Sei sulla pagina 1di 8

2.

1 WHY DOES YOUR VIEW OF


HUMAN MATTER? (pp. 51-56) Self-respect
Being loved
When we talk about Human Nature we
Feeling good about oneself
often ask these questions
Have other think well about oneself
What is Human Being?
Mercer argues that we look on our intentional
How do you see yourself?
actions (Introspection)
How do others see you?
How do you live? Introspection is the way which one examine
or observe ones own mental and emotional
According to psychologists:
processes.
Human Nature is motivated solely by
We couldnt fully understand others action
self-interest or unselfish considerations.
unless we attribute to such motive.
According to Freud; Men are powerful
The only kind of motivation we can
measure of desire for\ understand is self-interest or in his words,
aggressiveness. the expectation of realizing some self-
Thomas Hobbes defined Human Nature as regarding end.
a Psychological Egoism.
Actions are performed in expectation of a
This theory says that human beings are made Reward.
so that they act only out of self-interest.
DEFINE DEDUCTIVE AND
Hobbes; Human are material bodies, and INDUCTIVE
we can explain their activities much like those
of a biological machine. Whenever Deductive argument- is meat to show its
human beings do somethings, they are seeking conclusion is necessarily true if its premises
satisfaction of their own mechanistic are true.
desires.
Inductive/Probable argument- is meant to
Hobbes claimed the Antisocial desire for show its conclusion is probably but not
power over others is what mainly motivates necessarily true if its premises are true.
human beings.
We can evaluate whether an argument is valid
According to Mark Mercer, by trying to imagine situations in which
premises are true but its conclusion is false.
When people act intentionally, they always
expect a self-regarding benefit/reward. THE IMPORTANCE OF
Behind any action whatever that an agents UNDERSTANDING HUMAN
performs intentionally, ultimately their lies an NATURE
agents expectation of realizing one or more of
her self-regarding ends, an expectation without Beliefs about our nature influence our
which the agent would not have performed the relationship, our view of our place in the
action. universe.
Self-regarding End is something that VIEWS OF HUMAN NATURE:
rewards or benefits ones own self such as
getting: Mercers View: Human act out of self-
interest
Pleasure
Happiness We think all humans are selfish
Avoiding pain We start to mistrust others
Gaining power/ Possessions
We become suspicious of kindness Independent Individual; it exists
and continually wonder what benefit separate from other things and people,
does other people get with an independent identity.
OPPOSITE VIEW: *All thigs mention above for 2.2 are the
Traditional Western View of Human Nature*
Human do not act out of self-interest

We gain trust and openness THE RATIONALISTIC VERSION OF


We accept kind gestures of strangers as THE TRADITIONAL WESTERN
natural VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
Human have a spiritual aspect as well as
REASONING is the highest power
material aspect.
According to Plato, the highly influential
Humans are open to religious version of the Traditional theory of human
experience
nature views that humans primarily are self-
Humans are willing to see his life in capable of reasoning.
this material universe
Plato: What is Self?
Human Being is purely a physical
creature. According to Plato..

