1. Bell Ringer
Make a list of the fundamental properties that you think define a human being. Your list should enable you to distinguish humans from other kinds of creature. How would you prove that these properties are essential to human beings?

2. Human Nature
Unit 2

3. Why Study Human Nature?
At the beginning of the semester I asked you to answer one question—what do you wonder about?
Many of you answer this question with the following: Who and what am I?
How you chose to answer this question will largely impact how you see yourself, and others
It will also impact the way you live

4. Why Study Human Nature? Let’s put ourselves in a scenario
You see a homeless person on the street with a sign that says “I am blind and deaf. Please help me.” Without thinking you pull money out of your pocket and put it in their bucket. You now feel great for doing a good deed.
Why did you help?
Most people say that they helped because they wanted to do something nice for someone—but was this the real motive?
Or, did you help to make yourself feel good about doing something nice.
Here’s a video clip to examine “selfless good deeds”

5. Why Study Human Nature?
1. Do you think there is such thing as a selfless good deed (explain)? If so, can you give an example?
2. Can we escape being self-interested (can we put ourselves aside)?
Some people argue that humans, by nature, are ultimately self-interested creatures
Freud stated that “Men are not gentle, friendly creatures…[they are] a powerful measure of desire for aggressiveness has to be reckoned as part of their instinctual endowment. The result is that their neighbor is to them not only a possible helper or sexual object, but also a temptation to them to gratify their aggressiveness.”

6. Why Study Human Nature? Many philosophers agree with Freud
Thomas Hobbes argued that people constantly seek power over others
“In the first place I put for a general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.”
3. Could Hobbes be right? Do you think we are always seeking to have power over others (including our friends, family, etc.)?

7. Why Study Human Nature?
Moritz Schlick proposed the idea of psychological egoism
Human beings can ONLY act in self-interest
He says that when people are presented with two options they always choose the one that gives them the most pleasure
What does this mean for someone who risks their life to save another?
What about the child who gives up the larger piece of cake for a friend?
In his view—they are both viewing their “selfless” act as something that will give them more pleasure for doing it

8. Why Study Human Nature?
As stated earlier, how we view these theories will shape how we deal with other people
If you think that people regularly are unselfish, you tend to be more open to “nice” gestures and accept them as kindness
If you tend to believe that people are always selfish, you are more likely to mistrust people and be suspicious of “kind” gestures
What are they trying to get from me?
Which group do you belong to? Why do you support that belief?

9. Why Study Human Nature?
You view of human nature will also determine you willingness to be open to spiritual experiences
If you believe that humans are not just material, but also spiritual creatures then you are willing to look at your life beyond biology
If you believe that humans are animals with highly developed brains, but are not fundamentally different from other animals, you may not accept the concept that there is anything beyond death
This will be discussed more later in the course

10. Why Study Human Nature?
Your answer to selfish versus self-interested will also shape your view of how our society should run
If you believe that humans are more selfish then you would also be likely to say that people should do their own work, keep whatever profit they produce, and provide no support for those who don’t work (Capitalism)
If you believe that humans are more selfless, you could support the idea that everyone should work together and share the work and the profit (Socialism)
4. Which one sounds more viable to you?

11. Classwork
Essay--
In your judgment, are humans basically selfless or selfish? If there were not social restraints—such as laws and police— would humans tend to take advantage of one another, or would they tend to help one another?
Use historical evidence to back up your claim.

12. Bell Ringer Rational: relating to, based on, or agreeable to reason
Reason: a sufficient ground of explanation or of logical defense that supports a conclusion or explains a fact
Are you a rational being? Defend your answer.

13. What is Human Nature? What happens to you when you die?
Some people who have experienced near death experiences describe a scene of a “soul” hovering over their body and seeing a bright light
Is this enough evidence to support the idea that you exist in two forms
As a physical body
As a spiritual existence

14. What is Human Nature?
There have been many accounts of “near- death” experiences in which the “dead” person wakes up to describe a scene of heaven or hell
Often times they explain that they left their body and could see it and everything that was going on with their body
Do you think this is evidence of a soul? Furthermore, do you believe that humans have soul that lives beyond the body? (As always, there is no right or wrong answer to this and your opinion is as valid as anyone else’s in this room— just make sure to explain why you hold your belief)

15. What is Human Nature?
If you accept that humans have a life after death you have to accept that the “self” exists in two forms: physical body and an immaterial entity (or spirit/soul)
There are four views that give ideas about these forms
Traditional Rationalist View
Traditional Western Religious View
Darwinist View
Existentialist View
Today we will look at the first two

16. What is Human Nature?
Traditional Rationalist view comes from the Greek philosophers—predominately Plato and Aristotle
Plato holds that reasoning is essential to human nature
Plato used one of his writings to explain the ides of the soul

17. What is Human Nature?
Socrates: Isn’t it sometimes trues that the thirsty person also, for some reason, may want not to drink?
Glaucon: Yes, often.
Socrates: What can we say, then, if not that in his soul there is a part that desires drink and another part that restrains him? This latter part is distinct from desire and usually can control desire.
Glaucon: I agree.

