Human: A History

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Karolina Hubner (Associate Professor of Philosophy, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Cornell University)

Human

A History

Karolina Hubner (Associate Professor of Philosophy, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Cornell University)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
05 May 2022

General & world history; History of Western philosophy; Philosophy: aesthetics; Social & political philosophy; Philosophy of religion

Series: Oxford Philosophical Concepts

"What does it mean to be human? Is there something that makes us distinct from computers, other great apes, Martians, gods? Is there philosophical, ethical, or political value in continuing to think in terms of a common human nature? Or should we rather throw this concept into the dustbin of history? A paradox of the concept of ""human nature"" is that it holds both the promise of universal equality--insofar as it takes us all to share a common nature--while all too often rationalizing exploitation, oppression, and even violence against other individuals and other species. Most appallingly, differences in skin color and other physiological traits have been viewed as signs of a ""lesser"" humanity, or of outright inhumanity, and used to justify great harms. The volume asks: is the concept of human nature separable from the racist, sexist, and speciest abuse that has been made of it? And is it even possible--or desirable--to articulate a notion of human nature unaffected by race or gender or class, as if it were possible to observe humanity in a pure form?

This volume traces the history of the concept ""human"" by examining the history of claims about distinctively human properties and capacities, and the ethical and political repercussions of such accounts. Spanning the history of philosophy, political science, religion, medical ethics, the history of art and science fiction, it illuminates how our self-understanding as ""human"" evolved across time and place--from ancient Greek, classical Chinese, and medieval Arabic accounts of human nature to contemporary evolutionary theory and the transhumanist movement. It examines problems ranging from the intelligibility of Incarnation (a relationship between divine and human beings) to problems posed by genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Short pieces, or Reflections, are interspersed among the chapters, which take up topics ranging from Frankenstein to Marx's concept of human nature."

Edited by: Karolina Hubner (Associate Professor of Philosophy Associate Professor of Philosophy Cornell University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 142mm, Width: 216mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780190876388
ISBN 10: 0190876387
Series: Oxford Philosophical Concepts
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 05 May 2022
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contributors Series Editor's Foreword Introduction. Karolina Hübner Chapter 1. Plato and the Pleonectic Conception Of Human Nature. Rachana Kamtekar Chapter 2. Aristotle's Human Beings. Marguerite Deslauriers & Edwin Filotas Reflection: Race and The Human. Charles W. Mills Chapter 3. The Status of The Human in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Franklin Perkins Chapter 4. The Nature of Human and Non-Human Animals in Classical Islamic Philosophy: Alfarabi And Avicenna. Luis Xavier López-Farjeat Reflection: The Trinity and the Human. Richard Cross Chapter 5. Renaissance Conceptions of Human Being. Amos Edelheit Chapter 6. Margaret Cavendish on Human Beings. Marcy Lascano And Eric Schliesser Chapter 7. Spinoza on the Good Life for Humans. Ursula Renz Chapter 8. Hobbes and Rousseau on Human Nature and the State Of Nature. Ioannis Evrigenis Reflection: Is Frankenstein's Creature a Human with Rights? Conceptualizing the Rights of the Child After Genetic Engineering. Eileen Hunt Botting Chapter 9. The Concept of Humanity in Kant's Transcendental Philosophy. Clinton Tolley Reflection: Marx On Human Nature. Spencer J. Pack Chapter 10. Heidegger on Human Being: The Living Thing Having Logos. Katherine Withy Reflection: The Compulsion of The Human. Ray Brassier Chapter 11. Being Human, Being Homo Sapiens. D.M. Walsh Reflection: The Anthropomorphic Sixties and The Human. Christa Noel Robbins Chapter 12. The Metaphysics of Transhumanism. Eric T. Olson

Karolina Hübner is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University. Her primary area of research is early modern metaphysics and philosophy of mind. She is co-editor with Justin Steinberg of the Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon (forthcoming, 2022).