The Human Mind As An Element Of Human Nature By Bernard Le Bovier De Fontenelle

Consciousness, Thomas Nagel states, “is what makes the mind-body problem really intractable.” Here he refers particularly to phenomenal consciousness, which Block defines as “perceptual experiences,” and Nagel describes as “something that it is to be.’ This experiential element appears to present a challenge to the physicalist assertion that all mental processes are explicable in terms of physical brain states, biochemical reactions and the laws of physics. Frank Jackson presents this argument in his 1982 thesis Epiphenomenal Qualia. Whilst Jackson’s argument occupies a seminal position in philosophy of mind, whether he adds anything new to knowledge of the nature of conscious experience, is debateable. Thomas Nagel’s What is it like to

During the seventeenth century, the scientific revolution in Europe was at its peak, changing people’s lives through the new techniques of the scientific method. Citizens of western civilizations had previously used religion as the lens through which they perceived their beliefs and customs in their communities. Before the scientific revolution, science and religion were intertwined, and people were taught to accept religious laws and doctrines without questioning; the Church was the ultimate authority on how the world worked. However, during this revolution, scientists were inspired to learn and understand the laws of the universe had created, a noble and controversial move toward truth seeking. The famous scientists of the time, such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton, were known to be natural philosophers, intending to reveal God’s mystery and understand (through proof) the majesty of God. Throughout previous centuries, people had hypothesized how the world and natural phenomenon may work, and new Protestant ideals demanded constant interrogation and examination. Nevertheless, some of these revelations went against the Church’s teachings and authority. If people believed the Church could be wrong, then they could question everything around them, as well. As a result, the introduction of the scientific method, a process by which scientists discovered and proved new theories, was revolutionary because it distinguished what could be proved as real from what was simply

As time goes by one would think the world is evolving in a positive manner. With all the new technology and new resources, we would assume to be better people than the generation before us. Many would argue that we are better because we are always well informed by the tabloids and social media of what is happening in the world. Unfortunately, we as humans are evolving in a negative manner. Our human nature since generations before us show how cruel we are. In the book, Maus written by Art Spiegelman shows us how malicious and inhuman people can treat each other. The novel illuminates our understanding of human nature as being evil as well as deceiving individuals, who do not act to better the world as time goes on.

According to Durkheim’s work The Dualism of Human Nature and Its Social Conditions (DHN), a man has a dual nature which is made up of the body (individual) and the soul (social). He sheds light on this by citing post-Durkheim theories which he does not agree with and which do not solve the problem of this dual nature. Durkheim also uses The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (EFRL) to discuss the religious aspect of the body and soul. Upon reading, it is discovered that as society evolves, so does this “dual nature.”

The concept of nature vs nurture is easily one of the oldest and most controversial arguments of modern times. Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker is notably known in the world of psychology and the social sciences for his book “The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature.” In his book, Pinker addresses this exact argument and reasons that human behavior is mostly and at its roots is formed by evolutionary psychological adaptations. In 2003, Steven Pinker gave a Ted Talk regarding his book and the idea that human behavior is predisposed, rather than formed by socialization, interactions between people and the exposure to culture. Pinker discusses the reasoning behind his stance on nature over nurture using five key discussion points, these points being, human universals, neurology and DNA, political reasoning, the arts and parenting. During his Ted Talk, Pinker begins by stating that there are human universals, concepts, behaviors and traits that are carried and found, with many similarities, throughout every human civilization, he then explains that a common example of this is with twins separated at birth, and can be proven through neurological studies. Another concept that Pinker address to further solidify his stance is the idea that the argument that humans are ‘blank slates’ and human behavior is developed through nurture rather than nature is the political reasoning behind the benefits of everyone being ‘blank slates’. Two critical points he made however

A Polish scientist brought a new idea that would make many people think. “Nicolaus Copernicus believed that the center of the Universe was the sun or the Heliocentric View” (Document D). This illustrates that many people discovered new aspects of science. As a result, more ideas will spark from others, coming off of Nicolaus’s new speculation. Next, the famous “Renaissance Man” studies this sophisticated topic.

The Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment, which spanned from the late 1500’s to 1700’s, shaped today’s modern world through disregarding past information and seeking answers on their own through the scientific method and other techniques created during the Enlightenment. Newton’s ‘Philsophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ and Diderot’s Encyclopedia were both composed of characteristics that developed this time period through the desire to understand all life, humans are capable of understanding the Earth, and a sense of independence from not having to rely on the nobles or church for knowledge.