18. What is Human Nature?
Socrates: And isn’t is true in such cases that such control originates in reason, while the urge to drink originates in something else?
Glaucon: So it seems.
Socrates: Then we can conclude that there are in us two distinct parts. One that is what we call “reason,” and the other we call the nonrational “appetites.” The latter hungers, thirsts, desires sex, and is subject to other desires.
Glaucon: Yes, that is the logical conclusion.

19. What is Human Nature?
Socrates: But what about our emotional or spirited element: the part in us that feels anger and indignation?...Anger sometimes opposes our appetites as if it is something distinct from them…Yet this emotional part of ourselves is also distinct from reason.
What do you think Plato is trying to point out in this tale?
What characteristics do humans have based on this commentary?

20. What is Human Nature?
Plato is trying to argue that humans have three main parts that make up the self
Suppose there is a glass of poisonous water in front of you
Appetite (desires) drives you to want to drink the water
Reason forbids you to drink
Plato argues that the self/brain deals with conflict between appetite and reason
How do you (or will you) react to someone who cuts you off while you’re driving (be honest)?

21. What is Human Nature?
Plato believed that the conflict between appetite and reason could sometimes result in a “spirited” element (anger)
Since reason, appetite, and aggression are the three main components to humans, which one is most important
Plato argued that reason is able to dominate the other two factors

22. What is Human Nature?
Plato believed that this world was an imperfect world
Beyond this world was a perfect world with perfect forms of everything that exists here
In other words, there is a perfect version of you somewhere else
The destiny of the soul is to escape its earthly, imperfect self and be united with its perfect form beyond this life
If you allow aggression or appetite to control you, you will not be able to connect with your form

23. What is Human Nature?
Aristotle agreed with Plato that reason is the highest human power
He differed from Plato in that he believed that we could discover all of nature’s truth through reason (didn’t need forms)
Aristotle argued that life the eye has the purpose of sight and the ear has the purpose of hearing, so too does the whole body have purpose
This, along with reasoning skills, is what sets us apart from animals

24. What is Human Nature?
Plato attempted to prove the point of the two selves with another writing
Socrates: Consider perfect equality or perfect beauty or any other ideal. Does each of these always remain the same perfect form, unchanging and not varying from moment to moment?
What do you think “perfect” (not trendy) beauty is? Will this idea change in 5 years?

25. What is Human Nature?
Cebes: They always have to be the same, Socrates.
Socrates: And what about the many individual (material) objects around us—people or horses or dresses or what have you…Do these always remain the same or are they changing constantly and becoming something else?
Cebes: They are continually changing, Socrates.
Socrates: These changing (material) objects can be seen and touched and perceived with the sense (of the body). But the unchanging Ideals can be known only with the mind and are not visible to the (body’s) senses…So there are two kinds of existing things: those which are visible and those which are not…The visible are changing and the invisible are unchanging.

26. What is Human Nature? Cebes: That seems to be the case…
Socrates: Now which of these two kinds of things is our body like?
Cebes: Clearly it is like visible things…
Socrates: And what do we say of the soul? Is it visible or not?
Cebes: It is not visible.
Socrates: Then the soul is more like the invisible and the body like the visible?
Cebes: That is most certain, Socrates.
Do you agree with Socrates’ (Plato’s) assertion that the we exist in two forms—the visible and invisible?

