The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools are proud to present Understanding the Human Person, a second series of virtual lectures by Professor John Haldane.

Jesus said “I came that they may have life, life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). Recognising what the promise of fullness of life means for each of us, requires an understanding of the human being as a person, diverse in aspects but unified in nature. The best route to this is by exploring the range of characteristic human activities.

The aim of this series is to provide a Catholic understanding of the human person from a range of perspectives: scientific and philosophical; experiential and aesthetic; moral and political; interpersonal and sexual; and finally, and most importantly, religious and spiritual.

Lecture 1: The Human Person from the scientific and philosophical perspective

In exploring some aspect of nature we can approach it ‘from below’ or ‘from above’. For example, one might try to understand a human being from the perspective that it is a physical object, and see how it is arranged bio-chemically, then genetically, then physiologically and so on up to the level of psychology. Alternatively, one might start with the whole human being, observing its activity and then look to see how this relates to biological and physical character. Only the latter viewpoint can explain what is most distinctive about human life.

Lecture 2: The Human Person through the experiential and esthetic perspective

In this second lecture, Haldane challenges the idea that because something is made of matter or originates from a sequence of material events, it can therefore be fully explained materially. Beyond that he shows how we need to understand persons as ‘subjects’ whose engagement with the world is mediated by experience and emotion, and by reasoning, choice and action. This is relates to our scientific and practical interests but also to our aesthetic and artistic ones.

Lecture 3: The Human Person through the moral, social and political perspective

When considering what I ought to do I need to consider what will be in my interest, but I also need to consider what is due to others, to some as family or friends or colleague, to others as fellow citizens, or most broadly as fellow human beings. Once again we see that understanding the human person is not a scientific enterprise akin to chemistry or botany but an exploration of meanings and values.

Lecture 4: The Human Person from the interpersonal and sexual perspective

In this fourth lecture, Haldane argues that the personal level does not negate biology but perfects it, and that the meaning and value of sexual intimacy is to be understood in terms of complementarity, reciprocity, mutual love and co-operation with divine creativity. Moving from this to the relationship with God, Haldane posits that we enter into a relationship with God and have a part in the “divine life” which carries us from the “human” order into the “divine” order.

Lecture 5: The Human Person through the religious and spiritual perspective

In this final lecture in the series, Haldane describes the orientation to religion as part of human nature. And argues that Catholicism offers an account of the human person that connects the human and the divine from creation, through covenant and towards redemption. Recognising the reality of sin and of grace as a counter to it, it looks to ways in which we can be helped to overcome failings and co-operate in God’s work of saving us from ourselves.

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