What Is Man?

What is Man?

1. Man is a rational animal: He is constituted of a body and a spiritual soul, and possesses alone among visible creatures the independence and dignity of a person.

- To the essential nature of man belong body and soul, which are joined together by God's creative power in a unity of being and acting

- Essential unity: interaction and coexistence of mater and form

2. Historical Being: only man lives in history

3. Person: spiritual independence which is founded in the fact that the spiritual soul in itself is independent of matter and its laws

- Person is not a moral attitude but a state of being

4. Individual: unique being

- Each man possesses a particular stamp and essential character of his own

- A man is limited by his "individuality" so that he cannot do all he would like to, but only to what is in keeping with and can be achieved by his ability and his individual character

What are the prerogatives of man as a person?

As a person man is:

1. The image and likeness of God in the Blessed Trinity

2. Immortal, having an immortal soul

3. Of inalienable and inviolable individual worth

What is the significance of the dignity of the person in man's conduct?

As a person, the individual is both qualified and obligated:

1. To act independently according to his reason and on the free decision of his will

2. To answer for his actions before God, his conscience, and human society.

What is Man?

1. Man is a rational animal: He is constituted of a body and a spiritual soul, and possesses alone among visible creatures the independence and dignity of a person.

- To the essential nature of man belong body and soul, which are joined together by God's creative power in a unity of being and acting

- Essential unity: interaction and coexistence of mater and form

2. Historical Being: only man lives in history

3. Person: spiritual independence which is founded in the fact that the spiritual soul in itself is independent of matter and its laws

- Person is not a moral attitude but a state of being

4. Individual: unique being

- Each man possesses a particular stamp and essential character of his own

- A man

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