Philosophy of Humanity

Anthropology (Philosophy of Humanity)

Philosophical Conceptions of Humanity

In the 19th and 20th centuries, numerous philosophers turned their attention to the problem of humanity, even when it was not the starting point of their reflections. Given the close connection of these concepts to philosophical anthropology and their profound influence on the subsequent history of philosophy, their analysis is essential for studying the philosophy of humanity and related philosophical discourses.

• One of the most original and influential anthropological theories was proposed by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). He posited that humans do not perceive things as they truly are, but only as phenomena, that is, the outward expressions through which these things manifest. For example, sensory organs do not perceive a table itself but its form, color, mass, etc.—the external manifestations of the table—while the mind constructs the concept of the table from this information. Since everything is expressed solely through phenomena, this implies that humans cannot know the world as it is. Based on phenomena, people create their representations of the world and the objects within it. Similarly, humans do not know themselves as they are, but only through phenomena. One may be surprised by their own expression, as before certain circumstances align, they might not even imagine themselves capable of certain actions. The most vivid expression of humanity is its will, that is, its constant striving. Humans constantly yearn for something and evaluate the world and all its elements from the perspective of this yearning. The entire world is perceived through the lens of one's will. Thus, will and representation are the factors that shape the human worldview. Hence, Schopenhauer named his principal philosophical work "The World as Will and Representation." Not all that one desires can be realized or achieved. The greatest desire of humans is to live, yet, no matter how much one wishes, death is inevitable. The impossibility of attaining what one desires is the cause of human suffering. Humans are doomed to live with their own concerns and sufferings and cannot free themselves from them.
• Another German philosopher, Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872), also sought to address the problem of humanity in his philosophical reflections. He began his philosophy with a critique of Hegel. Whereas Hegel argued that the entire history of the world and humanity is an unfolding of the Absolute Spirit based on dialectical principles, Feuerbach considered the concept of the Absolute Spirit to be nonsense. He focused his philosophy on humanity. By rejecting the Absolute Spirit, Feuerbach also rejected Hegelian dialectics as a false doctrine. The only being worthy of attention is humanity, which Feuerbach understood materialistically. According to Feuerbach, "Man is what he eats." Humans have their dreams and ideals. They want to be happy and live among people with whom they can build good relationships. Since humans fail to realize these ideals, they attempt to compensate for their absence. All their good expectations that cannot be fulfilled are projected onto God. Thus, God becomes a manifestation of human expectations. Since humans strive for goodness, they envision God as good; since they desire justice, they imagine God as just. Over time, human desires change; correspondingly, perceptions of God also change. For instance, while medieval conceptions of God emphasized justice, today there is a focus on his goodness. Changes in the conception of God reflect changes in human expectations and ideals, indicating profound shifts in epochs.
• The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) based his philosophical views on the concept of universal evolution. He argued that all living organisms are in constant evolution. The driving force behind evolution is the will to power. Every living being, including humans, strives for power and dominance over others. With the emergence of humans through evolution, new factors influenced its subsequent course. If the evolution of living organisms was driven solely by the will to power, then humans, as rational beings, contemplate their actions. Unlike animals, humans reflect on whether they need to develop and what awaits them in future stages of evolution. Such reflections give rise to fear and laziness: humans begin to fear what they might encounter in the future and are reluctant to exert effort to move into the unknown future. Thus, humans are torn between two antagonistic forces, becoming the arena for their struggle. These are the active force, the will to power that stimulates human development, and the reactive force, including fear, laziness, etc., that hinders development. In this struggle, the reactive force has prevailed. To justify why humans should not continue to develop, the reactive force has created a whole complex of justifications. Nietzsche referred to this complex as ressentiment culture. The term "ressentiment" derives from the French word meaning "resentment." At the core of ressentiment is religion, which, according to Nietzsche, seeks to