Richard of Saint Victor's concept of a person. Its history and relevance for contemporary debates on human person

Abstract

Przedstawiona tutaj rozprawa ma na celu zarysowanie właściwego historycznego opisu koncepcji osoby w ujęciu Ryszarda od św. Wiktora i omówienie jej znaczenia dla współczesnych debta toczonych wokół pojęcia osoby ludzkiej. tego typu badania są niezwykle istotne ze względu na fakt, że we współczesnych dyskusjach na temat osoby ludzkiej są obecne tendencje dewaluujące jej wartość. Koncepcja osoby zaproponowana przez Ryszarda od św. Wiktora wskazuje zarówno właściwą drogę, na jakiej powinna się dzisiaj toczyć ta debata, jak i - co najistotniejsze - zarysowuje nowe filozoficzne rozumienie osoby ludzkiej jako "niekomunikowalnego istnienia ludzkiej natury". Przy okazji Ryszarda od św. Wiktora wyładu nauki o osobach Boskich okazało się, że podstawą tego nauczania jest głęboki wgląd w ogólną kocepcję osoby, istotnym konstytutywnym elementem osoby jest niekomunikowalne istnienie, które koresponduje ze szczególnym rodzajem substancji rozumnej. rozwiązanie Ryszarda od św. Wiktora upatrujące istotę faktu bycia osobą w niekomunikowalnych cechach przysługujących bytowi ludzkiemu usprawiedliwia szacunek dla wyjątkowej indywidualności każdego człowieka, niezależnie od koloru skóry, rasy czy narodowości.The dissertation aims to provide an accurate historical description of Richard’s concept of person and its relevance to the contemporary debates on the human person. The research study is essential because of the devaluing attitude witnessed in current debates about the human person. The theories advocated by the majority of contemporary science researchers are responsible for these contemporary attitudes. Richard’s concept of person attempts to suggest an appropriate way forward for the contemporary debates, which proposes above all a renewed philosophical understanding of the human person as an “incommunicable existence of the human nature.” The dissertation also is an attempt to say something significant about the human person’s nature and dignity in our contemporary debates. To achieve these goals, the study examined the problem of person as identified and defined within the Greek theatrical tradition and its Christological adoption and amplification in the Parisian school of Chartres through Boethius’s Opuscula Sacra. Further examination was on the significant role of the Patristic Fathers who attempted to resolve the ambiguities in the philosophical and theological terminologies based on Aristotle’s theory of substance. The summary definition of a person as defined by Boethius was inevitable in the proper investigation of Richard’s definition. More research into current debates and the influence of modern thought on these debates was conducted. Based on the research findings, it is evident that the Victorine community and its hugonien tradition formed the basis of Richard’s teaching on person. Moreover, Richard’s exposition of the divine persons, which presented a profound insight into the general concept of person, revealed that the most general condition of personhood is to have an incommunicable existence that corresponds to a particular kind of rational substance. The dissertation further observed that in progressive quarters, by the end of the eighteenth through the nineteenth century, the idea of God gradually disappeared from philosophical reflections on human nature and the soul. The old concept of person built up over centuries disappeared, while the advanced modern theories only speak of matter, mind and self, including the attempt to explain mental activities entirely in material terms. With the eroding of the whole idea about God or gods in a value-free universe, the concept of person and the traditional moral values, especially human dignity, became subjected under threat. The study further identified that one of the major problems of the contemporary debates in its definition of person is the narrowness with which reason is generally understood and used. In these debates, reason is understood and interpreted as being identical with a mathematical and instrumental sense of the physical sciences. To confine knowledge to the scientific or mathematical sense narrows the idea of reason. Another key finding is that despite the giftedness and the growing influence of contemporary science, it has not established the basis of respect for human dignity and freedom, which are values that most scientists secularly claim to respect most. Therefore, there is a need to return to the traditional doctrine as a necessary corrective to complement the contemporary scientific theory of the human person. This dissertation strongly demonstrates that Richard’s work will help fill the gap lacking in the contemporary secular debates by establishing the basis of respect for human dignity and freedom because of its rich Christian background. His identification of the incommunicable properties that defined a person justifies every human being’s unique individuality irrespective of colour, race or nationality. Also remarkable in his doctrine is that the power to know and relate within and outside of the person’s dimension is inscribed within the rational nature that characterizes a person as human. In this way, human persons are understood as rational beings not strictly because they possess the power to think or will correctly, but because they exist in a nature that is fundamentally defined by rationality. Consequently, all human beings, including severely handicapped people who cannot think or form concepts, are still classified as persons and rational beings. The study also showed the ontological shift in the definition of a person witnessed in the course of history, as a result of which such an understanding of human rationality has been lost. Solutions, such as the proposed solution of Richard of St. Victor may provide an excellent basis for a doctrinal synthesis bridging the gap between the Christian and contemporary traditions. Ultimately, it should be said that Richard of St. Victor can be a valuable dialogue partner in contemporary philosophical debates. First of all, his concept of a person can become an inspiration for modern, constructive philosophical thought. In this way it turns out that – according to the sayings of Bernard of Chartres – we are dwarfs on the shoulders of the giants of past ages, that we see further and we owe more to the fact that they added their gigantic greatness to our small height.