Introduction to Philosophical Anthropology

Introducción a la antropología filosófica

• Philosophical reflection on human beings is nearly as old as philosophy itself.
• Philosophical anthropology was not established as an independent discipline until the late nineteenth century.

Origins in Rational Psychology

• Philosophers from Aristotle analyzed the human soul within a branch of metaphysics called rational psychology.
• The objective was not to study the human being in his totality, but to reflect rationally on his superior dimension.
• With the rise of experimental psychology, rational psychology was abandoned, and its void was occupied by philosophical anthropology.

Rise of Philosophical Anthropology in the 20th Century

• In the twentieth century, philosophical changes and historical events such as world wars led to the human being becoming a fundamental philosophical problem.
• Philosophical anthropology acquired great relevance in attempting to answer essential questions about human nature.

The Human Being as a Problem

• Since the Renaissance, the vision of the human being as a superior being made in the image of God has been questioned by three great "humiliations".

Three Humiliations of the Human Being

• Cosmological humiliation (Copernicus):
  • The heliocentric theory showed that the Earth is not the center of the universe.
  • Human beings ceased to occupy a privileged position in creation.
• Biological humiliation (Darwin):
  • The theory of evolution showed that the human being is not a unique and separate species, but shares a common origin with other forms of life.
  • It demolished the idea of an absolute difference between humans and animals.
• Psychological humiliation (Freud):
  • The theory of psychoanalysis revealed the role of the unconscious and instincts in human behavior.
  • The vision of the human being as a purely rational being was weakened.

Philosophical Consequences

• These humiliations generated an identity crisis in humanity.
• It became more urgent to answer fundamental questions:
  • What is the human being?
  • What is its true essence?
• Philosophical anthropology is responsible for addressing these questions.

Peculiarities of Philosophical Anthropology

Differences with other disciplines

• Philosophical anthropology is unique because it studies the human being in its totality, without privileging a single aspect.
• It differs from the natural sciences, which limit their scope of action and seek explanations through universal laws.

Limits of the Natural Sciences compared to Philosophical Anthropology

• The natural sciences seek to explain phenomena through deterministic laws.
  • Example: The law of universal gravitation explains the movement of the planets.
• The human world cannot be explained in the same way, because:
  • The human being is free, which makes his actions not precisely predictable.
  • It possesses intelligence, which allows it to interpret reality and give meaning to its actions.

Objective of Philosophical Anthropology

• It does not seek to explain like the natural sciences, but to understand human reality.
• Understanding implies interpretation, and this is always influenced by the subjectivity of the interpreter.
• There is no absolute objectivity in philosophical anthropology, but a connection between different subjectivities.

The Human Being in Antiquity

The mythological vision of the human being

• Before philosophy, Greek mythology reflected an interest in understanding the human being.
• Objective of the myth: It does not seek a reflection on the human condition, but to offer models of reference.
• Homer (Iliad and Odyssey):
  • Presents the hero as a model of ideal human being.
  • Characteristics: Brave, strong, leader, willing to take risks.
  • Examples: Ulysses, Hercules, Perseus, Achilles.
  • Fundamental values: Success, merit, recognition.

Classical Period (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)

• The mythological vision is abandoned, and a rational understanding of the human being is sought.
• Their role in society and her rational nature is emphasized.

Socrates (470-399 BC)

• Changes the approach to philosophical study:
  • From nature (pre-Socratics) → To the human being.
  • Rejects ideal models of human beings and proposes the search for self-knowledge:
  • "Know yourself" (inscription in the temple of Apollo at Delphi).
• Philosophical Method:
  • Mayeutics (philosophical dialogue): Questions that help illuminate the inner truth.
• Key idea:
  • The truth is within us, the dialogue with ourselves and with others allows us to find it.
• He does not offer a closed definition of the human being, but a way to discover him.

Plato (427-347 a.C.)

