Personalism is the school of thought that consists of three main principles, and which can broadly be qualified as species of Humanism : Humanism[1] is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—particularly rationality. ...

1. Only people are real (in the ontological sense),
2. Only people have value, and
3. Only people have free will.

This article is about the philosophical meaning of ontology. ... Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986. ...

Borden Bowne's Personalism

Personalism flourished in the early 20th century at Boston University in a movement known as Boston Personalism and led by theologian Borden Parker Bowne. Bowne emphasized the person as the fundamental category for explaining reality and asserted that only persons are real. He stood in opposition to certain forms of materialism which would describe persons as mere particles of matter. For example, against the argument that persons are insignificant specks of dust in the vast universe, Bowne would say that it is impossible for the entire universe to exist apart from a person to experience it. Ontologically speaking, the person is “larger” than the universe because the universe is but one small aspect of the person who experiences it. Personalism affirms the existence of the soul. Most personalists assert that God is real and that God is a person (or as in Christian trinitarianism, three persons, although it is important to note that the meaning of the word 'person' in this context is significantly different from Bowne's usage). For similarly-named academic institutions, see Boston (disambiguation). ... Borden Parker Bowne (1847-1910) was an American Christian philosopher and theologian in the Methodist tradition. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. ... The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the self-aware essence unique to a particular living being. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Trinitarianism is the Christian doctrine that God, although one being, exists in three distinct persons (hypostases) known collectively as the Holy Trinity. ...

Bowne also held that persons have value (see axiology, value theory, and ethics). In declaring the absolute value of personhood, he stood firmly against certain forms of philosophical naturalism (including the social Darwinism of Herbert Spencer) which sought to reduce the value of persons. He also stood against certain forms of positivism which sought to reduce the importance of God. Axiology, from the Greek axia (αξια, value, worth), is the study of value or quality. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ethics (via Latin from the Ancient Greek moral philosophy, from the adjective of ēthos custom, habit), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of values and customs of a person or group. ... Naturalism is any of several philosophical stances, typically those descended from materialism and pragmatism, that reject the validity of explanations or theories making use of entities inaccessible to natural science. ... Social Darwinism is the idea that Charles Darwins theory can be extended and applied to the social realm, i. ... Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher and prominent classic-liberal political theorist. ... // Positivism is a philosophy that states that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge, and that such knowledge can only come from positive affirmation of theories through strict scientific method. ...

Emmanuel Mounier's Personalism

In France, philosopher Emmanuel Mounier (1905-1950) was the leading proponent of Personalism, around which he founded the review L'Esprit, which continues to exist to this day. Under Jean-Marie Domenach's direction, it criticized the use of torture during the Algerian War. Personalism was seen as an alternative to both Liberalism and Marxism, which respected human rights and the human personality without indulging in excessive collectivism. Mounier's Personalism had an important influence in France, including in political movements, such as Marc Sangnier's Ligue de la jeune République (Young Republic League) founded in 1912. Emmanuel Mounier (philosophe français 1905-1950) Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French personalist movement, and founder and director of Esprit, the magazine which is the organ of the movement. ... Esprit is a French literary magazine. ... Jean-Marie Domenach (1922 – 1997) was a French writer and intellectual. ... The French Army made a systemic use of torture during the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62), which was theorized as a counter-insurgency tactic by Roger Trinquier in Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency (1961). ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... Marxism takes its name from the praxis (the synthesis of philosophy and political action) of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Ligue de la Jeune République (Young Republic League) was a French political party created in 1912 by Marc Sangnier (1873-1950), in continuation with Le Sillon, his Christian social movement which was disavowed by the Pope Pius IX (1792-1878). ...

Famous historian of Fascism Zeev Sternhell has identified personalism with fascism in a very controversial manner, claiming that Mounier's personalism movement "shared ideas and political reflexes with fascism". He argued that Mounier's "revolt against individualism and materialism" would have led him to share the ideology of fascism ^[1]. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Zeev Sternhell is the Léon Blum Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. ... Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. ...

Antecedents and influence

Philosopher Immanuel Kant, though not formally considered a personalist, made an important contribution to the personalist cause by declaring that a person is not to be valued merely as a means to the ends of other people, but that he possesses dignity (an absolute inner worth) and is to be valued as an end in himself. “Kant” redirects here. ...

Martin Luther King, Jr. was greatly influenced by personalism in his studies at Boston University. King came to agree with the position that only personality is real. It solidified his understanding of God as a personal God. It also gave him a metaphysical basis for his belief that all human personality has dignity and worth. (see his essay “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence”) Martin Luther King redirects here. ... For similarly-named academic institutions, see Boston (disambiguation). ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

Pope John Paul II was also influenced by personalism. Before becoming Pope, he wrote Person and Act (sometimes mistranslated as The Acting Person), a philosophical work suffused with Personalism (ISBN 90-277-0985-8). Though he remained well within the traditional stream of Catholic social and individual morality, his explanation of the origins of moral norms, as expressed in his encyclicals on economics and on sexual morality, for instance, was largely drawn from a Personalist perspective^{[citation needed]}. His writings as Pope, of course, influenced a generation of Catholic theologians since who have taken up Personalist perspectives on the theology of the family and social order. Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   [] (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as... An encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church. ...