Highly developed brain Soul=Psyche or Inner self


Uses Reasoning
Plato illustrated is view using a
S 2.2 WHAT HUMAN NATURE? Poisoned water and for example he suppose
(pp. 57-81) that you are very thirsty, one part of yourself
invites you to drink he called as APETITE.
*Read the story about near death experience.*
By APETITE, he meant thirst and hunger
Life after death assumes that the self is (sexual and other desires)
conscious, has a purpose and is distinct from
its material body. Yet a second part of yourself, reason, forbids
you to drink.
Life after death assumptions about Human
Nature: Plato meant that; through reasoning Human
capacity for thinking reflectively for drawing
All humans beings have a self Ego or I that conclusion--- the ability to follow relationships
exist in the physical body and that is conscious from one thought to another in orderly and
and rational. rational way.
This Self can think, reason and perceive. Rational part of Human Self: BRAIN
SELF: But Conflict arises
Have a purpose Appetite vs. Aggression/Self-assertiveness
Different from, but related to, the
body. The body is describes a In my own view.(hehe)
physical/material entity, while the I considered Platos view as similar as Freuds
self is described as a idea about human psyche.
spiritual/immaterial entity (soul) that
can survive death from its body. Freud distinguish through 3 personality,
Endures through time namely:
The ID- operates our desires and wishful Although, the ability of human to control
impulse should be satisfied immediately, appetite and aggression varies on the
regardless of the consequence likewise it is humans past life choices. (Domino effect)
similar to the definition of APPETITE. Aristotle agrees to Plato that: REASON is
the highest power but ARISTOTLE
ID is chaotic and unreasonable.
viewed that HUMAN NATURE requires
The EGO or I- works by Reason, it works only knowledge of our own world, thus
out realistic ways of satisfying the ids PLATO viewed that HUMAN NATURE
demands, often compromising or involves knowledge of another world of
postponing satisfaction to avoid negative reality and the ability of human to reason
consequences. sets human self apart from other creatures.

