Philosophy of the Human Person
PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
“Philosophy bakes no bread.”
So goes an old saying that pops up time and again especially in nonphilosophical circles. The statement, more often than not, serves as an indictment of any rational exercise that seems so detached from the more existential concerns of practical life. To all appearances, the criticism is correct. But then, it is perhaps equally correct to admit that no bread would ever have been baked without philosophy. For the act of baking implies not only a working knowledge of the nature of bread as such (what it is and what it is made of) and the process of producing it, but also a consideration of the ‘why’ of the very act of baking bread. On a grander scale, it involves a decision on the philosophical issue of whether life is worthwhile at all. Bakers may not have often asked themselves the question—“Why am I doing this?”—in so many words. But philosophy traditionally has been nothing less than the attempt to ask and answer, in a formal and disciplined way, the great questions of life that ordinary people put to themselves in reflective moments.
The Nineteenth Century was one such reflective moment. It was more than just an arbitrary chronological milestone in the history of philosophy. For it marked the beginning of a new Weltanschauung which, characterized by extreme diversity, is fundamentally a search for the meaning of life. Although it did not reach its fullest expression until the 20th century, its roots can be traced back to the first half of the past century. It was at that time when PHILOSOPHY OF MAN was born.
PHILOSOPHY OF MAN is an inquiry into man as a person and as an existent being in the world. Historians of philosophy commonly identify three major expressions of this absorbing interest in human existence. The first is a movement which first manifested itself in Germany a few years
“Philosophy bakes no bread.”
So goes an old saying that pops up time and again especially in nonphilosophical circles. The statement, more often than not, serves as an indictment of any rational exercise that seems so detached from the more existential concerns of practical life. To all appearances, the criticism is correct. But then, it is perhaps equally correct to admit that no bread would ever have been baked without philosophy. For the act of baking implies not only a working knowledge of the nature of bread as such (what it is and what it is made of) and the process of producing it, but also a consideration of the ‘why’ of the very act of baking bread. On a grander scale, it involves a decision on the philosophical issue of whether life is worthwhile at all. Bakers may not have often asked themselves the question—“Why am I doing this?”—in so many words. But philosophy traditionally has been nothing less than the attempt to ask and answer, in a formal and disciplined way, the great questions of life that ordinary people put to themselves in reflective moments.
The Nineteenth Century was one such reflective moment. It was more than just an arbitrary chronological milestone in the history of philosophy. For it marked the beginning of a new Weltanschauung which, characterized by extreme diversity, is fundamentally a search for the meaning of life. Although it did not reach its fullest expression until the 20th century, its roots can be traced back to the first half of the past century. It was at that time when PHILOSOPHY OF MAN was born.
PHILOSOPHY OF MAN is an inquiry into man as a person and as an existent being in the world. Historians of philosophy commonly identify three major expressions of this absorbing interest in human existence. The first is a movement which first manifested itself in Germany a few years