Cognition of the Human Person as a Complex and Unified Reality. The Problem of Induction
Keywords:
induction, human person , Karol Wojtyła, Aristotle, empiricism, phenomenology, personalismAbstract
Karol Wojtyła as a personalist was interested in such an approach to the human person that allows to grasp its entirety and complexity. He drew on Aristotelian method of induction, which leads to seeing the whole in particulars – epagoge. However, this understanding of induction is in tension with the modern concept, particularly employed by empiricist philosophy. In the article, this Aristotelian stance is presented and contrasted with the position typical for the modern philosophy and then with the method devised within phenomenology. It turns out that Aristotelian proposal has something in common with the attempt by phenomenologists but offers a more realist and comprehensive tool to investigate the wholeness and complexity of the human person. Karol Wojtyła sticks to the phenomenological approach to the human person but he enriches it with the achievements of the ancient philosopher and in this way contributes to realist personalism. All in all, we need both particular and general knowledge on the person, although the latter is demanding and requires a strong reference not only to the description of the human persona and its phenomenology but to the metaphysics of the person.
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