Book contents
- A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
- A Philosopher Looks at
- A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Status of Humans
- 2 Mechanism versus Organicism
- 3 Darwinian Evolution
- 4 Mechanism and Human Nature
- 5 Organicism and Human Nature
- 6 The Problem of Progress
- 7 Morality for the Organicist
- 8 Morality for the Mechanist
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
Epilogue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 May 2021
- A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
- A Philosopher Looks at
- A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Status of Humans
- 2 Mechanism versus Organicism
- 3 Darwinian Evolution
- 4 Mechanism and Human Nature
- 5 Organicism and Human Nature
- 6 The Problem of Progress
- 7 Morality for the Organicist
- 8 Morality for the Mechanist
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
What’s the conclusion? Do we have an edge on warthogs? The Christian thinks our superior status is God-given. The Buddhist thinks is all a way the world is. The Darwinian, like Richard Dawkins, too often opts for natural-selection-driven progress. The non-Darwinian thinks it is all in nature’s developmental process. Not much evidence to support this conclusion. Existentialism is terrifying. We are on our own. “Condemned to freedom.” It is the grown-up approach, and considered dispassionately is the only way to true life contentment and happiness. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.” The way forward too.
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- Information
- A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings , pp. 181 - 187Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021