The second dimension of human personhood is the conscious, rationally free experiencing and acting of the person. It unfolds when the human being awakens to consciousness and begins to live his personhood actively: to think, to will, to feel, to act, to relate to others. The second dimension presupposes the first dimension and builds upon it — it does not produce personhood but unfolds it.
Five essential characteristics mark the second dimension (cf. Bexten 2017, pp. 202—230). Self-consciousness: the human being knows that he exists, he says “I” and experiences himself as the center of his experiences. Reason: he can know truth, weigh reasons, correct errors, and even grasp necessary states of affairs. Freedom: he can choose and determine himself. As Spaemann emphasizes: in acting, the human being decides at the same time who he is. Intentionality: his mind is open to actuality, he can consciously direct himself toward things, states of affairs, and other persons. Responsibility: because he is free, he can answer for his actions.
The conscious human being is “master of himself.” He is not at the mercy of his drives and instincts but can govern them. The tradition here distinguishes between the actus humanus (the conscious, free personal act) and the actus hominis (the involuntary activity).
In the second dimension the openness to the Thou also becomes manifest. The human being can encounter another as a person, not merely as an object. From the second dimension arise rights and duties. The embryo as a person of the first dimension has the right to life but as yet no duties, because he cannot yet act consciously and freely.
Ontological classification: Superordinate concept: Dimension of the Fundamental Form of Reality
Ontological relations:
- ontologically precedes: Third Dimension
- presupposes: First Dimension
- ontologically follows: First Dimension
- is presupposed by: Third Dimension
Chapter assignment: Chapter 4: What is human personhood? (esp. 4.7.4)
Sources: Generated by querying the Personhood ontology.
Further sources:
- Spaemann, Robert (2006): Persons. The Difference between ‘Someone’ and ‘Something’. Translated by Oliver O’Donovan. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Freedom and self-determination of the person)
- Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 6, a. 1—2 (Actus humanus and actus hominis)