organize, and society is a natural
outcome of this human tendency to socialize. During the Enlightenment, social philosophers pondered on the
natural laws that govern human societies, and in their discussions, several philosophers put forth their ideas
regarding the formation of societies. Enlightenment philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean
Jacques Rousseau were among the most prominent social theorists who tackled the origins of human society. To
fully understand the true character of society, they imagined humans as living in a so called “natural state,”
removed from modernity and civilization.

Various Views emerged to Explain the Developments that brought about the Emergence of Human
Society
 Thomas Hobbes- for him, man in his natural state is governed by his desires and theses often lead to
conflict with his fellowmen. Society, therefore, is the means by which men seek to control their natural
tendencies and impose order. Social Contract - is an agreement where individuals sacrifice some of
their wants and submit to a higher authority. In this way, society is able to function and meet the needs
of the many, ensuring the survival of humanity.
 John Locke - he considered man in his natural state as more cooperative and reasonable, and that
society is formed through the consent of the individuals that organized it, a concept known as the
consent of the governed.
 Jean Jacques Rousseau - his idea on social contract lead him to advocate the concept of general will.
He believed that even if the people are the ones who organized society and establish an authority or
government, in extreme cases, the government is able to impose its will to people.
 John Rawls - redefined the social contract and explained that human beings approach social cooperation
in a rational manner in order to meet their individual self- interest. He introduced a version of the natural
state which he called original position to explain social formation.
 David Gauthier - he described man’s self- interest as a significant factor in building and maintaining
societies. People choose to cooperate since it is beneficial to meet their self- interests.

INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY

 We now live in a society where transfer of information is fast and efficient that we can easily link and
connect with other people through social media.
 Social media and social networking sites might lead to depression and disconnect users instead of
connecting them.
 As Soren Kierkegaard has put it, we tend to conform to an image or idea associated with being a certain
type of person rather than being ourselves.
 The modern age remains an era of increasing dullness, conformity, and lack of genuine individuals.
 For Buber, the human person attains fulfilment in the realm of the interpersonal, in meeting the other,
through a genuine dialog.
 For Wojtyla, through participation, we share in the humanness of others.
 Our totality, wholeness, or “complete life” relies on our social relations.
 Aristotle said that friends are two bodies with one soul.

SOCIETIES AND INDIVIDUALITIES

o Medieval Period (500-1500 CE)

 The early Medieval Period is sometimes referred to as the Dark Ages, but it was nonetheless a
time of preparation.
  Many barbarians had become Christians, but most were condemned as heretic due to their Arian
belief.
 Christianity’s influence widened when the great Charlemagne became King of the Franks.
 The way of life in the Middle Ages is called feudalism, which comes from medieval Latin
feudum, meaning property or “possession.”
 Peasants built their villages of huts near the castles of their lords for protection in exchange of
their
services.
 With the growth of commerce and towns, feudalism as a system of government began to pass
and shaped a new life in Europe.
 Amid the turmoil of the Middle Ages, one institution stood for the common good—the Roman
Catholic Church—whose spirit and work comprised the “great civilizing influence of the Middle
Ages.”
 The Middle Ages employed pedagogical methods that caused the intercommunication between
the various intellectual centers and the unity of scientific language.
 The practically unlimited trust in reason’s powers of illumination is based, first and foremost, on
faith.

o Modern Period (1500-1800)

 The title “modern philosophy” is an attack on and a rejection of the Middle Ages that occupied
the preceding thousand years.
 Modern period is generally said to begin around the backdrop of:
 Christopher Columbus’ landing in the “new world” which altered not only the geography but the
politics of the world forever.
 Martin Luther’s protest which caused several centuries of upheaval in Europe, change the nature
of Christian religion, and eventually, change conceptions of human nature.
 Reformation brought not only the rejection of medieval philosophy but also the establishment of
the “Protestant ethic” and the beginnings of modern capitalism.
 During the Renaissance period leadership in art and literature reached their peak which resulted
in the revival of ancient philosophy and European philosophers turning from supernatural to
natural or rational explanations of the world.
 Experimentation, observation and application of mathematics in the natural sciences set
standards for philosophic inquiry which led to the growth of modern philosophy.
 The widespread use of money and the consequent spread of commercialism and growth of great
cities also influenced the growth of philosophy.
 Modern philosophy itself divides readily into periods. The first period was one of what we may
call naturalism:
 This period belongs almost wholly to the 17th century.
 Nature is full of facts which conform fatally to exact and irreversible law.
 Human beings live best under a strong, benevolently dictatorial civil government.
 The characteristic tendencies of the second period is frequently called the Age of Empiricism:
 The second age of modern philosophy turned curiously back to the study of the wondrous
inner world of humanity’s soul.
 The human being became the most interesting in nature.
 The attention is turned more and more from the outer world to the mind of human being.
 The second period is a sort of a new humanism where reflection is now more an inner
study, an analysis of the mind, than an examination of the business of physical science.
 The third period, generally known as critical idealism, was brought by Immanuel Kant’s
philosophic thoughts.
 Humanity’s nature is the real creator of humanity’s world.
 Copernican revolution has also affected the attitude of the mind and thinking in general.
  Copernican innovation’s questioning attitude toward the activities of nature, spirit of
rebellion against things accepted solely on the basis of authority and tradition, and search
for new standards of truth has affected philosophic mind.
 The rapid growth of the increasingly cosmopolitan cities of Europe, with their global
reach, their extensive colonies and their national and international rivalries, required a
new kind of philosophy, intensely self-questioning but arrogant as well.
 Enthusiasm for the new science ushered in a deep-seated philosophical trend, whose
adherents stressed the importance of universally compelling science for philosophy.
 This marks the rationalistic intolerance that is so widespread in the modern world.

GLOBALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

 Globalization began in the West in the 15th century as an accompaniment to the new ideas of the
Renaissance and then the Enlightenment.
 Globalization comprises the multilateral interactions among global systems, local practices,
transnational trends, and personal lifestyles.
 New inventions in science eventually led to the industrial revolution in the 18th century, and
since then, Western society has taken off on a journey through the endless world of science to
bring society into the developed conditions that can be seen today.
 Industrial Revolution came gradually in a short span of time that grew more powerful each year
due to new inventions and manufacturing processes that added to the efficiency of machines.
 Significant changes that brought about Industrial Revolution:
 the invention of machines in lieu of doing the work of hand tools;
 the use of steam, and other kinds of power vis-a-vis the muscles of human beings and of
animals; and
 the embracing of factory system.
 Sweeping changes made some observers of the contemporary scene proclaim the advent of a new
kind of society, in which the production of material goods through the expenditure of mechanical
energy no longer serves as the basis for the technological system, where the importance of media
communication in which computer as a tireless process of energy is a vital link is paramount.
 They see the central functions required for human existence or amenities audited and controlled
by information transmitted by energy in its electronic form.
 Globalization, as facilitated by technology, can be beneficial if it will lead to improved society
and intellectual growth; but can be divisive if it will erode local cultures and national
sovereignty.
 Technology most certainly leads to globalization but, in the emerging global society, economy,
and culture, does not encompass all equally.

NEW KNOWLEDGE

 “Knowledge is virtue; ignorance is vice” is the summary of what Socrates wants to teach about
how human beings should live a good life.
 The origins of the modern age may be seen in the phenomenal growth of knowledge that can be
traced to the revival of Greek science.
 The process of intellectual growth still continues and changes in our understanding in the years
ahead may well be greater than those that we have seen in our own lifetime.

POLICY MAKING

 One of the most important consequences of the application of knowledge from Plato’s Republic
to human affairs has been increased integration of policy making.
 As life has become more complex, the legal system has also grown to the point where almost all
human activities come in contact with the law in one form or another.
 This integration of policy making has brought people into an unprecedentedly closer relationship
and has resulted in a greater complexity of social organization.

ECONOMIC SPHERE

 Technical improvements have made possible a mechanization of labor that has resulted in mass
production, the rapid growth in per capita productivity, and an increasing division of labor.
 The contrast today between the level of living in relatively modern countries and that in
traditional societies is a clear manifestation of this.

SOCIAL REALM

 Modern knowledge and the technology it has created have had an immense impact on the
traditional societies’ way of life.
 The complex and interrelated series of changes in humanity’s way of life has changed the power
relationships among societies by rapidly strengthening the position of some at the expense of
others.
 Societies have also become more interdependent, and the conduct of their relations has been
transformed.
 Modernization is seen as part of the universal experience, and in many respects, it is one that
holds great hope for the welfare of humanity and yet, it has also been in many respects a
destructive process.
 The rise of global consciousness, along with higher levels of material interdependence, increases
the probability that the world will be reproduced as a single system.
 Due to the thriving process of science and technology, we see a universal civilization emerging
that would reign from New York to Seoul and from Moscow to Jakarta.
 The world is becoming more and more unified (a single system) but it is not becoming more and
more integrated (driven by conflict and there is by no means universal agreement on what shape
the single system should take in the future).

TECHNOLOGY

 The more society is influenced by technology, the more we need to consider the social, ethical
and technological, and scientific aspects of each decision and choice.
 Science has greatly influenced the picture we have of human existence and what is essential to
humanity that the difficulty to the period of rapid change challenges us to discover more about
what is fundamental to our existence.
 Human success is measured by success in mastering science and technology
 Science and technology have become the most distinctive symbol of human autonomy.

 Science and technology is not a single phenomenon; Technology is not an object but our whole
attitude toward the human world; Science and technology are the culture itself.

ON (WOMEN’S) FRIENDSHIPS

 Women’s friendship has a unique quality that may only exist between women—a quality of
friendship between women offering sympathy, learning, validations, and advice.
 True friendships allow each other to be completely themselves.
 Female friends are extremely important to our emotional and physical health.
 Women may, unconsciously, have negative attitudes toward themselves and other women.
  Mothers customarily carry the moral obligations of providing safe environment for their
daughters.
 Daughters’ relationship with their mothers could be profound or disabling.
 Knowing and accepting ourselves are important ingredients in establishing boundaries in
friendship.

ACTIVITIES

A. Explain the following statements and give concrete examples.

1. The relationship of individuals and societies.
2. Human relations are transformed by social systems.

B. Reflect!
1. What transformations in social values or traditions have you witnessed in your lifetime?
2. In your view, what is the most significant factor that influences changes in our present society?
3. In your opinion, which Filipino social value should be given emphasis today? Explain your answer.

C. Apply
1. Create a photo journal showing aspects of Philippine society that have influenced you as a person. Present
your work in class.