Aristotle had maintained that it was the office of the wise man to possess a universal science of all being. Alfred North Whitehead also agrees observed that philosophy should rather study the totality. In this endeavor, we must investigate man as we find him in his concrete, existential world, not in an abstract one devoid of human significance. Philosophical anthropology is the attempt that seeks to unify the several investigations and explorations of humans in an effort to understand human behavior as both creatures of their environment and creators of their own values. Aristotle is known for his highly developed philosophical anthropology which defines the human being not so much as a "rational animal" but essentially as a loving being.
Philosophical anthropology is the study of human nature conducted by the methods of philosophy. It is concerned with questions such as the status of human beings in the universe, the purpose or meaning of human life, and whether humanity can be made an object of systematic study. For the world of nature is richer than any scientific doctrine reveals; and what it omits may be more important than what it encompasses. Sophocles had written that “Miracles in the world are many; there is no greater miracle than man.”
The overall agreement by all types of philosophers is the “riddle of life”. Not everybody will understand the same thing. We all however, desire to know how life originates and what death is, since our ethics must be influenced to a large extent through the answer to this question.” No one can deny the fact that man is a creature that goes for entertaining ethical beliefs, is one of the most important characteristics. For vitalism, by insisting on a spiritual principal of human life, enables the psychologist to see the relationship of man to the author of all life. On the other hand, a different and nonvitalistic interpretation of human nature is offered by mechanists.
The interpretation is they insist that there is no essential difference between man and the rest of nature. Existentialism is a philosophical movement which claims that individual human beings create the meanings of their own lives. The movement had its origins in the 19th century thought of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre. A central proposition of existentialism is a human being's existence proceeds and is more fundamental than any meaning which may be ascribed to human life: humans define their own reality. The central project of philosophy was to answer the question "What is a human being?" and to derive from that answer one's conclusions about how human beings should behave. "If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be". Sartre opposed those whose evolutionary theories which endeavor to explain the higher (man) through the lower (brute animals). He believed it was because if this was to be true it is unable to offer any explanation of rational behavior, so he rejected it.
Some existentialists, conceive the fundamental existentialist question as man's relationship to God; some accept Nietzsche's proclamation that "God is dead;" they do not believe that God exists. He professed that man in the nineteenth century is the future of man. Dostoievski, a Russian biologist stated that “If god didn’t exist, everything would be possible.” Belief in God is a personal choice made on the basis of a passion, of faith, an observation, or experience. Beliefs could be explained as arising in an attempt to deal with experienced frustrations by denying them in thought. Beliefs would be a insecure method of coping with the limited range of our perception, a method by which our imperfect brains cope with the world. This is the very starting point of existentialism. One fact that Nietzsche and Sartre embraced is that values without god are impossible. It is the spiritual aspect of human nature that we must manage not to discover, but also to preserve.
Finding a way to counter this nothingness, by embracing existence, is the fundamental theme of existentialism, and the root of the philosophy's name. Someone who believes in reality might be called a "realist," and someone who believes in a deity could identify as a "theist." Someone who believes fundamentally only in existence, and seeks to find meaning in his or her life solely by embracing existence, is an existentialist. This is one of the important philosophical ideas mentioned in the chapter.
That is, they argue against definitions of human beings as primarily rational. Rather, existentialists look at where people find meaning. Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on what has meaning to them rather than what is rational.
Philosophical anthropology claims to study the human mind as a derivative phenomenon, to study it from a God-like perspective. The philosophical anthropology thus consists of beliefs which are subject to the same objections as any other beliefs. The views one holds on the nature of man directly or indirectly affect one’s political, social, religious, economic, and educational views. Thus, we see the diverse interpretations of the meaning of man.
Philosophical anthropology is the study of human nature conducted by the methods of philosophy. It is concerned with questions such as the status of human beings in the universe, the purpose or meaning of human life, and whether humanity can be made an object of systematic study. For the world of nature is richer than any scientific doctrine reveals; and what it omits may be more important than what it encompasses. Sophocles had written that “Miracles in the world are many; there is no greater miracle than man.”
The overall agreement by all types of philosophers is the “riddle of life”. Not everybody will understand the same thing. We all however, desire to know how life originates and what death is, since our ethics must be influenced to a large extent through the answer to this question.” No one can deny the fact that man is a creature that goes for entertaining ethical beliefs, is one of the most important characteristics. For vitalism, by insisting on a spiritual principal of human life, enables the psychologist to see the relationship of man to the author of all life. On the other hand, a different and nonvitalistic interpretation of human nature is offered by mechanists.
The interpretation is they insist that there is no essential difference between man and the rest of nature. Existentialism is a philosophical movement which claims that individual human beings create the meanings of their own lives. The movement had its origins in the 19th century thought of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Sartre. A central proposition of existentialism is a human being's existence proceeds and is more fundamental than any meaning which may be ascribed to human life: humans define their own reality. The central project of philosophy was to answer the question "What is a human being?" and to derive from that answer one's conclusions about how human beings should behave. "If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be". Sartre opposed those whose evolutionary theories which endeavor to explain the higher (man) through the lower (brute animals). He believed it was because if this was to be true it is unable to offer any explanation of rational behavior, so he rejected it.
Some existentialists, conceive the fundamental existentialist question as man's relationship to God; some accept Nietzsche's proclamation that "God is dead;" they do not believe that God exists. He professed that man in the nineteenth century is the future of man. Dostoievski, a Russian biologist stated that “If god didn’t exist, everything would be possible.” Belief in God is a personal choice made on the basis of a passion, of faith, an observation, or experience. Beliefs could be explained as arising in an attempt to deal with experienced frustrations by denying them in thought. Beliefs would be a insecure method of coping with the limited range of our perception, a method by which our imperfect brains cope with the world. This is the very starting point of existentialism. One fact that Nietzsche and Sartre embraced is that values without god are impossible. It is the spiritual aspect of human nature that we must manage not to discover, but also to preserve.
Finding a way to counter this nothingness, by embracing existence, is the fundamental theme of existentialism, and the root of the philosophy's name. Someone who believes in reality might be called a "realist," and someone who believes in a deity could identify as a "theist." Someone who believes fundamentally only in existence, and seeks to find meaning in his or her life solely by embracing existence, is an existentialist. This is one of the important philosophical ideas mentioned in the chapter.
That is, they argue against definitions of human beings as primarily rational. Rather, existentialists look at where people find meaning. Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on what has meaning to them rather than what is rational.
Philosophical anthropology claims to study the human mind as a derivative phenomenon, to study it from a God-like perspective. The philosophical anthropology thus consists of beliefs which are subject to the same objections as any other beliefs. The views one holds on the nature of man directly or indirectly affect one’s political, social, religious, economic, and educational views. Thus, we see the diverse interpretations of the meaning of man.
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