UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Self-awareness allows us to know who and what we are, that includes our identity, qualities, character traits, and values. Self-awareness allows us to know our relationship with others, our fellow human beings, that includes our family, relatives, friends, classmates and God. Self-awareness allows us to identify our differences and similarities in terms of our identity, qualities, characters and values.

OBJECTIVESExplain the different philosophies/ views about man.12 Compare and contrast these philosophies/views about man.3 Explain the Christian view of man and its implications.

THE DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES-VIEWSABOUT MAN

MAN is a complex being above all other created beingsPRIOR KNOWLEDGE

PHILOSOPHY 1I cannot live locked up inside myself. I must be open to the world and those around me.I must be meditative so that other people and the forces found in the universecan flow through me so that I can overcome all illusion about myself and theworld and thus discover an ultimate reality

PHILOSOPHY 2 Im here for one purpose: to get as much gusto out of life as I can.Pain and suffering are evils that must be avoided at all costs.The main thing in life is to always feel good.

PHILOSOPHY 3My purpose in life is work for the glorification of the group.The individual has no worth as such. Im like a cog in a big machine as I submitmy efforts to the largest efforts of the state.

PHILOSOPHY 4I must do whatever I can do to increase my own freedom. Freedom means doing what I want to do. Hell is other people. What is good is that which furthers my interests.

PHILOSOPHY 5In the light of death, life has no real meaning.It is a joke, the tale of an idiot signifying nothing.

PHILOSOPHY 6Life begins with satisfying the bodily needs toward becoming self-actualized persons. All of mans needs are in a pyramid form

PHILOSOPHY 7I have worth. I must strive to live a life of loving service for my fellow men, all of whom in the last analysis are my brothers and sisters.Life has a final meaning which resides outside of me, that is, in God,and in my relationship to Jesus Christ.

PHILOSOPHY 1ORIENTAL VIEW OF MAN

Some Buddhists try to live a life of gentle submissiveness to the cosmic powers flowing in the universe, powers which they tryto let control their destiny.

PHILOSOPHY 2HEDONISM

Corresponds to the playboy theory of life,where pleasure, especially of thephysical, sensual type is almost made into god.

PHILOSOPHY 3COMMUNISTIC VIEW OF MAN

Individual has worth only to the degreethat he helps the interest of the state.

PHILOSOPHY 4ATHEISTIC EXISTENTIALISM

Depicts an extremely individualistic way of looking at man, each person is radically separated from the all others.

PHILOSOPHY 5NIHILISTIC VIEW OF MAN

This view maintains that man and his lifehave no ultimate meaning.

PHILOSOPHY 6MASLOWS THEORY OF SELF

PHILOSOPHY 7CHRISTIAN VIEW OF MAN