Human Nature: Rousseau, Hobbes, Kant, Freud & Marx

Rousseau's Stages of Human Evolution

Rousseau proposed two stages in human evolution:

• State of nature: Individuals live happily and freely, isolated within families.
• State of civilization (social): Humans become evil, selfish, vain, and superficial.

Hobbes' View on Human Nature

Hobbes believed that humans are sociable by nature, a concept opposite to Rousseau's. Human nature is driven by the desire for power, fame, and selfishness.

Hobbes advocated for the necessity of state and society to ensure individual safety.

Kant's Perspective

Kant represents the pinnacle of modern thought. Influenced by Rousseau, he affirmed the dignity and rights of human beings.

Kant believed in two opposing dimensions: natural and rational, with the latter dominating the former.

Natural Being:

• Subject to physical, biological, and mathematical laws.
• Inherently selfish.

Rational Being:

• The thinking mind makes one free.
• Allows for the development of moral dimensions.
• Recognizes that society is necessary for social development.

Kant's Questions on Human Understanding:

How to know what is man?

Answering three questions:

1. What can I know? To understand the human being, explore the possibilities and limits of knowledge.
2. What should I do? Reason dictates that one should never act irrationally. Acting humanly means acting rationally, out of duty, not for selfish interests.
3. What can I expect? Through reason and the freedom to choose, acting correctly leads to happiness.

The Human Being in Contemporary Philosophy

The 19th century saw the end of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Technology, closely linked with science, was instrumental in this transformation. This led to a new type of pragmatic and utilitarian man, who saw himself as all-powerful due to his mastery of nature. However, the two world wars caused a total loss of confidence in humanity.

Philosophy is rich in streams and trends, all aiming to understand the human being and the nature of their actions.

Freud's Psychoanalysis

Freud, the discoverer of psychoanalysis, opened the door to another dimension of human beings, uncovering the hidden, irrational, and unconscious instincts that govern the mind. Desires are the driving force of personality but are repressed due to social limitations.

The New Map of the Human Mind:

• The Unconscious:
  • Seat of repressed desires and irrationality.
  • Governed by pleasure.
  • Insensitive to contradictions.
• The Preconscious:
  • Contains ideas readily accessible to consciousness.
  • Protects the conscience from unconscious conflicts and impulses.
• The Conscious:
  • Located on the upper level, contains present psychic contents.

Freud conceived mental life as a battle between two innate instincts:

• The death drive (Thanatos): Aims for a return to non-living matter, the dissolution of life.
• The life or sexual instinct (Eros): Tends to reproduction and the maintenance of life.

Marx's Critique of Society

Marx observed that the Industrial Revolution created great inequalities and inhumane working conditions.