The EGO seeks pleasure and avoids pain but ARISTOTLE: HUMAN PURPOSE
devising a realistic strategy to obtain pleasure.
All living things have a purpose.
If the EGO fails in its attempt to use the
reality principle, and anxiety is experienced, According to Plato and Aristotle:
unconscious defense mechanism are employed
which is similar with AGGRESSION. Reasoning is the most important feature of
Human Nature.
The SUPEREGO or I Above- incorporates It what makes us human unique.
the values and morals of society. Reason should control out emotions and
Uses our Conscience to determine desires
GOOD/RIGHT vs. BAD/WRONG The purpose of Human Beings is to be
rational: to use their reason well, both
Its function is to control ids impulse which in thought and action.
society forbids and also, it persuade the ego
to turn to moralistic goals rather than Aristotle's works: Nicomachean Ethics
simply realistic ones and to strive for "Human virtue consists of dealing with our
perfection. feelings, (desires), and actions in such a way
that we attain in them the kind of moderation
that reason determines is right. "
Plato use the word: FORMS THE IMMATERIAL & IMMORTAL
FORMS- external and perfect ideals that SOUL
exist in an unchanging perfect heaven. Aristotle claimed that human nature has a
Purpose of a soul= Free of its body ascend Spiritual aspect.
to heaven and be united with perfect forms According to Plato and Socrates:
Self=Soul, Soul is an immaterial self and
The soul can do this if it can control its bodily is an immortal and survives our bodily
desires and trains its aggressive impulse death.
Plato concluded that: Reason, Appetite and Plato argues that mental abilities provide
Aggression are 3 main parts of Human the clearest evidence of the immaterial
Nature. nature of the soul. That is, our ability to
grasp perfect ideals as evidence of our
Reason can know how we ought to live, for immaterial nature of the soul.
that it should rule appetite and aggression. At death-we control our appetite and
aggression then we escape the confined
PLATOS RATIONALISTIC VIEW:
material body and rise to realm of perfect,
Human control their appetite and eternal, & unchanging ideals.
aggressive impulse through the use of
reasoning.
Through learning to control our passions and Choose Good or Evil
appetite we gain= SELF-MASTERY
AUGUSTINE:
To attain SELF-MASTERY, we exercise the
use of REASONING which is the ultimate Held that humans have within the
purpose of Human Being. powerful desires
Human nature is capable of controlling
IMPLICATIONS OF THE its desires and mastering them w/ reason.
TRADITIONAL RATIONALISTIC VIEW Held that we need Gods help to overcome
Aristotle claimed that because barbarians were pride and lust, and only with Gods help
less rational than Greeks, they were less can our reason master our desires.
human and so could be ruled and enslaved by HUMAN BEING:
the Greeks.
Has both REASON and WILL
JUDEO CHRISTIAN VERSION OF Has the ability to know the truth about
THE TRADITIONAL WESTERN God and the ability to choose and love that
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE God
Human is not self-interested according to
According to Judeo Christian Version, the Rationalistic and Judeo-Christian View
HUMANS are: Humans w/ the help of God are capable of
rising above their self-interested desires
Made in the image of God and genuinely loving both God and
Divine Beings neighbor
Has the ability to love and know
THOMAS AQUINAS:
According to scriptures: "Man is made by his
Agreed that humans and all other creatures
own image and likeness."
have a purpose however the purpose of
Christian "Saint Augustine" took Plato's humans is to achieve happiness by using
doctrine about Human self is a Rational self: A their reason to know God.
self that is Conscious and can reason
FAMILIAR IDEAS (p.64)
Augustine rephrased or redefined the
Survive bodily death because at death the
rational self in which he added that "With
soul can leave the body
the help of God can control its desire and
rule over its possessions. Special and different from animals
Augustine adopted: Humans are Through reason, we are different from
immaterial and immortal soul other creatures
"Souls that will rise to heaven are those Have a purpose related to non-material or
that know and love the perfect eternal spiritual dimension of the universe
God. CONTEMPORARY VIEWS OF HUMAN
Emphasized the notion of WILL and NATURE
NOT JUST that of reason.
The ability to choose between good and DARWINIAN CHALLENGE
evil.
(Variation, Struggle of Existence
Most significant Christian Value: LOVE & Natural Selection) p.65
WILL means. Proposed 3 key ideas:
Freely choosing to love and serve God 1st Idea: Animals and plants are sometimes
Power of choice over desire born w/ features that are different from those
Human are allowed to choose of their parents but they can pass on their own
offspring. He called the differences as Human power to reason Human power to
VARIATIONS. is so unique, so reason is not
different in kind from qualitatively unique but
2nd Idea: Living creatures produce more the power of animals merely a more
offspring than can survive, they are that it could have come developed version of
continuously caught in a great STRUGLLE only from God. the cognitive powers of
FOR EXISTENCEthat is they must nonhuman primates
continuously compete with one another to stay
alive God created us with his Humans are not made
own image and likeness with the image of God,
3rd Idea: NATURAL SELECTION or but in the image of
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST primates that preceded
them.
