Philosophical Anthropology

The former (anthrōpos) refers to ‘man’ in the generic sense, that is to say, it means ‘human being’; the latter (logos) signifies ‘discourse’ or ‘science. Philosophical anthropology is thus concerned with a philosophical account of the mystery of the human being. Naturally, the history of philosophy has produced a wealth of approaches and an abundance of profound insights concerning the human being. It has also given rise to numerous errors in this regard.
This course will engage the question of how we are to construe the relationship that obtains between body and soul/mind. Rather than adopting a purely historical approach, beginning with Aristotle,
the text begins with an exposition of three different contemporary treatments of this issue before proceeding to expound important aspects of Aristotle’s and St. Thomas Aquinas’s metaphysics of human nature.

Educational achievements 

At the end of this course, students will have:

• Excellent foundation for continuing their studies
• Acquired experience and confidence in reading, comprehension and text analysis.
• Students will be able to use it in other courses or projects.

Evaluation methods

Two forms of validation of the course, a quiz and a written assignment (between 3 and 5 pages) by treating a subject to choose from those proposed.

Table of Contents

1. Soul, Mind and Body
2. Aristotle
3. St Thomas Aquinas
4. What kind of being is the Human Embryo
5. Conclusion