PHILOSOPHICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY OF JOHN PAUL II
The question about the
origin and nature of man or rather human beings and the world has been the
object of speculation from the very beginning of philosophy. Each school tried
to find answers for the questions like what is the primordial stuff or how did
it (the world inclusive of all beings) all come about into existence. The
answers were diverse and multitude. Which view is the best view among all the
answers given by different people leads to the second stage of speculation on
the same questions. Even now the recent philosophers and different fields of
science try to give convincing answers to the questions about the origin,
essence and existence of world and the beings that are present in it.
Various questions and
answers concerning existence and essence of the world and the beings day by day
grows into be a more complex phenomenon, Pope John Paul II, who has been the
supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church for a remarkable period of time
comes out with his simple yet profound Philosophical Anthropology. He gives
answers to the questions that are as old as the history of philosophy with
simplicity, yet very profound and with proper logical arguments. His writings
reveal that he bases his whole thought concerning the world and beings more especially
about man in three sectors. The first sector is man in relation to his origin.
He makes it very clear that there is a Supreme Being who is the author and
creator of the whole universe. The world and all it contains were created by
this Supreme Being who is God. This God created everything as intrinsically
good. God created man in his image and likeness so that they could be in
friendship with Him and the others. This God created human being as man and
woman each one as the combination of a material body and spiritual soul and as
a gift to each other.
The second sector is
man in relation to the society. Human beings who are created by God are
necessarily called to live in society. The whole humanity is called to imitate
the love of the Creator out of which He has created them. The entire humanity
should move towards creating a society that is basically a civilization of love
where peace and solidarity are experienced. The third sector is human being in
relation to metaphysics. In this sector he shows human being as the combination
of material body which dies and spiritual soul which is eternal. This soul
which lives after life lives in union with God who is the author and creator of
the universe who is full of love and mercy.
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The theme that runs
through his philosophical Anthropology is, “There is a Supreme Being who created the world and all that it
contains. Among all the creatures man is created in the image and likeness of that
Supreme Being who is God. This Man is called to live in participation with
others to create a civilization of love and act to bring about common good in
freedom. This man is made up of spiritual soul which is eternal that is in
union with its creator and material body which perishes when it reaches its destiny
(death).”