Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature / Edition 1

by Louis P. Pojman

Overview

What is our nature? What is this enigma that we call human? Who are we? Since the dawn of human history, people have exhibited wildly contradictory qualities: good and evil, love and hate, strength and weakness, kindness and cruelty, aggressiveness and pacifism, generosity and greed, courage and cowardice. Experiencing a sense of eternity in our hearts—but at the same time confined to temporal and spatial constraints—we seek to understand ourselves, both individually and as a species.
In Who Are We? Theories of Human Nature, esteemed author Louis P. Pojman seeks to find answers to these questions by exploring major theories in Western philosophy and religion, along with several traditions in Eastern thought. The most comprehensive work of its kind, the volume opens with chapters on the Hebrew/Christian view of human nature and the contrasting classical Greek theories, outlining a dichotomy between faith and reason that loosely frames the rest of the book. The following chapters cover the medieval view, Hindu and Buddhist perspectives, conservative and liberal theories, Kant's Copernican revolution, Schopenhauer's pessimistic idealism, and Karl Marx's theory. Freud's psychoanalytic view, the existentialist perspective, the Darwinian view, and scientific materialism are also discussed. Pojman concludes with a discussion of the question of free will, ultimately asserting that each one of us must decide for ourselves who and what we are, and, based on that answer, how we shall live.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195179279
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/21/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.26(h) x 0.57(d)

Table of Contents

PrefaceIntroduction1. The Biblical Views of Human Nature: Judaism and ChristianityThe Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), The Concept of Human Nature, Rules for Successful Living, The Prophets' Message, Summary for Hebrew BibleThe New Testament, Christ and the Concept of Human Nature, Jesus' Radical Message: Humanity is Made to Love, Paul's Vision of Human Nature, Justice and Responsibility (Mt. 25:14-30), Summary for New Testament2. The Greek Tradition on Human Nature: The Sophists and SocratesThe Rise of the SophistsSocrates' Simple Moralist View of Human Nature: Knowledge Is VirtueSocrates' Moral Philosophy: Virtue Is KnowledgeSummary3. Plato's Theory of Human NatureThe Theory of FormsPlato's Theory of Recollection and A Priori KnowledgeThe Ascent to KnowledgeJustice and Human NatureThe Allegory of the Cave and the Meaning of LifeSummary4. Aristotle's Theory of Human NatureIntroductionPlato and AristotleThe Nature of EthicsA Political PersonThe Functionalist Account of Human NatureWhat is the Good Life? The Ideal Type of HumanSummary5. St. Augustine's Theory of Human NatureAugustine's Life and Early ThoughtEvil and the Free Will DefenseAugustine's Doctrine of Love as the Essence of Religion and EthicsThe Doctrine of the Great Chain of BeingSummary6. The Hindu and Buddhist Theories of Human NatureHinduism, History and Main Ideas, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Theory of Human Nature, Morality, Dharma, and the Caste System, Bhagavad Gita, Conclusion to HinduismBuddhism, Life of Buddha, Buddha's Teachings, The Four Noble Truths, Conclusion to Buddhism7. Classical Conservative and Liberal Theories of Human Nature: Hobbes and RousseauThomas Hobbes: A Conservative Theory of Human Nature, Introduction, Hobbes' Account of Human Nature: Humans as Machines, Hobbes' Account of Morality: The State of Nature, Conclusion to HobbesJean Jacques Rousseau: A Liberal Theory of Human Nature, Introduction, Human Nature Is Good, The Social ContractThe Noble Savage and Emile, Conclusion to RousseauSummary: A Comparison Between Conservative and Liberal Perspectives8. Immanuel Kant's Copernican RevolutionThe Kantian Epistemic RevolutionKant's Moral Theory: The Categorical Imperative, Kant's Transcendental Apperception: The Elusive Self, Freedom of the Will, On God and ImmortalitySummary9. Arthur Schopenhauer's Pessimistic IdealismIntroductionThe World as IdeaThe Will to LiveSalvation from the Sufferings of ExistenceMoralitySchopenhauer, Sex, and PsychoanalysisSummary10. Karl Marx's Theory of Human NatureIntroductionTen Marxist ThesesSecularity and ReligionA Manifesto for a Revolutionary ProgramConclusionSummary11. Sigmund Freud's Theory of Human Nature: Pansexuality and PsychoanalysisIntroductionThe Trinity of Personality, Id, Ego, SuperegoSexualityConsciousness and the Unconscious, Dreams as Wish FulfillmentReligionCivilization and Its DiscontentsRival Psychoanalytic TheoriesSummary12. The Existentialist Theory of Human Nature: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and SartreIntroductionThree Theses of ExistentialismAn Assessment of ExistentialismSummary13. The Darwinian Theory of Human NatureIntroduction: The Shaking of the FoundationsDarwinian EvolutionEvolution and EvilSocial Darwinism and SociobiologyEvolution and EthicsSummary14. Human Nature in Contemporary Theories of the MindDualistic Interactionism, The Classical Dualist Theory, A Critique of Dualistic InteractionismMaterialismFunctionalism and Biological NaturalismDualism RevisitedSummary15. The Paradox of Human Nature: Are We Free?Free Will and DeterminismLibertarianism, The Argument from Deliberation, The Determinist's Objection to the Argument from Deliberation, The Libertarian Counterresponse: Agent Causation, Objection to Arguments from Introspection, The Argument from Quantum Physics (A Peephole of Free Will), The Argument from Moral ResponsibilityMetaphysical CompatibilismSummaryConclusionWhat Is The Truth About Human Nature? Do We Have Free Will or Are We Wholly Determined by Antecedent Causes? What Is Our Telos or Destiny? What Can We Know? How Shall We Live? How Are the Two Sexes Related? What Is More Fundamental, the Individual or the Group? What Are Our Obligations to Others and How Far Do Our Ethical Obligations Extend?, Glossary, Index