Philosophical anthropology is the branch in philosophy that help us gain insight into the nature of the human person. Such insight leads us to an understanding of the human person as a project in development, never in possession of fullness of being. We are constantly in a process that goes from potency to actualization. That is why human choice is crucial, as we become what we freely choose. Autonomy is that capacity to choose that help us to develop a fuller sense of being. Identity and destiny are both formed through the path of that autonomy. As we see, autonomy is instrumental to the achievement of a fuller sense of being. It makes possible the choices that lead to human flourishing and ultimately to personal fulfillment. As human beings are human animals with a given constitution, not every choice leads to flourishing. There are certain things that are good for the human person and others are not. Autonomy (as with pleasure) is then a two-edge sword; it can lead us astray. Human fulfillment is attained by choosing that which makes us fully human. Here, morality is essential as it combines autonomy with responsibility. Morality helps us become what we are destined to become. But how can we become such if we do not know what are the real goods of human nature that must be discerned by the mind, accepted by the will and actualized by choice? That is why morality must be objective, it must be objectively discovered by unfettered reason. The idea that we create our own moral universe as there are no objective values misses the truth about man.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 00:40:28 +0000
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