Human Nature Essays - Social Philosophy, Philosophy Of Life

Human Nature Is there or is there not human nature? For Charles Darwin the answer is no. Darwin was the first to introduce the concept of evolution. He believed that humans evolved from the ape and not in the image of God. Darwin contradicted Aristotles view that man has a purpose in life -to reason. For Darwin, man has no purpose. According to Darwin, man began as one of a few species on this planet, fighting for survival. Man was better equipped with certain traits that allowed him to pass through the filters of natural selection. Mans physical and intellectual traits allowed him to surpass all over species, thus becoming the greatest predator and severely diminishing the risk of man becoming another species prey. Mans climb to the top of the food chain illustrates the concept of the survival of the fittest. Darwin believed that struggle and competition were essential for the continued biological progress of mankind. He also believed that heredity and inheritance were important factors that needed to be considered in marriage and reproduction. A program called eugenics (Darwin 217) was established from the belief that legal and other necessary matters that need be taken are done so in order to improve or protect the elite of the human population. This equates to the breeding of the best human possible. Jean-Paul Sartre introduced the term Existentialism. The Existentialist theory of human nature stresses three characteristics: individual existence, individual freedom and choice. Due to mans ability to create his own nature, there is no one human nature shared by all. Existentialism believes that man exists with no specific purpose. Sartre denies that human beings have any fixed essence at all (Sartre 241). Because of this lack of essence man is forced create his own nature through free, responsible choices and actions. However, man must be aware of the choices he makes and take full responsibility for his actions, beliefs, feelings and attitudes whether they are right or wrong. No matter what we choose we cannot escape responsibility for our choice and guilt for the consequences (Sartre notes) For Sartre, existence precedes essence (243). Man exists, man lives, and man makes choices. Its through these choices and living that man defines who and what he is. In the end, the existenti al vision of the human condition is tragic, but it is not pessimistic (notes). John Lockes philosophy is that human reason and emotion are the right tools to solve problems confronting mankind. Lockes theory of human nature is a simple one; man likes happiness and dislikes unhappiness. Locke denies that man is born neither good nor bad. This theory contradicts the idealist theory that man is born good but is diverged from this goodness by negative influences in society. Locke believes that man is naturally reasonable and will set out to do what is best for him even if it invokes temporary pain or pleasure. He argues that man will naturally impose upon himself laws for his own good and for the good of society. Thomas Hobbes is atomistic. He believes that man is born equal. By this he means, the bodies and mind of all men contain equal ability. Because all men posses equal ability they all hope to attain their highest hopes and dreams. Conflict is introduced when both men want something that neither can posses. This in-turn causes the men to turn on each other and seek to destroy or subdue the other in order to obtain the wanted item. According to Hobbes there are three principle causes of conflict in the nature of man: competition, diffidence (distrust) and glory. In human nature, competition is for gain, diffidence is for safety, and glory is for reputation. It is the competitive human nature that renders one to invade and destroy another in order to reach the highest goal. Man is a very competitive and selfish creature especially when his reputation is at stake. According to Hobbes, man is not a social animal Like Darwin, Sigmund Freuds theory of human nature was also based on biological factors rather than reasoning. Freud was the originator of psychodynamic personality theories. These theories were based on the assumption that powerful inner forces shape personality and motivate behavior (Psychology