“Human Nature” or “Human Being”

2017 ◽  
pp. 5-16
Author(s):  
Lloyd Sandelands
Keyword(s):  
2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-534
Author(s):  
Jean Rhéaume

At least two important consequences follow from the fact that human rights are based on human nature. First, they exist according to natural law even in cases where positive law does not recognize them. Secondly, they cannot evolve because the nature and purpose of the human being does not change: only their formulation and level of protection in positive law can vary according to the socio-historical context.


Author(s):  
Douglas J. Den Uyl ◽  
Douglas B. Rasmussen

This chapter argues against the claim advanced by Daniel Haybron, Daniel C. Russell, and Mark LeBar that human self-perfection is ultimately based on notions of well-being and human flourishing that we bring to our understanding of human nature and in favor of the idea that it is human nature itself that ultimately grounds our understanding of human well-being or human flourishing. In doing so, the question of whether there is some gap between (a) what it is to be a good human being and (b) what is good for a human being is addressed. It is shown that the arguments on behalf of a such a gap fail and that the version of perfectionism that is advanced—that is, individualistic perfectionism—is ideally suited to not only avoid such a gap but also to display their unity, especially when perfection is understood as a process of living things and not as some cosmic or metaphysical process.


Author(s):  
Sara Brill

This chapter offers an account of the bios of the human animal in light of Aristotle’s treatment of the lives of non-human animal collectives. This discussion is anchored in Aristotle’s claim that the regime (the politeia) is the way of life of the city, and it is argued that proper attention to the zoological lens informing Aristotle’s Politics requires us to view the relation between human being and polis as an intensified form of the relation between any animal and its proper habitat. Its intensity is due precisely to the forms of intimacy and estrangement made possible by the possession of language. The Politics’s sustained meditation on how to ensure the longevity of a city’s bios—its political ecology—must, then, be read as a necessary complement to its account of human nature, its anthropology.


Author(s):  
Brad Inwood

Ethics is the part of the Stoics’ legacy that is most prominent and influential today. Their theory of the good life for human beings falls into the family of theories associated with Socrates and his followers. This tradition includes Plato and most Platonists, Xenophon, the Cynics, Aristotle, and later Aristotelians, all of whom share the view that virtue, the excellence of a human being, is the highest value and is its own reward. ‘Ethics’ discusses the Stoics’ views on human nature and rationality; the four basic virtues: justice, courage, wisdom, and moderation or self-control; and the doctrine that the fully rational and wise person will be free of passions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-84
Author(s):  
Ana Honnacker

Humanism is charged with fostering a harmful anthropocentrism that has led to the exploitation of non-human beings and the environment. Posthumanist and transhumanist ideas prominently aim at rethinking our self-understanding and human-nature relations. Yet these approaches turn out to be flawed when it comes to addressing the challenges of the “age of the humanity”, the Anthropocene. Whereas posthumanism fails in acknowledging the exceptional role of human beings with regard to political agency and responsibility, transhumanism overemphasizes human capabilities of controlling nature and only deepens the human-nature dualism. Therefore, a critical and humble version of humanism is suggested as a viable alternative. Drawing on pragmatist thinkers William James and F.C.S. Schiller, a resource for de-centering the human being is provided that critically reflects our role in the larger ecosystem and underlines human potentials as well as human responsibilities.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1354067X2095755
Author(s):  
Zarak Ahmed

Economic theory propagates a model of the human being commonly known as homoeconomicus; an individual with a rational orientation directed towards maximizing his/her preferences. However, our everyday lives involve many altruistic acts. These can range from small gestures of kindness such as holding a door open for another person, to heroic feats such as risking one's life to save a child from drowning. During our lives we also meet certain people that instantly induce our kindness. Our nicety in these moments is not based on a pursuit to optimize our material desires. Rather, we allow our feelings and intuitions to guide the course of our actions. How do we reconcile these experiences against the economic conception of human nature as inherently selfish? Addressing this contradiction, the paper will deconstruct the economic view and repositioning it as the product of an epistemological stance that distorts our view of altruism. An alternative model on altruism will then be developed by merging anthropological theories on value with insights from cultural psychology and grounded cognition. Through this process, a passage will be shown from static and universalizing perspective towards an emergent and dynamic theory on altruism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (16) ◽  
pp. 117-128
Author(s):  
Justyna Melonowska

The ancient, Greek concept of upbringing, paideiia, was oriented towards full mental development of a person on one hand and – on the other – on affirming in such a way given community of political as well as civilizational purposes. Questions about its essence and significance reappear nowadays in the context of disputes on education. Two main currents are usually indicated in contemporary philosophy of upbringing: axiocentrism and paidocentrism. The first in the center of all pedagogical efforts situates community and the system of values that this community recognizes. The child is to be introduced in this axiology. Such approach may be considered traditionalist and conservative. The second current is child-centred and focused on all form of self-expression the child desires. This approach is considered as related to liberal-emancipation direction in social life. Despite all the differences between those approaches, designed didactical process is in both of them the result of a holistic thinking about human being and the philosophy of upbringing is the result of a specific philosophy of a human. In the article I tend to show this descending character od philosophical approach to upbringing, ergo how the concept of human nature as good, bad or ambivalent going through subsequent degrees of theoretical systematization end up responding to particular and detailed issues, such as physical punishments. My goal is to make comprehensible especially the traditional, conservative philosophy of upbringing (axiocentrism).


2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-119
Author(s):  
Dennis M. Weiss ◽  

This essay examines Don Ihde’s postphenomological philosophy of technology through the lens of philosophical anthropology, that sub-discipline of philosophy concerned with the nature and place of the human being. While Ihde’s philosophical corpus and its reception in Postphenomenology: A Critical Companion to Ihde indicate rich resources for thinking about human nature, several themes receive too little attention in both, including the nature of the human being, the emergence of the posthuman, and the place of the human being in our contemporary pluriculture.


2000 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 611-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Hochwälder

Hjelle and Ziegler (1981) believe that people's positions on nine fundamental dimensions of human nature affect their personality theories, and that differences between people on these dimensions contribute to differences between their personality theories. The present study was conducted in order to obtain information about the ordinary person's position on these dimensions and to compare the ordinary person's position with 10 personality theorists' positions. 84 subjects rated their positions on each of nine 11-step bipolar dimensions. The following results were obtained: (1) According to the ordinary person, the human being is free, changeable, influenced by the subjective world of experience, a product of the environment, and best understood from a holistic perspective; (2) The position of the ordinary person is most similar to Allport's position, and least similar to Skinner's position. The results are discussed in light of the relation between implicit (lay) and explicit (scientific) theories of personality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-351
Author(s):  
Satria Adhitama

There are hundreds of beliefs in Indonesia, one of which is Kapribaden. The essence of Kapribaden's teachings is a spiritual practice by starting to know yourself as a human being and after that you can only know God. Before knowing God, Kapribaden followers must understand human nature first. This study aims to dig deeper into how Kapribaden believers establish a relationship with the Creator. This study uses a constructivist paradigm with interview data collection methods and literature study. There is a method or method known as Panca Gaib or Sarana Gaib to connect Kapribaden followers with God, namely Kunci, Asmo, Mijil, Singkir, and Paweling. By understanding this, it is hoped that the public can get a clear picture of the relationship between Kapribaden followers and God, so that acts of discrimination can be minimized.


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