Some variations gives a creature an advantage All living things,
over other members of its species in this great human beings are Darwin undermined the
struggle for existence and thereby give it a obviously designed and idea that living things
better chance of surviving, having an must have a purpose. and their parts are
offspring, and passing the variation on its Aristotle noted that designed to have a
descendants. human organs like the purpose.
eye, hand and foot are Darwin held that
Darwin said that some creatures have like intricate organs such as the eye,
variations that can be inherited by offspring instruments that have a heart and foot, were not
and those with advantageous variations can purpose. The eye is made to serve a
better survive and pass them on, while whose designed to see, the specific purpose but
w/ injurious variations are destroyed, a process hand is used to grasp, developed bit by bit
he called NATURAL SELECTION/ and the foot is to walk. through accumulation
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST of countless variations
Aristotle: Human being and the blind process
Darwins theory applies to humans. But if all as a whole must of natural selection.
human abilities evolved from lower animals, likewise have a
reason is not unique but just a more developed purpose. Design and purpose are
animal ability. The purpose of human illusory: The eye is
being must be to do simply the accumulated
IMPLICATION FOR THE TRADITIONAL what no other creatures outcome of numerous
VIEW can do. And also, the chance variations that
purpose of human have survived because
TRADITIONAL VIEW DARWINS VIEW beings is to exercise each happened to
Humans ability to All human abilities their reason since confer a slight
reason is a completely including reason, are humans have the ability advantage to an animal.
different kind of ability merely more developed to reason. As final outcome of
than any of the abilities variations of the same According to Aquinas this process of natural
that animals have kinds of abilities that & Augustine: The selection, the eye is
nonhuman animals purpose of human is to adapted to seeing
have. use their reason to love because that adaption is
God and neighbor. an advantage in the
There is no great struggle for
fundamental survival.
differences between
man and the higher Humans are the result
mammals in their of blind natural
mental faculties. selection, not a
purposeful design.
DARWINS EVIDENCE: SALTATIONS from one species to another
that takes place in such short period of time.
The mechanism of variation and natural
selection meant that Probably all the organic Some critics insisted that the gaps prove that
beings which have ever lived on this earth Darwin is wrong, but Gould argues that the
have descended from someone primordial Gaps are either the result of the fact that we
form. have not yet found all the fossils that would
fill in the gaps or that evolution work much
According to his theory similar species (like
faster that Darwin thought.
monkeys and gorillas) shared common
characteristic because they descended from a A second group of critics argued that even if
common ancestor. Darwin is correct; Human still have a purpose
and it is a mistake to think that evolution
In his theory, each species would have
proves Darwins point of view.
originated into additional species as they
moved, but being forced to stop wherever they 2 ways of understanding evolutuion:
met the obstacles.
Naturalistic- explicable entirely in terms of
Darwin argued that his theory that Variations natural law without reference to a divine
and Natural selection had caused species to intention/intervention.
evolve from earlier species explained
Theistic- There was a divine teleology in
numerous facts better than the view that each
this process, a divine direction at each crucial
species was independently created
stage in accordance with divine plan/intention.
including: the similarities between distinct
God still directed evolution.
species, their geographical distribution, the
similar bones and embryos of different Dembski, a mathematician argued that the
species, rudimentary organs, and the fossil complexity of living organism, including
record. human beings, cannot be explained by blind
process but requires the admission of
Most important evidence to support his theory
Intelligent design.
was: The Fossilized Skeletons and other
animals of ancient animals and plants found in A third group of critics attack Darwins claim
layers or rocks under the earth. that there is no fundamental or qualitative
difference between the cognitive abilities of
Darwin pointed that a large number of facts as
many nonhuman animals and the reasoning
evidence to his theory. His theory provided the
ability of humans. Because the human ability
best explanations for the facts, particularly
to reason evolve from the mental abilities of
when compared to the prevailing view that
our nonhuman ancestors, Darwin claimed, the
each species had been independently created.
difference between them is ultimately a
CRITICS OF DARWIN difference of degree, not a fundamental
difference in kind.
Critics argue that the fossils do not support
Darwins view that species gradually evolve Critics argued that human capacity to reason is
into other species through natural selection. unique in all of nature. The most telling
difference bet. Human mental capacities and
Critics claimed that the gaps in the fossil
other animals mental capacities, is the ability
record disprove his theory that a theistic
of human to use complex rule-governed
view of evolution allows for purposeful
