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Philosophy essay human nature
Nature of human nature
Philosophy essay human nature
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Human Nature
Human nature, its essence, origin, and realization have long been controversial issues that involved ardent discussions. Nowadays there is also a plurality of theories and opinions concerning this concept. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different theories of human nature, as well as to provide an eclectic reasoned conclusion as for what this concept constitutes, and what characteristics it comprises.
Jean-Paul Sartre views human nature as potentially free. Moreover, he asserted the idea of “nothingness” as a central concept in this discussion highlighting the multitude of possibilities. It is important to elucidate that Sartre’s “nothingness” is not a vacuum emptiness, on the contrary, the idea is indefiniteness, incompleteness, infiniteness. It means that a person constantly faces a number of choices, and reveals his/her nature, both positive and negative, in them (Kupperman, 2010:155). Though the philosopher’s theory is not associated with determinism, Sartre appears to be quite fatalistic in stating that it is impossible to escape from freedom, but at the same time what he means is that a person is completely unpredictable in his/her behavior. However, Sartre also indicates certain human preferences that often predetermine the respective choices, and thus he also asserts that human behavior can often be predictable. Still, there is a point when a person can make the so-called “existential choice”, which is made sensibly and intentionally by a person in certain circumstances. By stating this, it is clear that Sartre completely rejects the element of unconscious influence on the choices that people make. In order to understand Sartre’s view of human identity, it is reasonable to account for his asserti...
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...he need to recognize and find harmony between body, mind, and soul; the essence of human life; the definition and role of immorality and dignity, etc. in which human nature is revealed. Research in this area would be able not only to expand the boundaries of the contemporary understanding of the concept of human nature, and reveal new opportunities for the development of its constructive representations, or alteration of the destructive ones.
Works Cited
Caro, A.D. Grounding the Nietzsche Rhetoric of Earth. Walter de Gruyter, 2004.
Hobbes, T. The Treatise on Human Nature and that on Liberty and Necessity, 1812.
Kline, T.C. Virtue, Nature, and Moral Agency in the Xunzi, 2000.
Kupperman, J. Joel. Theories of Human Nature. Hackett Publishing, 2010.
Nietzsche, F.W. Human, All Too Human I: A Book for Free Spirits. Stanford University Press, 2000.
Human Nature has been debated since the beginning of modern human existence, and everybody appears to have a different opinion on what it consists of. Humans, on one hand, are usually very predictable and easy to figure out, but on the other hand, sometimes they stray from the common conception, and therefore make everybody begin the debate over again. People have to deal with other people almost everyday, and many professions actively attempt to figure out why people do what they do and how people would act and react in specific situations. Humans as a whole have come along way in figuring others out, and yet there is so much that is not known about humans. People act differently based on many different factors, and since the start of societies, people have
We choose, act, and take responsibility for everything, and thus we live, and exist. Life cannot be anything until it is lived, but each individual must make sense of it. The value of life is nothing else but the sense each person fashions into it. To argue that we are the victims of fate, of mysterious forces within us, of some grand passion, or heredity, is to be guilty of bad faith. Sartre says that we can overcome the adversity presented by our facticity, a term he designs to represent the external factors that we have no control over, such as the details of our birth, our race, and so on, by inserting nothingness into it.
In today’s society, one is constantly surrounded by individuals with different behaviors. Some will sacrifice his or her life for a complete stranger. However, there is some individuals who would take advantage of the weak and poor for his or her own personal gain. Now the question arises, what makes human beings behave the way they do? Being the topic of conflict of psychology for years, one usually turns to the nature verses nurture theory for the answer to that question. Some believes that a person is born with a certain personality, others believe it is an individual’s atmosphere that determines his or her attitude, and some even trusts the idea that it is a combination of genes and environment that dictates the conduct of an individual.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) is referred to as the most popular existentialist of the twentieth century and was born out of the third force movement in psychology. The third force movement of the twentieth century consisted of a diverse collection of psychologists and philosophers that did not all share universal principles, but were all reacting to the new orientation of psychology, which differed from behaviorism in that it did not reduce psychological processes to reactions to mechanical laws of physiological events but acknowledged the mediating and active role of the mind (Brennan, 2003). Despite the diversity of the third force movement, there were commonly shared views amongst its pioneers. One of these views was the focus on personal freedom and responsibility in terms of decision making and fulfilling ones potential (Brennan, 2003). The mind was considered to be active, and dynamic and a place where an individual could express their uniquely human abilities of cognition, willing, and judgments (Brennan, 2003). There was an emphasis on the self, and an acknowledgement of the strive of humans toward individually defined personality development. Existentialism holds that an individual is free to define his or her life course through his or her choices and decisions, but individuals are responsible for the consequences of their personal choices and decisions, and therefore freedom is a burdensome source of anguish (Brennan, 2003).
