APSS1A02 Introduction to Western Theories of Human Nature

Lecture 1

Why a theory of human nature?

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Books that you will find useful…

(Ten Theories of (Twelve Theories (From Socrates to Sartre)

Human Nature) of Human Nature)

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Some questions to start with
 Are all human beings selfish?
 Is the insane person not a human?
 Is homosexuality against human nature?
 Can there be a society where everybody is equal?
 Can there be any meaning of life for non-religious
persons?
 Are we biologically programmed in such a way that we
must fall in love with some persons?
 Were we born to be unhappy?
 …
 What is human nature?

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Understanding human nature

 A theory of human nature concerns a ‘philosophy of

life’, which concerns the human life is, and how it
should be lived.
 Compare:
 Philosophy
 Worldview
 Ideology
 All these aim to provide both a description of what
humans are, and a prescription of what they should be.

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The contributions of theories of human
nature
Human Nature
Theories

Religion Science Ethics

Politics

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Some popular views of human nature

Theory Conception of man/woman Core value Means to attaining the

good life

Christianity God’s creation Union with God Acceptance of

salvation 拯教

Naturalism A part of nature Conformity with the law of Treat ourselves as

nature nothing more than a
natural species

Rationalism A rational animal Truth and reason Fully develop our

intellectual capacities

Marxism A social animal which Social equality Revolution

aims to master the natural
world collectively

Nihilism 虛 ? Disillusionment with human Whatever you can

無主義 nature think of (!)

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What these theories all tell us?

1. a background metaphysical understanding of the

universe and humanity’s place in it;
2. a theory of human nature in a narrower sense of some
distinctive general claims about human beings, human
society, and the human conditions;
3. a diagnosis of some typical defect in human beings, of
what tends to go wrong in human life and society;
4. a prescription or ideal for human life should best be
lived, typically offering guidance to individuals and
human societies.
--Twelve Theories of Human Nature

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How a theory of nature becomes an
ideology
 Theory of human nature:
 A set of propositions about the nature of human beings.
 Ideology:
- ‘A system of beliefs about human nature that is held by a some
group of people as giving rise to their way of life.’
 Theory + Cultural/political/religious/scientific practices 
Ideology

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 Views of Human Nature in Western
History of Philosophy
AD476 AD1400 AD1900

The
Classical The Medieval The Modern
Contemporary

Ancient Greek (Christian) Scholastic Phil Modern Analytic &

Philosophy osophy Philosophy Continental
Philosophy

Critical and Human nature

Humans as the creations of
scientific thinking is
God. varies; or there is
Man as a rational the clue to human
and political progress. no human nature at
all.
animal. 9
Ancient Greek Philosophy

Socrates Plato Aristotle

(469-399BC) (427-347BC) (384-322BC)

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Scholastic philosophy

St Thomas Aquinas
St Anselm
(1225-1274)
(1033-1109)

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Modern Philosophy

Rene Descartes Thomas Hobbes David Hume Immanuel Kant

(1596-1650) (1588-1679) (1711-1776) (1724-1804)

G.W.F. Hegel Karl Marx John Stuart Mill Friedrich Nietzsche

(1770-1831) (1818-1883) (1806-1873) (1844-1900)

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Twentieth Century Thinkers

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Sigmund Freud (1889-1951)

(1856-1939)

Bertrand Russell Jean-Paul Sartre

(1872-1970) (1905-1980)

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Some theoretical positions to
consider:
 What is the essence( 本質 ) of a human
being?
1. Rationality
2. Emotions or passions
3. The survival/reproductive instinct
4. Self-consciousness and freedom
5. Internalized social roles

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What theory to study in this course?

 Classical Greek Theories

 Christianity
 Enlightenment Theories
 Marxism
 Psychoanalysis
 Existentialism
 Confucianism

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