languages in our reasoning process.
design.
Gould a well-known biologist, claims that the
gaps show only that evolutions generally Darwins argument was inference to the best
occurs by Rapid JUMPS or explanation, which assumes the best
explanation is probably true. The best
explanation is: determined after considering all The SELF in Sartres view is not necessarily
serious alternatives; harmonizes with well- Rational or material or a creature of God,
established beliefs; accounts for more kinds of instead it is a PROJECT that possess a
facts; provides more information about the subjective life. It is the sum, noy of everything
casual mechanism, and is simplest. However, that happens to it, but of everything it ever
we cant say why best explanation are does.
probably true.
In the end, We are what our choices make us;
THE EXISTENTIALIST To be Human means to Create Oneself.
CHALLENGE Sartre: The self has no rational nature but is
the sum total of all its actions.
Existentialism- There is no such thing as
human nature because humans are whatever Freedom: Has the freewill to choose what you
they make themselves. It denies any essential want and want to do because you define
human nature in the traditional sense, insisting yourself by what you do, you alone are
that individual create their own nature through responsible for your own nature.
their free choice and actions.
Existence is prior to essence. Means humans
Jean-Paul Sartre say that there is no God to are first born (exist) and then define their
determine our nature, so humans have no nature (essence) by acting.
purpose or nature except the one they make
Man is nothing else but what he proposes, he
themselves. We are free and fully responsible
exist only in so far as he realizes himself, he is
for what we are; knowing this causes anguish.
therefore nothing else but the sum of his
When we choose, nothing forces us to do what actions, nothing else but what his life is.
we do. We must therefore take full
Existentialism says there is no universal
responsibility not only of our actions but also
human nature because we create our own
of our beliefs, feelings and attitudes.
nature. Human beings has no rational human
Sartre: Emotion are not moods that come over nature because only his or her choices can
us whether we want them or not, but the result determine this. Human beings has no purpose
of how we freely choose to perceive the world for human nature because humans are not
and anticipate in it. made for anything, we simply exist and each
of us must decide for ourselves what purpose,
The consciousness of this freedom and its
if any, our existence will serve.
accompanying responsibilities causes what
Sartre refers to as Anguish. THE FEMINIST CHALLENGE
The most anguishing thought is that: We alone PLATO:
are totally responsible for ourselves.
Associates the SOUL with reason and opposes
We escape this anguish pretending that we are these 2 to the body and its earthly desires.
not free. Through this pretention, Sartre says
PURE SOUL
that we act in Bad Faith.
-supposed to rule over the IMPURE body
Self-deception, or Bad Faith is the attempt
and turn away from its desires and pleasures of
to avoid anguish by pretending that we are not
the body.
free.
-Will rise to join Gods
We try to convince that ourselves that outside
influences have shaped our nature or that If the soul dominates the boy and turns away
forces beyond our control or unconscious from its desire and wild passions or
mental states have shaped us. emotions, it will be good.
If the soul becomes the companion an Genevieve Lloyd; A feminist philosopher says
servant of its body and bodily desires and that there are ways on rejecting the
pleasures, it will become Polluted and Evil rationalistic view:
and will be punished by being dragged down
1st way: Simply insisting that women are as
to wander among tombs and sepulchers.
RATIONAL as men still assumes that Male
ARISTOTLE: Reason is better than Female desires and
emotions.
Rationalistic View of Human Nature; A
Sexist Bias 2nd way: Insisting that Female traits of
Associated men w/ reason and claimed feeling and emotion are as valuable as the
that women do not share fully in reason. Male trait of reason.
Men should rule over Women.
Aristotle claims that the reason that
characterizes the essential nature of
humans is fully operational only in
Insisting women are as RATIONAL as men
MALES.
still assumes that Male Reason is better than
WOMEN, like children are not fully
Female desires and emotions; desires and
rational and so likely the appetites and
emotions are as GOOD as REASON still
emotions, Women should obey males.
allows that because males have reason they
(Rule of the master over slaves)
should rule females, who have emotions and
Associates MEN with Rationality and desires.
Reason and tends to associate WOMEN
with the bodily appetites and emotions that
must be controlled.
REASON is MALE and should RULE,
whereas FEELINGS and DESIRES are
FEMALE and must be Ruled.
According to the Traditional Western View of
Human Nature; MALES have superior traits
that are supposed to set humans apart from all
beings.
PLATO: Reason is superior to and should rule
over desires and emotions.
Rationalistic view implies that: Only MEN are
allowed to be FULLY HUMAN because only
men are FULLY RATIONAL, while
WOMAN are NOT FULLY RATIONAL but
are driven by their emotions and desired which
are Earthly, Impure, and Polluting.
RATIONALISTIC VIEW= OPPRESSION OF
WOMEN
MALE= REASONING is GOOD, SHOULD
RULE
FEMALE= DESIRES and FEELINGS,
SHOULD RULED
CRITICS OF SEXIST

Potrebbero piacerti anche