27. What is Human Nature?
The Traditionalist argues that human nature are creatures that have rational minds that can control its appetites and aggressions.
By use of our mind we find meaning and sense of the things around us
We gain self-mastery through reason which creates self-control
Self-mastery through reason is the purpose of human beings

28. Assignment
Today we talked about appetites (desires), aggression (passions), and reason (the logic that tries to keep the other two in check).
Plato describe these as two unwieldy horses and the charioteer that tries to keep the in order
I would like for you to creatively come up with a way to explain these three concepts
You can create a drawing, a poem/song, or a short story that captures the essence of the three parts of Plato’s “self”

29. What is Human Nature? Charles Darwin theorized that
Plants and animals are sometimes born with features that are different so they could pass it off to their offspring
When the difference helps with survival it becomes an advantage
Since animals produce more than can survive in the system, they must “struggle to survive”
The great struggle “selects” those who have advantages to survive

30. What is Human Nature?
The natural system “weeds out” those who were “unfit” to survive
Through the weed out process Darwin theorized that a species can change into an entirely new species
A dino could become a bird, frogs could become lizards, etc.
Of course this is most controversially applied to humans as many believe that humans originally evolved from monkeys

31. What is Human Nature?
“Most of the more complex emotions are common to the higher animals and ourselves”
Remember what Traditionalists said about how to determine a human from the other animals—reason/logic
Darwin says that if we all evolved from the same place, then those traits evolved as well but we originally all had them in some form
The theory argues that humans are not made in God’s image, but rather the ape that preceded them

32. What is Human Nature?
There are many who disagree with Darwin’s assessments
They declare that “microevolution” exists in that giraffe's neck gets longer or animals develop coats similar to their surroundings
“Macroevolution” meaning that one species turns into another does not have substantial proof according to dissenters
Because there are “missing links” to show the evolution from ape to human they argue that the theory is inaccurate

33. What is Human Nature?
A second argument with Darwin says that even if evolution occurred, it is still God guiding the evolutionary change
They also argue that evolution has purpose, instead of being “blind” as Darwin believed
A final argument that Darwinists face is the claim that humans and animals have the same cognitive abilities (including reason)
The dissenters argue that while other animals can communicate with simplistic symbols, etc. only humans have complex syntactical rules with ways of manipulating and expressing our ideas
Which Darwinists say was a trait that developed in some animals, but not others

34. Assignment First, we will watch History Channel’s “Monkey Trail”
Second, in a 500 word essay, explain where you stand with Darwin’s theories
Be sure to back up your position with logic and reasoning
DO NOT just make an emotional response
There is no wrong answer as long as you have provided plenty of support for your position

35. Bell Ringer

36. What is Human Nature?
Another challenger to the traditional views of human nature comes in the form of existentialism
This is the idea that “human nature” does not exist, but rather humans create their own “nature” through free, responsible choices and actions
Therefore, humans do not have a fixed rational nature or fixed purpose
There are various types of existentialism, but we are going to focus on the atheistic existentialism

37. What is Human Nature?
Jean-Paul Sartre was the most well known speaker on the topic
He said that humans are “condemned” to be free
Since humans cannot rely on a god (since he does not exist) nor society to tell us what/who were are we are left with our decisions and the agony that comes from it
He said that there are no universal statements of what humans ought to be
He only made one universal claim—we are free

38. What is Human Nature?
Sartre said each human’s freedom had the following conditions:
Ability to envision additional possibilities for their condition
Determine what is/is not the case (true v. false)
Ability to suspend judgment
Ability to alter our condition
Do you think humans have these characteristics? Are there exceptions?

39. What is Human Nature?
Because we have these characteristics Sartre said that we must:
Make individual choices and be aware we are doing so
We must take full responsibility for our actions
We must take full responsibility for our beliefs, feelings, and attitudes
Describe an example where you DID NOT take responsibility for your actions, feelings, beliefs, or attitude. Did it have a positive or negative affect on your life? Are there potential outcomes that still have not been seen? Explain.

40. What is Human Nature?
Many people believe that we cannot control our emotions
Depression for example, comes without any control from the person experiencing it
Sartre argues that in most cases if we experience an emotion it is because we chose to experience that emotion
Moods/emotions are how we freely choose to perceive the world/participate in it
Do you agree with Sartre or do you believe that we cannot control our emotions? Explain your answer with an example.

41. What is Human Nature?
He explains that our anguish/suffering is caused by the consciousness that we are free and therefore responsible for our actions
We try to pretend that we are not in control by blaming genetics or saying we are spectators of our lives rather than participants
Sartre says when we pretend we have not control we act in “bad faith”

42. What is Human Nature?
Bad faith is an attempt to avoid anguish by saying we are not free
Make a list of three examples where people act in bad faith
Example: Teacher who says they cannot do their job well because of “issues” and therefore does not try
Sartre argues that we are not the sum of things that happen to us, but rather the sum of the things we do
We are what choices we make; to be human means to create oneself

43. Homework Short answer--
Sarte’s existentialism leaves us with no moral rules or behavioral guidelines, yet it ultimately holds us responsible for all our choices. Do you find such a view appealing? Contradictory? Unsettling? Or Liberating?
Defend your answer.