On the Social Anthropology of John Paul II

Abstract

The point of departure for John Paul II in construing social anthropology is the well-known Aristotle’s thesis about the social nature of man. It is interesting that the pope puts forward his own interpretation of this thesis, proving that the basis of the social nature of man is not only the very external need and dependence on others. To a greater extent it is constituted by an internal need in which the whole wealth of the human persons’s interior is expressed, its openness to the other man and its ability to transcend. This social nature of the human person makes the foundation of any forms of community and in this nature there is a direct point of support for the social principles which order the whole sphere of social life. John Paul II pays special attention to the principle of the primacy of the human person and human rights, the principle of auxiliarity, the common good and solidarity. According to him, putting these principles into practice contributes to the forming of the personalistic social order, in which every man, without exception, finds his optimal conditions of life and development.