• Anthropological dualism:
  • The human being is composed of soul (immortal, rational) and body (mortal, material).
  • The soul is trapped in the body, it must purify itself to reach a higher reality.
• World of Ideas:
  • After death, the soul ascends to a world where perfect models (Ideas or Forms) exist.
• Structure of the human soul:
  • Rational Soul:
    • Responsible for knowledge and government.
    • Immortal, resides in the head.
  • Irascible Soul:
    • Origin of noble passions (example: bravery).
    • You can ally with reason.
    • Mortal, resides in the chest.
  • Sensitive or Conciscible Soul:
    • Origin of ignoble passions (lust, gluttony, laziness...).
    • It must be controlled by reason.
    • Mortal, resides in the womb.
• Political consequence of this theory:
  • The predominance of one part of the soul defines the social function of each individual:
  • Kings-philosophers → Rational soul (knowledge and government).
  • Guardians → Irascible soul (defense of the polis).
  • Producers (artisans, merchants, peasants) → Sensitive soul (material goods).

Aristotle (384-322 a.C.)

• Differences with Plato:
  • He does not believe in the separation between soul and body.
  • The soul cannot exist without the body → It is not immortal.
• Conception of the soul:
  • The soul is the form of the body (principle of life and organization).
  • If the soul gives life to the body, its death implies the disappearance of the soul.
• Nature of the human being:
  • Rationality → Ability to know reality and seek the truth.
  • Sociability → The human being needs to live in community.
• Conclusion:
  • You cannot be fully human outside of society.

Hellenism: Individualism and Happiness

• After the conquest of Greece by Alexander the Great, the human being loses prominence in political life.
• This generates a crisis that drives the development of philosophies focused on the search for individual happiness.

Epicureanism (Epicurus of Samos, 341-270 a.C.)

• Rejects the soul-body division → Everything is material.
• Objective of life:
  • Happiness is found in pleasure and the absence of pain (ataraxia).
  • A simple life is sought, avoiding unnecessary worries.
• Ethical consequence:
  • Public and political life should be avoided → They are a source of disturbances.

Stoicism (Zeno of Citium, 333-262 BC)

• It also rejects the Platonic and Aristotelian distinction between body and soul → Both are material.

Search for happiness:

• It is achieved by living according to nature.
• As human nature is rational, happiness is found in living according to reason.
• Stoic Ideal:
  • Acceptance of destiny with serenity.
  • Detachment from negative emotions and control of impulses.
  • Do not run away from public life, but live it with virtue and self-discipline.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

From mythology to philosophy:

• One goes from heroic mythical models to a rational reflection on the human being.

Three approaches to the human being:

• Classical Period → The human being is rational and social (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle).
• Hellenistic Period → The human being must seek happiness in the individual (Epicureans, Stoics).

Key differences:

• Plato: Soul-body dualism, immortality of the soul.
• Aristotle: Soul-body unity, mortality of the soul.
• Hellenists: Soul and body are material, they seek individual happiness.

The Human Being in Modernity

• The evolution of the conception of the human being in philosophy:
  • Pre-Socratics → Interest in nature.
  • Classical Period (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle) → Human being as citizen.
  • Hellenism → Human being as individual.
  • Middle Ages → Human being as a divine creature.
  • Renaissance → The human being becomes the absolute protagonist of philosophical reflection.

Renaissance Humanism (15th century)

• Heterogeneous cultural movement with diverse doctrines, but with common characteristics:

Main features:

• Revaluation of classical authors → Their thought is recovered.
• Anthropocentrism → The human being is the center of philosophical reflection.
• Knowledge through culture → History, philosophy, poetry and rhetoric are studied to understand human essence.
• Trust in human capacities → Defense of the dignity and autonomy of the human being.
• Individualism → Creativity, originality and subjective expression are encouraged.

Radical change:

• The submission of man to a superior instance (social or divine) is broken.
• Cosmological humiliation (the Earth is not the center of the universe) drives a reaction of pride and defense of human dignity.

Rationalism and Empiricism (17th Century)

• Two major currents of thought that influence the conception of the human being and in modern science.
• Rationalism

Keys to rationalist thought:

• Reason is the main source of knowledge.
• Knowledge is innate and is obtained through logical thinking.
• Descartes (father of modern rationalism)
  • The human being is composed of two distinct substances:
    • Body (material) → Machine governed by mechanical laws.
    • Soul (thought) → Autonomous and independent.
  • Cartesian dualism: Reality is divided into two separate areas: material and spiritual. Unresolved problem: How do body and soul interact?
• Empiricism

Keys to empiricist thought:

• Knowledge comes from sensible experience.
• One cannot know beyond the limits of experience.

