Two Orientations Toward Human Nature
Seiten
2007
Routledge (Verlag)
978-0-7546-5552-7 (ISBN)
Routledge (Verlag)
978-0-7546-5552-7 (ISBN)
Our culture entertains a schizophrenic attitude towards human nature. This book argues that this schism reflects two diverging conceptions of human agency, and that the attempt to locate human nature somewhere along a continuum between egoism and altruism presupposes a misleading picture of what it is to be a human being.
Our culture entertains a schizophrenic attitude towards human nature. On the one hand, egoism is held to be our most powerful motive, playing a crucial cultural role by explaining the appeal of capitalism and providing a foundation for individualism. By contrast much of the continental intellectual tradition speaks of wholeness and alienation, seeing human nature not as self-interested but as herd-like. Guldmann argues that this schism reflects two diverging conceptions of human agency, and that the attempt to locate human nature somewhere along a continuum between egoism and altruism presupposes a misleading picture of what it is to be a human being. The second, ’continental’ tradition is more illuminating because it recognizes that human beings are necessarily committed to some conception of the ultimately significant.
Our culture entertains a schizophrenic attitude towards human nature. On the one hand, egoism is held to be our most powerful motive, playing a crucial cultural role by explaining the appeal of capitalism and providing a foundation for individualism. By contrast much of the continental intellectual tradition speaks of wholeness and alienation, seeing human nature not as self-interested but as herd-like. Guldmann argues that this schism reflects two diverging conceptions of human agency, and that the attempt to locate human nature somewhere along a continuum between egoism and altruism presupposes a misleading picture of what it is to be a human being. The second, ’continental’ tradition is more illuminating because it recognizes that human beings are necessarily committed to some conception of the ultimately significant.
Rony Guldmann
Contents: Introduction; The presumption of egoism; The ambiguity of egoism; Egoism's unofficial opposition; Egoism and heroism; A phenomenology of heroism; Heroism and human encounter; Heroism and individuality; Bibliography; Index.
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 28.1.2007 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy |
| Verlagsort | London |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 156 x 234 mm |
| Gewicht | 453 g |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Ethik |
| ISBN-10 | 0-7546-5552-0 / 0754655520 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-7546-5552-7 / 9780754655527 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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