Torchia, O: Exploring Personhood

Exploring Personhood examines the metaphysical underpinnings of theories of human nature, personhood, and the self. The history of western philosophy provides the framework for broaching critical questions pertinent to these three topics. The book explores philosophical anthropology on its most foundational level, with a focus on the basic constituents of the unified self. The coverage of the work is broad in scope, moving from the Pre-Socratics to Postmodernism, critically assessing what transpired during the intervening 2500 year period, but with special attentiveness to the contributions of the Aristotelian/Thomistic tradition of inquiry. While each chapter can stand on its own, they collectively reveal a developing story that finds expression in diverse attempts to come to terms with what it means to be human, and how we understand ourselves as persons. This book is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of readers, from beginners to more advanced students.

This book explores the metaphysical underpinnings of theories of human nature, personhood, and the self. The coverage of the work is broad in scope, moving from the Pre-Socratics to Postmodernism, critically assessing what transpired during the intervening 2500 year period, with a special focus on the contributions of the Aristotelian/Thomistic tradition of inquiry. The work is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of readers, from beginners to more advanced students.

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 A Point of Departure Chapter 3 Focus and Methodology Chapter 4 Introduction: Competing Anthropological Perspectives Chapter 5 Human Nature and Personhood Chapter 6 Toward a Metaphysics of Personhood Chapter 7 A GeneralOverview: Content and Approach Chapter 8 Chapter I: From Psyche to Anthropos Chapter 9 Chapter I: In the Beginning: Defining Some Key Issues Chapter 10 The Transition from Myth to Reason Chapter 11 The Milesian Response Chapter 12 Two Metaphysical Responses Chapter 13 The Move Toward Reconciliation Chapter 14 The Pythagorean Contribution Chapter 15 The Anthropological Significance of It All Chapter 16 Chapter II: Plato: The Primacy of Soul Chapter 17 The Shift Toward Humanism Chapter 18 The Sophistic Legacy Chapter 19 Enter Socrates Chapter 20 Socrates and Plato Chapter 21 The Psychology of the Phaedo Chapter 22 The Broader Anthropological Dimension Chapter 23 Chapter III: Aristotle: The Human Composite Chapter 24 Aristotle's Background and Development Chapter 25 Theoretical Knowledge and Wisdom Chapter 26 The Nature of Wisdom and Causality Chapter 27 Aristotle and Plato Chapter 28 Being and Substance Chapter 29 Substance and Change Chapter 30 The Psychology of the De Anima Chapter 31 Soul, Body, and the Separable Intellect Chapter 32 Chapter II: Human Nature and Personhood Chapter 33 Chapter IV: St. Augustine: A Harmonious Union Chapter 34 The Challenge of Christian Anthropology Chapter 35 Augustine's Personal Experience Chapter 36 Manichaeism and the Problem of Evil Chapter 37 Augustine's Neoplatonic Lens Chapter 38 Augustine's Definitions of Homo Chapter 39 Augustine on the Person Chapter 40 The Subjective Ego Chapter 41 Moral and Cosmic Order Chapter 42 Chapter V: St. Thomas Aquinas: A Subsistent Individual Chapter 43 A Teacher's Life Chapter 44 Aquinas on Sacra Doctrina Chapter 45 A Metaphysics of Esse Chapter 46 Humans Beings, Being Human Chapter 47 The Status of the Soul Chapter 48 The Composite Human Chapter 49 The Powers of the Soul Chapter 50 The Fact of Psychosomatic Union Chapter 51 Aquinas' Metaphysics of Personhood Chapter 52 Trinitarian and Christological Background Chapter 53 Subsistence and the Person Chapter 54 The Primacy of Esse Chapter 55 The Person as Free Agent Chapter 56 Chapter III: Minds and Bodies Chapter 57 Chapter VI: Rene Descartes: The Ghost in the Machine Chapter 58 Descartes and His Mission Chapter 59 A Believing Man of Reason Chapter 60 Forging a Method Chapter 61 Affirming the Cogito Chapter 62 The Role of God Chapter 63 The Challenge of Hyperbolic Doubt Chapter 64 That I Am, What I Am Chapter 65 An Experiment Chapter 66 Mind, Body, and World Chapter 67 The Bodily Mechanism Chapter 68 Mind-Body Interaction: An Uneasy Alliance Chapter 69 Where Mind and Body Meet Chapter 70 Assessing the Cartesian Compromise Chapter 71 Chapter VII: David Hume: A Bundle of Perceptions Chapter 72 Hume's Newtonian Model Chapter 73 A Science of Human Nature Chapter 74 The Origin of Ideas Chapter 75 Hume on Causality Chapter 76 Personal Identity and the Self Chapter 77 Assessing Hume on Personal Identity Chapter 78 Chapter IV: Humanity and Personhood Chapter 79 Chapter VIII: Postmodernism: Humans, Persons, and Non-Persons Chapter 80 Postmodern Philosophy: A Broad Overview Chapter 81 The Consciousness Criterion of Personhood Chapter 82 The Bioethical Dimension Chapter 83 Postmodernism and Incommensurability Chapter 84 Chapter IX: Our Interpersonal Journey Chapter 85 A Teleological Model Chapter 86 An Infinite Horizon Chapter 87 Knowing and Willing Chapter 88 A Participation Scheme Chapter 89 The Being of Persons Chapter 90 Subsistence and Selfhood Chapter 91 Substantiality and Relationality Chapter 92 Embodied Spirits Chapter 93 The Unity of Self Chapter 94 A Moral Cosmos Chapter 95 Life as Quest Chapter 96 Epilogue: In Search of an Irreducible Self Chapter 97 The Challenge of Reductionism Chapter 98 A Quantum Theory of Consciousness Chapter 99 The Causal Role of Mind Chapter 100 Human and Animal Intelligence Chapter 101 Embodied Spirits and Our World