Notable Personalists

• Czeslaw Stanislaw Bartnik
• Peter Anthony Bertocci
• Tony Blair
• Borden Parker Bowne
• Thomas Buford
• Edgar S. Brightman
• Dorothy Day
• L. Harold De Wolf
• Ralph Tyler Flewelling
• Bogumil Gacka
• Georgia Harkness
• Václav Havel
• Louis Janssens
• Pope John Paul II
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Albert C. Knudson
• Erazim Kohak
• Gabriel Marcel
• Jacques Maritain
• Peter Maurin
• Emmanuel Mounier
• Walter George Muelder
• A.J. Muste
• Ngo Dinh Nhu
• Ngo Dinh Diem
• Jan Patočka
• Constantin Rădulescu-Motru
• Charles Renouvier
• Carol Sue Robb
• Pierre Trudeau
• William Stern
• Edith Stein (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross)
• F.C.S. Schiller (Pragmatist philosopher)

For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... Borden Parker Bowne (1847-1910) was an American Christian philosopher and theologian in the Methodist tradition. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Edgar Sheffield Brightman (1884-1953) was a Christian theologian in the Methodist tradition, associated with Boston University and the school of liberal theology known as Boston personalism. ... Dorothy Day was declared Servant of God when a cause for sainthood was opened for her by Pope John Paul II. Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897– November 29, 1980) was an American journalist turned social activist and devout member of the Catholic Church. ... Ralph Tyler Flewelling (1871- ? ) was an American philosophy professor, born ar De Witt, Mich. ... Bogumil Zygmunt Gacka (1955-) is a Founding Editor of the biannual Personalism, Chairman of Christian Personalism at the University of Cardinal Stephen Wyszynski, Warsaw, Poland. ... Dr. Georgia Harkness Georgia Elma Harkness (April 21, 1891-1974) was a Christian theologian in the Methodist tradition. ... Václav Havel, GCB, CC, (IPA: ) (born October 5, 1936 in Prague) is a Czech writer and dramatist. ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   [] (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as... Martin Luther King redirects here. ... Albert Cornelius Knudson (1873-1954) was a Christian theologian in the Methodist tradition, associated with Boston University and the school of liberal theology known as Boston personalism. ... Erazim Kohák in 2007 Erazim Kohák (born 1933 in Prague) is a Czech philosopher and writer. ... Gabriel Honoré Marcel (December 7, 1889 Paris – October 8, 1973 Paris) was a French philosopher, a leading Christian existentialist, and the author of about 30 plays. ... Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (November 18, 1882 – April 28, 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. ... Peter Maurin (May 9, 1877 - May 15, 1949 born in Oultet, France) was a Catholic activist who co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement with Dorothy Day in 1933. ... Emmanuel Mounier (philosophe français 1905-1950) Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French personalist movement, and founder and director of Esprit, the magazine which is the organ of the movement. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Abraham Johannes Muste (January 8, 1885_February 11, 1967) was a socialist active in the labor movement and the US civil rights movement. ... Ngô Ðình Nhu Ngô Ðình Nhu  , born in Vietnam, was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnams first President, Ngô Ðình Diệm. ...   «ngoh dihn zih-ehm» (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of South Vietnam (1955–1963). ... Jan Patočka (June 1, 1907 - March 13, 1977) is considered one of the most important contributors to Czech philosophical phenomenology, as well as one of the most influential central European philosophers of the 20th century. ... Constantin Rădulescu-Motru Constantin Rădulescu-Motru (born Constantin Rădulescu, he added the surname Motru in 1892; February 15, 1868–March 6, 1957) was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as centre-left nationalist politician with a noted anti-fascist discourse. ... Charles Bernard Renouvier (January 1, 1815 - September 1, 1903) was a French philosopher. ... For other uses, see Pierre Elliott Trudeau (disambiguation). ... Lewis William Stern (1871-1938) was a German psychologist and philosopher born in Berlin. ... Edith Stein (October 12, 1891 – August 9, 1942) was a philosopher, a Carmelite nun, martyr, and saint of the Catholic Church, who died at Auschwitz. ... German pragmatist very like William James. ...

Notes

Zeev Sternhell is the Léon Blum Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jean-Marie Domenach (1922 – 1997) was a French writer and intellectual. ...

External links

• Emmanuel Mounier and Personalism
• Overview and history of personalism
• Personalism Magazine (Lublin, Poland)
• History of Personalism (Acton Institute)