human nature_part 1

7/29/2019 Human Nature_Part 1

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Social Science 1

UP VisayasSecond Sem., SY 2010-2011


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Philosophical Underpinnings ofHuman Beings

Human Beings Morality


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Man as Viewed from

Four Perspectives

1. Origin

2. Composition

3. Essence or fundamental

na ure4. Traits or characteristics

which distinguish man

from any other creation


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Creationism

broad range of beliefs involving

an appeal to Gods miraculous

of the universe, of life, and of the

different kinds of plants and

animals on earth.


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Creation Stories

Genesis

Egyptian Creation Story

Myth

Iroquois

Inuit Filipino Creation Myth


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Evolution

theory that states that all

com lex life forms at resent

have descended from earlierones that existed in the past


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Evolution

origin of life: billion of years ago

one-celled organisms arose from the

primates : 65 to 70 million years ago

ape-like creature : 22 to 38 million yearsago


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Evolution hominids (humanlike creatures who stood

on feet) : 6 to 10 million years ago Homo habilis

Homo erectus: lived about 1.8 million to

250,000 years ago. Become nearly extinct500,000 years ago.

Neanderthals and Homo sapiens


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2. Mans Composition Monism : man is made of

matter or body, nothing else.

- consistent with what the

Epiphenomenalism : the mental or

spiritual is a mere by-product ofthe physical.


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Dualism : man is made of two

irreducible elements:

a er Spirit or Soul


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Two opinions on the

dualistic view of man:

1. Man is matter and spirit

- implies that matter and spirit are two

regularly

Freuds Psychosexual Stages of Development Id, Ego, Superego


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For Thomas Aquinas:

All knowledge originates in sensation

but sense data can only make sensethrough the actions of the intellect,

which elevates thought toward the

apprehension of such immaterialrealities as the human soul, the angels,

and God.


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Rene Descartes Man is an incorporeal (lacking a

physical body) mind housed in aphysical body

Rejected sholasticism; tried to applythe rational inductive approach ofmathematics to philosophy

og to, ergo sum t n , t ere oreI am

For Descartes, God created twoclasses of substances that make upthe whole of reality:

Thinking substances- mind

Extended substances- body


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2. Man is matter-spirit

- Man is a fusion of these elements

Man is a tripartite being.body- physical,soul- mind, emotions, will

spirit innermost part; relevant inmans commune with God


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Aristotle: Man a Thinking Animal

- the mind, that which distinguishes

man as a rational being, is incapableof being destroyed.

- the mind is the special part of the

psyche or soul- the soul is the bodys form; it does

not have an existence separate from

the body


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For Aristotle, man is also a political

animal. He best fulfills hispotential within a social context.

the good life : eudaimonia

(happiness, a life of virtue)


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Plato :The Tri-partite Nature of the Soul

Human soul:

charioteer - reason

the spirited element good;obeys the voice of reason

bodily elements needs

constant control


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3. Mans Essence

- pertains to mans

fundamental nature

a. Rationalistic viewb. Religious view

c. Scientific view


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Rationalistic View

- points out mans capacity

to understand and reason

as his most unique

attribute which sets himapart from other living

things.


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Rationalistic View

- Plato: reason is the highest part of the

soul

- Aristotle: mans rationality is his valued

ossession

- Descartes: placing man firmly at thecenter of Gods creation as a being

superior to all life forms, he claimed

that what distinguishes man fromother creations is his ability to think


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Religious View

- stresses the divine nature of

man (man is a being created by

God and made in Gods image)

- mans spiritual element enables

him to transcend his physical

limitations and the naturalconditions of life


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Scientific View- Biological View: takes man

as part of the physical order

of nature; man occupies

space and time.

- Behaviorist View: sees man

as a being that can be

manipulated, formed, anddeveloped in much the same

way as any other animal


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Give me the baby and my world to

bring it up in and Ill make it crawland walk; Ill make it climb and use

its hands in constructing buildings of

,

gunman, or a dope fiend. Thepossibility of shaping in any direction

is almost endless.

John B. Watson, 1928


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Scientific View

- Information-Processing

View: sees man as active

processor of information;

, , ,

imagine.


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4. Distinctive TraitsIn case of social, cultural, intellectual

traits, the following are distinctive of

man:

1. Man uses language.

Gorillas and chimps mastered signlanguage.

2. Only man is inventive.

he uses tools and builds machines.

Otters smash mollusks with rocks.

Apes strip leaves from twigs and use

them to fish for termites.


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4. Distinctive Traits

3. Man is a social and political creature.

Apes enforce group norms.

(Arnhem Zoo in the Netherlands)

.

has a cumulative cultural tradition.5. Man has aesthetic appreciation.

6. Man has a sense of right and wrong.

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