Author: Leslie Stevenson
David L Haberman/
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 259
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195169743
Description
Over three previous editions, Ten Theories of Human Nature has been a remarkably popular introduction to some of the most influential developments in Western and Eastern thought. This thoroughly revised fourth edition features substantial new chapters on Aristotle and on evolutionary theories of human nature; the latter centers on Edward O Wilson but also outlines the ideas of Emile Durkheim, B F Skinner, Nikolaas Tinbergen, Konrad Lorenz, Noam Chomsky, and recent evolutionary psychology.
This edition also includes a rewritten introduction that invites readers (even if inclined toward fundamentalism or cultural relativism) to careful, critical thought about human nature; a useful new section that summarizes the history of ideas from the Stoics to the enlightenment; and a new conclusion that suggests a way to synthesize the various theories.
Lucid and accessible, Ten Theories of Human Nature, 4/e, compresses into a small space the essence of such ancient traditions as Confucianism, Hinduism, and the Old and new Testaments as well as the theories of Plato, Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and jean-Paul Sartre. The authors juxtapose the ideas of these and other thinkers and traditions in a way that helps readers understand how humanity has struggled to comprehend its nature.
To encourage readers to think critically for themselves and to underscore the similarities and differences between the many theories, the book examines each one on four points-the nature of the universe, the nature of humanity, the diagnosis of the ills of humanity, and the proposed cure for these problems. Ideal for introductory courses in human nature, philosophy, religious studies, and intellectual history, ten Theories of Human Nature, 4/e, will engage and motivate students and other readers to consider how we can understand and improve both ourselves and human society.
Contents
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION: RIVAL THEORIES AND CRITICAL ASSESSMENTS
CHAPTER 1
Confucianism: The Way of the Sages by David L Haberman
CHAPTER 2
Upanishadic Hinduism: Quest for Ultimate Knowledge
By David L Haberman
CHAPTER 3
The Bible: Humanity in Relation to God
CHAPTER 4
Plato: The Rule of Reason
CHAPTER 5
Aristotle: The Ideal of Human Fulfillment Historical Interlude
CHAPTER 6
Kant: Reasons and Causes, History and Religion
CHAPTER 7
Marx: The Economic Basis of Human Societies
CHAPTER 8
Freud: The Unconscious Basis of Mind
CHAPTER 9
Sartre: Radical Freedom
CHAPTER 10
Darwinian Theories of Human Nature Conclusion: Toward a Synthesis of the Theories?
Index