Although the 16th century was a fascinating era, many controversies concerning the Aristotelian culture took place. Particularly the Copernican system was banned and Galileo was placed under house arrest. Utterly this was not the time to provoke change in society solely because the church was considered the hegemony during this period. Likewise Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds was written by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle in 1686. Overcoming all the arguments, Fontenelle’s book was given the best seller award as it effectively delivered knowledge of the cosmos for everyone. Fontenelle arranges a remarkable conversation between a male philosopher and a beautiful Marquise. Together they speculate the universe throughout five evenings talking about the world and how it

When King David considered the majesty and greatness of God, he felt insignificant by comparison, and asks, "what is man that you are mindful of him?" In Psalm 8 of The Bible, David stands in awe of the majesty of the Lord, and when he realizes how vast and magnificent God truly is, he is even more amazed that God would take the time to notice him - a mere mortal man. Buried deep in the human psyche is the desire to explore the subjects that give human life meaning, and the question of what it means to be human has been a source of contemplation for as long as recorded history. The Renaissance essayists, Michel de Montaigne and Sir Francis Bacon, with their immense minds and insatiable curiosity, used the literary form of the 'essay ' in an attempt to capture the world in its entirety and its diversity: every thought, every experience, and every inquiry in their work questions the intrinsic value of humanity. The intelligence and imagination of these two essayists becomes a 'small universe ', in which the individual can articulate the way in which humans think about the world and their relation to it. Montaigne 's essay, "Of Experience" (1580-92), and Bacon 's "Of Studies" and "Of Truth" ( 1625) are critical meditations that raise fundamental questions about the nature of human endeavour, and suggest that knowledge of what it means to be human is to be found in observation through experience, rather than through reason alone.

People adopted empiricism, proposing the idea that theories should be based upon human observations and experience. The description of phenomena is the beginning of science. They were impressed by the findings in Science. Scientific revolution has demolished old ideas and peopled look at the universe with more understanding. With Galileo’s accidental discovery of the cosmos and Newton’s Laws of Motion, science has expanded tremendously and people already suspicious of religion began to questions the existence of the universe. In his book, Galileo states, “Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze. But the book cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and read the letters in which it is composed. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it.” For these actions, Galileo was taken to trial, found guilty and sentence to life imprisonment. He continued his research and published books regarding the universe although they were banned by the Catholic Church. The work of these two philosophers continues to influence until this day. This led to the evolution of nature. In the early part of the era, most farmers had strips of land that they would grow their food on. There is now an

Human nature is a broad subject. What does it truly mean? It is a word with more than just one definition. To put in simpler terms, human nature is characterized into two major types; human perception and human behaviour. Of course, not all humans have the same perspective. Likewise, they all do not perform the same behaviours. Humans are different from one another, as is every other living entity. Because of this, there may be similarities between humans, but there are most definitely differences as well. Written by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner is a book that describes the life of a young Sunni Muslim/Pashtun named Amir. The book follows his life as he changes from childhood to adulthood to show how human nature greatly affects his life, and the individuals around him. This book is filled with many characters that have unique strengths and weaknesses that help describe their ‘human nature.’ For instance, Baba, Amir’s father, nicknamed as Mr. Hurricane, is described as an extremely brave person who acts upon himself to help and defend others from their troubles. An example of this is when he decides to build an orphanage (Hosseini 12-13). His downfall in the end was his decision to reject the chemotherapy, as his bravery made him ignorant. The author’s perspective on human nature shows how it is able to determine the fate of an individual throughout their life. This is evident on Amir’s case, as his actions revolve around the

When it comes to the Bible, negotiating the span between religious reverence and secular scorn can be a daunting task of intellectual funambulism. Too often, the faithful view the Bible solely as a divine message from God, immune to critical analysis. Likewise, the non-religious often dismiss the Bible as an irrelevant—or even dangerous—collection of outdated and ignorant writings.

What is embodiment? The embodiment theory holds that the nature of the human mind is largely determined by the form of the human body. Embodied cognition reflects the argument that the motor system influences our cognition, just as the mind influences bodily actions. People could be more effective if they thought/processed and planned and perceived as little as possible. A person’s intelligence would be used towards only handling the minimal amount of information necessary to make their behavior appropriate and more desirable to society. Our physical experience of the world and our spatial awareness, our bodily movement, and the way we manipulate objects provide the pattern for how we reason about the world. Reason is independent of

Art must be taken as serious as science, discovery, creation and knowledge in the sense of advancement of understanding. Each person is a physical object but each person is someone who thinks and has feelings. Knowledge and understanding is more self-knowledge because of the animated spirit that constitutes our nature. Imagination is used when watching a 2-dimensional film rather than sitting in the audience watching a live performance with everything happening right in front of your eyes. We can clearly say that worthy art directs the mind.

Human nature is very complex subject because for each theory we have to answer many questions defining a part of the theory. Each theory has to define what makes us and how that defines us to the environment in which we live. So we first must ask ourselves what makes us who we are? Then we must define we define what we are physical, mentally, and emotionally/ spiritually. Then we must define ourselves how we are relative to are existence in our environment or in essence how we live are lives. Then we must define how our relationship to our environment effects who we are.