Human Nature, Ethics, and Societal Foundations

The Human Condition

Defining Humanity

Humanity is an animal by nature, social, and differentiated from other animals, capable of creating and transmitting culture through language. Culture is a group of knowledge, beliefs, and values shared by a society. Consciousness is the awareness of one's own existence.

• Humans decide their future, make decisions, and strive to be coherent.

The Human Being

A human being is a social entity who needs relationships with others to develop. Personal identity is the consciousness of oneself as a separate entity from the outside world.

Fundamental Questions

Humans grapple with various fundamental questions:

• Human Condition: Questions that directly attempt to answer life's great enigmas.
• Moral: Questions that directly attempt to answer dilemmas like, "What should I do?"
• Technical and Cultural: Questions that directly address the challenges, aspirations, and everyday issues of our societies.

Core Human Concepts

Personality

Personality is a set of characteristics that determine how a person is and acts.

Feelings

Feelings are a set of emotions, sensations, and affections that arise in us when we interact with things and others around us.

Intelligence

Intelligence is the ability to direct our behavior to deal successfully with new situations and relate to the environment.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to manage our moods, feelings, and emotions to relate in a positive way.

Foundational Values

Dignity

Dignity means having the material and social minimums that allow a person to have a decent life.

Equality

Equality assumes equal relationships with people in the environment without any discrimination or disadvantage.

Freedom

Freedom implies that the person can make their own choices. It is the natural power of a person to act or not act in one way or another.

Limits of Freedom

Limits of freedom are patterns of conduct that indicate what should and should not be done to live in community.

Dimensions of Freedom

• Current: Allows personal accomplishment.
• Historical: Favors more just societies.

Moral and Ethical Frameworks

Morality

Morality is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and values transmitted by custom or tradition within a particular human group, required of all its members.

Ethics

Ethics is a philosophical reflection of character, based on critical analysis and reason.

Aspects of Ethical Reflection

• To subject to critique our own moral standards and those of others.
• To reflect on one's life.
• To seek the reasons why we advocate one idea and not another.

Society and Governance

Politics

Politics is the disposition to reflect on the administration and governance of society and to act on it by using power and authority.