Defining Human Nature: Philosophical Views on Man's Essence

Aristotle on Happiness and Virtue (Eudaimonia)

Happiness consists in activity according to proper virtue and intelligence, i.e., contemplation (thought). As Aristotle is primarily a realist, he presupposes that an individual engaging in contemplative activity must possess adequate external property, a supportive family, and a moderate character.

The Rational Animal: Thought and Distinctive Humanity

Greek philosophy attributed to human beings the ability to think. This feature is one of the most distinctive acts of humanity:

• Rationalism: Holds that reason is the only source of knowledge and rejects faith.
• Vitalism: Believes reason is the source of all problems in Western culture.

The Emotional Animal: Feeling and Experience

All human experiences have an emotional component: pleasure, disgust, sadness, boredom, joy, or disillusionment. It is not possible to live without feeling.

• Romanticism: Exalted passion as one of the best creative components of human beings.
• Emotivism: Rejects the attempt to base ethics on reason.
• Emotional Intelligence: Emotions are essential for effective thinking, both in making decisions and when striving for clarity.

Language and Thought: Defining Humanity

Words allow us to communicate better than other animals and acquire a higher level of ability to articulate thought. The ability to think in words is one of the characteristics that best defines humanity. In contemporary times, the problems caused by language have created the field of the philosophy of language.

The Political and Social Animal (Zoon Politikon)

The Greeks originated the idea that man is by nature a political animal, meaning he is inherently a citizen. When the individual is integrated into a social and cultural environment that sustains them, a new stage in life opens.

Theories on the Origin of Society

• The Classical View: Society is natural.
• The Modern View (Social Contract): Men voluntarily decided to live together.

The Working Animal: Labor, Class, and Economics

Marxism presents the history of mankind as a process of exploitation of some social classes by others. The solution proposed by Marxism is radical: revolution.

In contrast, Economic Liberalism views the relationship between employers and employees differently: social differences are fully justified by the varying industrial and intellectual capacities of individuals.

Freedom, Choice, and Determinism

Freedom is the capacity that enables us to choose how to live life. Freedom has been championed by Existentialism. However, others argue that the adventure of freedom is just a dream, as humanity is subject to the laws of nature that prevent it from being truly free. This general approach is known as Determinism.

The Spiritual Animal: Self-Consciousness and Meaning

Humans are self-conscious and seek meaning for our existence through the hypothesis of transcendence.