the human powers (given to us by god himself)

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THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself) [also called THE POWERS OF THE SOUL] Reference: St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae Prima Pars Q’s 75-102 The VEGETATIVE POWERS ( THE MOST BASIC POWERS) Nutrition – faculties that sustain life through use of nutrients in food. Growth – faculties that increase the strength and size of the body Reproduction – faculties that transmit life The Locomotive Powers - faculties for moving oneself/parts of oneself.

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THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself). [also called THE POWERS OF THE SOUL] Reference: St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae Prima Pars Q’s 75-102 The VEGETATIVE POWERS ( THE MOST BASIC POWERS) Nutrition – faculties that sustain life through use of nutrients in food. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

THE HUMAN POWERS(given to us by God Himself)

[also called THE POWERS OF THE SOUL] Reference: St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae Prima Pars Q’s 75-102

The VEGETATIVE POWERS ( THE MOST BASIC POWERS)

Nutrition – faculties that sustain life through use of nutrients in food. Growth – faculties that increase the strength and size of the body Reproduction – faculties that transmit life

The Locomotive Powers - faculties for moving oneself/parts of oneself.

Page 2: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

The Intellective Power (the Intellect)

The Intellective Appetite (the Will)

The Sensitive Powers – faculties for perceiving external world

External Sensitive Powers – the 5 senses Internal Sensitive Powers – sense memory, imagination…

The Sensitive Appetite – faculties that deal with reacting to the external world

Concupiscible Appetite Irascible Appetite

Page 3: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

The Intellective Appetiterelies upon

the Intellective Power.Without information it receives from the Intellective Power, it cannot act.

*NOTE * The Sensitive Appetite

relies uponThe Sensitive Power

Page 4: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

Meet Josie

Page 5: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

As a result, ALL HUMAN PERSONS, possess an equal dignity,

because all human persons possess a complete human soul.

What holds all of these powers together?

What allows these powers to form a single whole?

The Human Soul

Page 6: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

In both cases

the person simply

lacks the bodily wholeness/perfection

that allows him to exercise the power.

So we can assert:

A person who is blind is not less a person.He still has the power of sight within his soul.

A child who is mentally challenged is not less a human person than a child of average intelligence.

He has the same powers of the soul as the other.

Page 7: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

OBJECTS AND ACTS

Each power aims at particular objects.

Sight object we call color.Locomotion object we call movement.Hearing object we call sound.Touch object we call pressure, texture,

temperature...• Intellect object we call truth

Page 8: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

ACTS MOVE POWERS TO OBJECTS

There are 2 types of acts:

An ORDERED ACT moves a power to its PROPER OBJECT.

A DISORDERED ACT moves a power to anIMPROPER OBJECT.

Page 9: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

Examples of OA & DA

OA = Listening to a lecture given in class,reading the Scriptures

(the power is being used to help my whole self.)

DA = Listening to gossip or a dirty joke, reading pornographic magazine

(the power is being used to hurt my whole self and even others.)

Page 10: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

VIRTUE AND VICE

Virtue is the habit of performing ORDERED ACTS.

(a virtue perfects a human power)

Vice is the habit of performing DISORDERED ACTS.

Page 11: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

A bit of language study

“Virtue” is derived from the word ”vir” – man.(to possess virtue is to be true

to your nature as a human person.)

“Virtue” also derived from “virtus” – strength.(to possess virtue is to possess a strength of soul, an integrity.)

To possess virtue is *TO LIVE IN TRUE FREEDOM.*

Page 12: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

LANGUAGE CONT.

The word “vice” is derived from a word meaning “to twist”, as from a root;

“to distort”

(To possess “vice” is to distort your own nature and personhood;)

it is a rejection of the beauty which you are called

to create within your soul.

TO LIVE IN VICE IS

TO LIVE IN SLAVERY

TO SIN AND SELFISHNESS.

Page 13: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

(THEY ARE ALL UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE Intellect.)

the Sensitive Appetites,What do the Intellective Power,

the Intellective Appetite

have in common?

They all arecapable of possessing virtue…

because

Page 14: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

EACH ONE OF MY ACTIONS SHAPES MY BEING, MY SOUL.

…we can’t control our Nutritive Power better, so that we can digest more nutrients more efficiently

…we can’t learn to control our Growth Power better so that our diseased cells will die more quickly and be replaced by new cells just as quickly.

The development and the sustaining of virtue is a CHOICE!

Only man is capable of possessing TRUE FREEDOM which is the ability

to know the truth and to choose the good.

Page 15: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

TO POSSESS VIRTUE IS TO POSSESS

TRUE FREEDOM

Important adages:“Pretty is as pretty does”

“As a being acts, so it is.” “By acting, I shape WHO I AM.”

(…a liar, a cheater, an adulterer, a perfectionist, a gentleman, a real Christian, a sincere and honest person…)

Page 16: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

I remained silent.

The Sensitive Appetite

Concupiscible/Irascible Appetites

We are very familiar with how they work. We call these powers, these “forces within us,” our “emotions” or our “passions”. Many

times we have acted according to what our Sensitive Appetites have “told” us.

I saw chocolates…

so I went over and ate 3 or 4.

I were sad because of the way someone treated me…

so I went and took an extra-long nap

I was in a very uncomfortable situation and I knew I should have said something, but,

out of fear …

Page 17: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

The more virtuous I am, the more free I am to more truly love

my true self (not my selfish self), my neighbor, and my God.

I realized a person had a romantic interest in me, but I found that person unattractive,

so I avoided the person going out of my way not to meet the person.

The truth stated below is so very important!

Page 18: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

EMOTIONS are reactions of the soul to the world around us

or to our own inner world.**

Studies conducted by neurologists show that the first part of our brain that external stimuli hit is the part of our brain that is the seat of

emotions.

Our first reactions are emotional…NOT REASON-BASED.

The world of our imagination is our own version of what is really going on**

Page 19: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

STEPS WE GO THROUGH BEFORE ACTING

The following are the steps we go through before acting:

1. Our External and Internal Sensitive Powers (the Sensitive Power) obtain information from these worlds. These powers perceive the things or beings.

2. The Sensitive Appetite receives the thing or being and reacts to it by giving it value as:

a.) Having goodness or a lack of goodness for us

b.) Having usefulness or harmfulness for us

c.) etc.

Page 20: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

STEPS WE GO THROUGH BEFORE ACTING…CONTINUED.

3. The Sensitive Appetite then causes us “to move” or “to be moved”.

4. The Sensitive Appetite then influences the Will, trying to move it to act in one way or another. (Usually, to strive to obtain the thing that has goodness for us or to strive to avoid the thing that has harmfulness for us, etc.)

*Recall that, due to original Sin, the Sensitive Appetite suffers from disorder. Not all of its impulses should be acted upon.

Page 21: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

STEPS WE GO THROUGH BEFORE ACTING…CONTINUED.

5. The Will does not choose a course of action until it first “checks” with the Intellect. The Will “asks” the Intellect if the thing it is moved toward/away from by the Sensitive Appetite is good.

*Note: The Will seeks to conform to the rational good (the reasonable good, the truth.)

Page 22: THE HUMAN POWERS (given to us by God Himself)

STEPS WE GO THROUGH BEFORE ACTING…FINISHED.

6. The Intellect assesses the situation and then gives direction to the Will. The Intellect presents the Will with a good to be chosen.

7. The Will then should choose the good presented to it by the Intellect, putting the emotion (the impulse from the Sensitive Appetite) in line with the rational good.