THE PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPT OF MAN

1.The problem of human being in

the history of philosophy
2. Man as a biosocial being.
3. Man as a Personality.
In ancient philosophy

◼man was thought of as a

"small world" in the general
composition of the universe,
as a reflection and symbol of
the universe understood as a
spiritualized organism.
Aristotle, for example,
◼ understoodman as a social
animal endowed with a
"reasoning soul".
 In the theory of the transmigration of
souls

evolved by Indian philosophers the

borderline between living creatures
(plants, animals, man and gods) is
mobile.

Man tries to break out of the fetters

of empirical existence with its law
of karma, or what we should call
"fate".
In Christianity the biblical notion of man as the "image
and likeness of God", internally divided owing to the Fall,
is combined with the theory of the unity of the divine and
human natures in the personality of Christ and the
consequent possibility of every individual's inner
attainment of divine "grace".
 Islam

◼ teaches that human beings are a unique life form that was created
by Allah in a special way, with unique gifts and abilities unlike any
other: a soul and conscience, knowledge, and free will.

◼ Muslims do not believe that human beings randomly evolved from

apes.
◼ The life of human beings began with the creation of two people, a
male and a female named Adam and Hawwa (Eve).
The Age of the Renaissance
(14-17 centuries)
◼istotally inspired by the idea
of human autonomy, of
man's boundless creative
abilities.
Descartes (17 century) regarded
the reason as the specific feature
of man. Soul and body were
understood dualistically. The body
being regarded as a machine,
similar to that of the animals, while
the soul was identified with
consciousness.
Kant (18 century)
man is a being belonging to two
different worlds:
1. the world of natural necessity
2.the world of moral freedom.
 Kant
◼ physiological anthropology
should study what nature makes
of man;
◼ pragmatic anthropology is
concerned with what man, as a
freely acting being, does, can or
should make of himself.
Feuerbach (19 century) achieved
an anthropological reorientation
of philosophy centering it on
man.
According to Nietzsche (19
century), man is determined
by the play of vital forces
and attractions and not by
the reason.
Existentialism and
personalism Individuality is a
part of the natural and social
whole.
Personality is a unique
spiritual self-determination
(existence).
Marxism
Human being is the product
and subject of labour
activity. The essence of man
is the ensemble of the social
relations.
Anthroposociogenesis is the
simultaneous and
interconnected process of
the appearance of man and
society.
 Human organism
. has many features in
common with the higher animals.
◼ Man got ahead of the mammals thanks to
the intensive development and
differentiation of the cerebral cortex.
◼ The characteristic anatomical and
physiological features of the human being
are erect posture, free upper extremities,
adapted for using and making tools, and
advanced development of the means of
communication.
◼ Ata certain level of anthropogenesis,
under the influence of labour activity
and communication, biological
development became what is, in effect,
the historical development of social
systems.

Human hand is simultaneously a

reason and a result of the development
of the human brain
Birth gives man existence as a
natural individual.
Although he/she comes into the
world with insufficiently formed
anatomical and physiological
systems, they are genetically
programmed as uniquely
human.
◼The newborn child is not a "tabula rasa"
(clean slate) on which the environment
draws its fanciful spiritual patterns.

Heredity equips the child not only with

instincts. He/she is from the very
beginning the possessor of a special
ability, the ability to imitate adults, their
actions, the noises they make. He/she
has an inherent curiosity, an ability to
enjoy bright objects. He/she is capable
of being upset, disappointed,
experiencing fear and joy.
The essence of man comprises
both the spiritual sphere, the
sphere of the mind, and his
bodily organization, but it is not
confined to this. Man becomes
aware of himself as a part of the
social whole.
A human being is a biosocial being and
represents the highest level of development
of all living organisms on earth, the subject
of labour, of the social forms of life,
communication and consciousness.
For various cognitive or
practical purposes
◼ wemay stress man's biological or
social aspects, but we must
always remember their essential
unity.
Biological vulgarization is an
exaggeration of the role of the
biological aspects of human life.
For example, psychoanalysis,
Feuerbach’s anthropological
materialism, racism,
sociobiology.
Sociological vulgarization is an
exaggeration of the role of the
social aspects of human life.
Vulgar sociologism ignores the
significance of the biological
principle in man.
For example, behaviorism,
Marxism as a concept of homo-
economicus.
The concept "personality" is connected
mainly with human social and
psychological aspects, such as his/her
sense of dignity, his/her self-appraisal,
his/her value orientations, beliefs, the
principles by which he/she lives, his/her
moral, aesthetic, socio-political and other
social positions.
 It is connected also with
◼ his/herconvictions and ideals, and also
the character, the special features of
his/her intellect, the style and
independence of his/her thinking, the
specific nature of emotional make-up,
his/her willpower, cast of mind and
feelings, and his/her social status.
Personality is the sum-total of everything
that a person may call his own.
How does a person describe him/herself
as a personality? He does this by relating
him/herself to what he does or has done,
by telling us with whom he/she is
associated. Hence the principle: "Tell me
who your friends are and I will tell you
what you are."
The fullness of the personality is
expressed in its individuality,
in its uniqueness, its unrepeatability.
Personality in general is an abstraction,

◼ which is concretized in real

individuals, in separate, single
rational beings with all the distinctive
properties of their mentality and
physique, the colour of their skin, hair,
eyes, and so on.
The human being as a personality is a self-
appraising being. Without this ability it
would be very difficult or even impossible
for anyone to assert his/her identity in life.

A correct appraisal leads to inner

harmony, ensuring a
reasonable self-confidence, an
incorrect one, to constant
conflict.