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
1 - The Status of Humans
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
Are humans superior to all other animals? People of religion – Christianity and Buddhism – say yes. People of science – those for and those against Darwinian evolutionary theory – say yes. People of philosophy – the existentialists in particular –say yes. Why? People of religion think it is God’s intention (Christians) or simply the way the world is (Buddhists). People of science, both those for and those against Darwin, think it is simply a fact of nature. People of philosophy, existentialists, argue that meaning must come from within. Are humans superior? That is for us to decide and demonstrate. Natural (science) and unnatural (religion) facts tell us nothing.
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- A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings , pp. 5 - 20Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021