This semester we learned about the competing notions of what a true human being is, but what is a human being? Definitions with the words “homo sapiens”, “speech”, and “living” are bound to come up. Many philosophers have taken it upon themselves to define what it means to be a human being, and although similar in ways, their thoughts differ in many ways as well. Thinkers such as St. Augustine, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean Paul Sartre, and Thomas Hobbes illuminated the understanding of a human being and provided us with a clear description of the good life. Two thinkers who had opposing theories on the competing notions were Rousseau and Hobbes. Hobbes’s state of nature compares to a state of war. Hobbes
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Yes, we live in a cutthroat world, but many times people just want to succeed and live a happy life. Humans don’t go out of their way to hurt someone or use the motto “dog-eat-dog” when making compassionate decisions, intentionally outbid someone on a daily basis; they just want to live the best life they potentially can. Yes, at times this may sound selfish, but at the end of day, when no one is hurt and everyone is content, then there is no room for hate or war. We should give human beings more credit than they actually get. Humanity still exists in all of us and the world isn’t as “war-like” especially when there is a true connection in human interaction. Rousseau believes man is naturally equal—natural intelligence exists equally in all human beings. Secondly, he believes everyone feels the same right to all things and hence, this is where the world becomes “an arena of competition” and human beings become victims of the state of nature to always be in competition with others and consider each other our opponents due to society norms. For example, children aren’t born evil, in Child Psychology, children are more prone to learn languages and emotions faster at a younger age, and if the society has a set of competitive norms laid out for the child, he/she will definitely pick it up at an early age and this competitive nature will remain intact in their personality. We tend to work hard to get ahead in life to fulfill our selfish desires rather than working together to get ahead together as
Yes, we live in a cutthroat world, but many times people just want to succeed and live a happy life. Humans don’t go out of their way to hurt someone or use the motto “dog-eat-dog” when making compassionate decisions, intentionally outbid someone on a daily basis; they just want to live the best life they potentially can. Yes, at times this may sound selfish, but at the end of day, when no one is hurt and everyone is content, then there is no room for hate or war. We should give human beings more credit than they actually get. Humanity still exists in all of us and the world isn’t as “war-like” especially when there is a true connection in human interaction. Rousseau believes man is naturally equal—natural intelligence exists equally in all human beings. Secondly, he believes everyone feels the same right to all things and hence, this is where the world becomes “an arena of competition” and human beings become victims of the state of nature to always be in competition with others and consider each other our opponents due to society norms. For example, children aren’t born evil, in Child Psychology, children are more prone to learn languages and emotions faster at a younger age, and if the society has a set of competitive norms laid out for the child, he/she will definitely pick it up at an early age and this competitive nature will remain intact in their personality. We tend to work hard to get ahead in life to fulfill our selfish desires rather than working together to get ahead together as