The Holocaust is a traumatic history. About six millions of Jews got killed during this period of time. Holocaust is a history of anti-Semitism in Europe, anti-Semitism gained their strength after World War One, Germany had lost the war, so the German people blame the Jews for losing the war, and the Jews became the scapegoat. So Anne Frank is one of those Jews who got discriminate during the Holocaust. She went to hiding with her family, and the diary she wrote during her hiding time remained after she got killed in the camp. Her diary was published after then, and in her diary she had state it “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” I totally agree with her in this statement.
was all right, so that he can accept it and move on. The narrator also
Human nature is characteristics that generally apply to all people. It is our natural habits such as being impatient, wanting to be accepted, and so on. It is within human nature that peopl...
...ating Sartre's attitudes towards the constituents of human action, that which constitutes human being. Even though it may, in the final analysis, prove to be an unsatisfactory account of consciousness, it serves to illuminate some possible further lines of study, if only as a negative example.
The concept of human nature has been theorized and debated repeatedly by philosophers throughout history; contrasting arguments regarding whether or not human beings are intrinsically competitive, or compassionate have been put forth by Thomas Hobbes and Peter Kropotkin. Understanding human nature is important in order to properly understand why human beings behave in the manner that they do, and whether or not all people instinctively are made to think similarly. Being equipped with this knowledge can allow for one to better understand events in history and different aspects of life, such as politics.
The understanding of human nature is the concept that there is a set of inherent distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that all humans tend to possess (Winkler, 1996). My basic view of human nature correlates with Charles Darwin’s nature vs. nurture theory. Human nature is influenced by both nature and nurture. Nature is all that a man brings with himself into the world, and nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth. An individual’s morals, values, and beliefs are developed from the nurturing aspect of their life. The environment that an individual is raised in creates their human nature. Then they go through life developing more upon their own morals, values, and beliefs. The nature vs. nurture theory is an every changing concept, and I believe that human nature changes for each individual based on their life experiences.
In viewing 12 Angry Men, we see face to face exactly what man really is capable of being. We see different views, different opinions of men such as altruism, egoism, good and evil. It is no doubt that human beings possess either one or any of these characteristics, which make them unique. It is safe to say that our actions, beliefs, and choices separate us from animals and non-livings. The 20th century English philosopher, Martin Hollis, once said, “Free will – the ability to make decisions about how to act – is what distinguishes people from non-human animals and machines 1”. He went to describe human beings as “self conscious, rational, creative. We can fall in love, write sonnets or plan for tomorrow. We are capable of faith, hope and charity, and for that matter, of envy, hated and malice. We know truth from error, right from wrong 2.” Human nature by definition is “Characteristics or qualities that make human beings different from anything else”. With this said, the topic of human nature has been around for a very long time, it is a complex subject with no right or wrong answer. An American rabbi, Samuel Umen, gave examples of contradictions of human nature in his book, Images of Man. “He is compassionate, generous, loving and forgiving, but also cruel, vengeful, selfish and vindictive 3”. Existentialism by definition is, “The belief that existence comes before essence, that is, that who you are is only determined by you yourself, and not merely an accident of birth”. A French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, is the most famous and influential 20th - century existentialist. He summed up human nature as “existence precedes essence”. In his book, Existentialism and Human Emotions, he explained what he meant by this. “It means that, first of all, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself. If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will be something, and he himself will have made what he will be 4”. After watching 12 Angry Men, the prominent view on human nature that is best portrayed in the movie is that people are free to be whatever they want because as Sartre said, “people create themselves every moment of everyday according to the choices they make 5”.
From the time when humanity was able to believe in it, Utopia has existed as a mere word, thought or principle. It is a place that is hoped for, and is also a society that was and is apparently deemed to be possible, or is it? The Mirriam-Webster’s dictionary defines it as “an imaginary and indefinitely remote place of ideal perfection in laws, government and social conditions.” It doesn’t exist. It cannot exist because of our nature, our practices, and our imperfections.
... have seen human nature grow and change. Because human nature is dynamic, we must observe it throughout history. Human nature grows through factions, it is protected through just popular government and its future is ensured through the ultimate good. We are living in human nature, we are human nature, and because of this we are also changing. We change as the ideas and opinions of the world change. Through death, we may come to fully understand human nature but only through living will we use the power of our human nature to create the just world of tomorrow.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. "Human, All Too Human by Friedrich Nietzsche: From the Soul of Artists and Writers." Classic Authors.net / Great Literature Online. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. .