Philosophy of Man free essay sample

If I were to define what a man truly is, I always find it difficult to express my ideas and opinions about what a man really is because in the first place I don’t absolutely know the true meaning of man. I would always say man is a living thing created by God. If I were to ask people about their view of man, they would always have different answers. It is confusing and hard to know the real essence of man. There are so many views that it makes us confused. After reading â€Å"THE OTHER WHO IS: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Person† by Jaime P. Guevara, I was able to know how people treat human beings, subjectively or objectively. You treat a person as a subject if you’ll see them not just a mere object and not use them as an object. On the other hand, you treat a person as an object if you use them for your personal benefits. We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy of Man or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There is what we call subject-subject relationship and subject-object relationship. Subject-subject relationship is a relationship wherein the self treats the other as a subject which means that the self hears what the other has to say and understands the other. This kind of relationship is often seen on family and friends. If a relationship lasts for a long time, that relationship could be a subject-subject relationship. Subject-object relationship is a relationship wherein the self sees the other as an object. The self disregards what the other feels. The self only want the other to hear what they are saying. The self only listens to his/her ideas and disregards the ideas of the other. In this relationship sometimes the self also deceives the other. The self wears a fake mask on for the other to see only the fake mask therefore the other is being deceived by the self with a fake mask on. This relationship isn’t really such a nice relationship. Some philosophers have different terms in the subject-subject and subject-object relationship. Martin Buber calls the subject-subject relationship as â€Å"I-Thou† or the Relationship of Dialogue and the subject-object relationship as â€Å"I-It† or the Relation of seeming. You will know if the relationship is an I-It relationship if the self is more focused on one’s self rather than the other. The self is less concerned about the other. For example, when a hostage taker hostages a child, the hostage taker doesn’t really care about the child instead the hostage taker is more focused on what will benefit him/her. If the self wants the other to believe what he/she says and does not care for the other, this relationship may also be defined as an I-It relationship. When a corrupt politician speaks his/her propaganda, the corrupt politician doesn’t really care about the people but only wants them to believe him/her for them to vote for him/her. When the self labels the other is also considered as an I-It relationship. In the I-Thou relationship, the self and the other regards each other’s feelings and thoughts. The self is unified with the other in the I-Thou relationship. If there is love in a relationship then it is an I-Thou relationship because the I and thou cares and respects each other. The self and the other do not perceive each other as objects, but perceive each other’s unity of being. After knowing the subject-subject relationship and the subject-object relationship I have reflected upon myself that I had relationships with others that I treated some as a subject and some as an object without knowing that I was already treating them as an object. I am feeling somewhat guilty that I treated them as an object. Although I think people can’t absolutely treat people as a subject all the time because I guess there are instances where we must and have no other way but to treat some as an object at some times. People can’t avoid treating some as an object yet people can’t avoid being treated as an object. I know I was also treated as an object by some yet I treated some as an object also so I guess it’s fair enough for me. All people still has different views on man. Our views are of our own choices.