Main representatives:

• Thomas Hobbes
  • The human being in the state of nature is selfish and violent.
  • Society is necessary to guarantee peace and security.
  • "Man is a wolf to man" (Homo homini lupus).
• John Locke
  • The human being is free and must rationally decide between his desires.
  • Politics: The individual must not renounce his freedom, except when society must guarantee his rights.
  • Government must protect individual rights and resolve conflicts.
• David Hume
  • Irrational elements are more important than rational elements in human beings.
  • Human knowledge is based on beliefs and customs, not on reason.
  • Moral: Emotions determine moral judgments, not reason or facts.

The Illustration (18th century)

• Culmination of modern thought → Seeks to improve society and the human being.

Main features:

• Confidence in reason → The problems of humanity are due to insufficient use of reason.
• Universal human rights → All human beings possess fundamental rights.
• Importance of education → Allows reason to be used without fear (example: the Encyclopedia).
• Idea of progress → Scientific advances can and should improve society.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (critic of the Illustration)

• Rejects blind confidence in reason and progress.
• The human being was good in the state of nature, but private property created conflicts and inequality.
• Society cannot return to its original state, but it can improve through education.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

Evolution of anthropological thought:

• Renaissance → The human being becomes the center of philosophical reflection (anthropocentrism).
• Rationalism → Reason is the key to human knowledge (Descartes).
• Empiricism → Knowledge comes from experience (Hobbes, Locke, Hume).
• Illustration → Seeks to improve society through education and human rights (Rousseau).

Key Differences:

• Descartes: Soul-body dualism, the soul is autonomous.
• Hobbes: The human being is selfish by nature, needs a strong government.
• Locke: The human being is free, but society must guarantee his rights.
• Hume: Morality is based on emotions, not on reason.
• Illustration: Confidence in reason, progress and education.

Contemporary Reflection on the Human Being

• During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the philosophical debate about the human being diversified remarkably.
• Although the human being remained a central theme, some philosophical currents relegated the individual to the background.

The 19th century

Two key features on interest in the human being:

• Retreat of the individual → Society and life are prioritized over the individual.
• Emergence of the human sciences → Psychology, sociology, physical anthropology, etc.

Philosophical currents that reduce the protagonism of the human being

• These currents shared the illustrated idea of progress, but differed in who should lead it:
  • Positivism (Comte):: Science and rationality, A leading advanced industrial society by scientists
  • Marxism (Marx): Struggle of classes, Classless society without private property.
  • Vitalism (Nietzsche): Will to power, Superman that creates new values ​​based on love for life

Impact of the human sciences

• Introduction of new perspectives in philosophical anthropology.
• Humiliations of the human being:
  • Biological humiliation → Physical anthropology shows that the human being is just another species in nature.
  • Psychological humiliation → Psychoanalysis (Freud) shows that reason does not completely dominate the human mind.

Debate on the method of the human sciences:

• Positivism → The scientific method must be unique for all sciences.
• Historicism → The human being is a special object of study and requires a different method.

The 20th century

Crisis of the conception of the human being based on:

• Loss of confidence in reason → Nietzsche and Freud highlight the importance of the irrational.
• Failure of the idea of progress → Scientific advances did not guarantee an improvement in society.

Historical events that deepened the crisis:

• World War I → First global war with terrible consequences.
• Technological development → The machines that were to serve man ended up dominating him.
• Economic crisis → Mass production did not avoid poverty and social exclusion.
• Political tensions → International conflicts led to two world wars.

Identity crisis of the human being

• The illustrated model of reason and progress is questioned.
• New philosophical currents emerge to reinterpret philosophical anthropology.

20th century philosophical currents

 - Existentialism (Sartre, Heidegger): It highlights freedom, responsibility and the meaning of life.
 - Structuralism (Lévi-Strauss): It emphasizes the symbolic character of the human being to understand social phenomena.
 - Personalism (Mounier): Highlights the personal dimension of the individual and his relationship with others and with transcendence.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

Evolution of thought about the human being:

• 19th century: The individual is relegated in favor of science, social struggle or the will to power.
• 20th century: Crisis of the illustrated model → Seeks a new understanding of the human being.

Key currents and their approaches:

• Positivism: Scientific progress.
• Marxism: Social revolution.
• Vitalism: Individual overcoming.
• Existentialism: Freedom and responsibility.
• Structuralism: Symbolism and society.
• Personalism: Relationship with others and transcendence.