convince people that the status they are motivated to pursue by the active force is already occupied by God, and aspiring to it is blasphemous. Religion creates a whole system of prohibitions: morality, law, customs, culture, etc., which aim to condition people to be content with their current status and abandon further development. Despite the dominance of ressentiment culture, the active force has not disappeared completely. Humans continue to feel the urge for development. Therefore, the struggle between reactive and active forces continues. The active force encourages humans to advance to the next stage of development, the Übermensch (Overman). Nietzsche proclaimed himself the prophet of the Übermensch, urging humanity to reject ressentiment culture and continue the path of progress. Since the basis of ressentiment is religion, Nietzsche's main slogan became "God is dead!" Rejecting God also implied rejecting morality, law, culture, customs, and all the constraints imposed by civilization. This laid the groundwork for postmodernism.
• The Dutch historian and philosopher Johan Huizinga (1872-1945) analyzed history, culture, and their patterns. He concluded that the characteristic distinguishing humans from all other creatures is play. Thus, Huizinga defined humanity as homo ludens (the playing being). Humans are constantly engaged in play. In childhood, they create imaginary situations that become their real world, with its own events, relationships, and meanings. As children grow up, play does not disappear from their lives. They continue to invent games, devise rules, and become players in these games. Social and political relationships are nothing other than play. Just as play is taken seriously in childhood, so adults present their games as events filled with serious meaning.
• The French Catholic priest, Jesuit monk, and eminent scholar Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) developed a unique philosophical doctrine that stands at the intersection of natural philosophy and philosophical anthropology. He was convinced of the truth of evolutionary theory and sought to reconcile it with Christian doctrine. He argued that evolution progressed through three stages: the formation of the lithosphere (inorganic nature), the emergence of the biosphere (life), and the appearance of the noosphere (intelligent beings, humans). Teilhard de Chardin believed that the noosphere represents the highest stage of evolution, where humans gained the ability to use reason and shape their world. Evolution, according to Teilhard de Chardin, is not a random process nor merely driven by the need to adapt to the environment, as Darwin suggested, but a purposeful process directed from "Point Alpha" to "Point Omega." He derived these terms from the Gospel, where Jesus Christ refers to Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all that exists. Based on this, Teilhard de Chardin asserted that Point Alpha is Christ, the Son of God, the Logos, who initiated God's creation. He was the starting point of evolution. Christ is also Point Omega, the end to which evolution is directed. God, being omnipotent, can subordinate all creation to Himself, but He does not desire blind submission. Thus, He has set the development of all beings towards the emergence of the rational and thinking human. Only in humans can all existence take a conscious step towards its final goal—Point Omega. Therefore, humanity is the pinnacle of evolution, capable of bringing evolution to its goal.
• A significant role in 20th-century philosophical anthropology was played by the German Catholic theologian Karl Rahner (1904-1984). His anthropological concept is based on the biblical thesis that humans are created in the Image of God, and therefore, to answer the question about the essence of humanity, it is necessary to address the problem of defining the essence of God. For Rahner, as for all Christians, God is an absolute mystery, whose essence cannot be defined in any way. If humans are created in the Image of God, it means that they possess characteristics inherent to God, albeit in an implicit form. If God is an absolute mystery, then it can only be said that humanity, too, is a mystery, an essence that cannot be defined. Rahner, continuing his reflections, sought to clarify what it means to be created in the Image of God. He believed that it means that there is something unique in humans that distinguishes them from all other creation. Humans do not merely exist but are directed towards a certain purpose. Following Martin Heidegger, Rahner referred to this directedness as existential. When asked where the human existential is directed, Rahner answered that humans constantly strive towards God, that is, they attempt to transcend the world and themselves. Thus, Rahner described the main feature of humanity as a transcendent existential. Through the transcendent existential, humans can step outside themselves and view themselves from the perspective of God. This ability to view oneself from the outside enables self-knowledge, science, art, and philosophy. It is this capacity for knowledge, provided by the transcendent existential, that makes humans a unique creation.