UNIT 2: HUMAN NATURE

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from UNIT 2: Human Nature lecture notes.

Traditional Rationalistic View

Greek philosophy that divides the soul into intellect (reason) and passions, with reason considered the highest good; includes Plato’s tripartite soul and Aristotle’s emphasis on human telos.

Dualism

The view that humans consist of an immaterial soul distinct from the material body.

Tripartite Soul (Plato)

Plato’s division of the soul into reason, appetite, and spirit, with reason designed to govern.

Aristotle’s Teleology / Telos

Belief that humans have a final end or purpose (telos), often linked to rational activity.

Judeo-Christian View

View emphasizing love of God and neighbors, moral choice between good and evil, and grace rooted in original sin.

Original Sin

Augustine’s concept that humanity inherits sin and needs divine grace for reconciliation.

Body and Soul (Immaterial/Material)

Dualistic anthropology borrowing from Plato: the soul is immaterial; the body is material.

Darwinian Challenge

The claim that Darwin’s theory of evolution complicates or questions human uniqueness in creation.

Natural Selection

Mechanism by which heritable traits that aid survival and reproduction become more common over generations.

Survival of the Fittest

Phrase describing differential survival and reproduction in natural selection.

Theistic Evolution

View that God uses or guides evolutionary processes.

Atheistic Evolution

View that evolution occurs without divine involvement.

Punctuated Equilibrium

Gould’s idea that evolution happens in rapid bursts separated by long periods of little change.

Human Uniqueness (Darwinian Challenge)

Question of whether humans retain special status given evolutionary theory.

Theism

Belief in a personal, typically providential God.

Deism

Belief in a creator God who does not intervene in the world.

Pantheism

Belief that God is identical with the universe; everything is God.

Panentheism

Belief that God is in everything but also greater than everything.

Monotheism

Belief in a single God.

Polytheism

Belief in many gods.

Henotheism

Belief in many gods with one chief or primary God.

Existentialism

Philosophy emphasizing individual freedom and choice; asserts there is no universal human nature; authenticity and “bad faith.”

No Universal Human Nature

Sartre’s claim that humans do not have a fixed essence and must define themselves.

Bad Faith

Denying one's freedom and responsibility, pretending to be a mere spectator in events.

Atheist Existentialist

Existentialist perspective without belief in God; humans are still free and responsible.

Feminist Challenge to Traditional Views

Critique that rationality has been framed as male; argues for gender bias in philosophy.

Genevieve Lloyd

Philosopher who argues that claiming women are as rational as men aligns with male viewpoints.

Rationality vs. Emotion

Debate whether rationality is superior or whether rationality and emotion are both valuable.

Modernism

Relies on empirical-rational methods; linked to the Enlightenment; aims for objectivity.

Postmodernism

Emphasizes narrative, subjective experience, and skepticism toward universal truths.

Enlightenment

Historical period emphasizing reason, science, and human progress as foundations of knowledge.

Empirical-Rational Method

Knowledge derived from experience (empirical) and reason.