Views of the Human Being in Religions and Philosophies

Overview

Religions and related wisdom traditions provide global visions of the world, which generally include a coherent view of the human being. Ancient Asian religions and philosophies, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism (or Daoism), though quite different from each other, generally share the view of the human person as a social being endowed with a spiritual element — a soul — and open to transcendence, and in harmony with the natural environment. They include values or role models for good behavior, which entails a certain capacity for acting morally.

The three great monotheistic Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — share the belief that the human being has a spiritual soul, and that there is only one God, the personal Supreme Being and Creator of the universe. Thus, the human being is seen as dependent on God but endowed with free will, the capacity for moral discernment and responsibility. Each of these religions has proposed norms of conduct, with a well-defined set of minimum standards and virtues necessary for good behavior.

For their part, Western philosophers have given extensive thought to human nature. In this chapter, in addition to religious views, we present a short synopsis of the most relevant positions on human nature developed by outstanding philosophers. These thinkers have many topics of reflection in common, such as rationality, freedom, emotions, moral behavior, individual and social relationships, and spirituality, although their positions often vary depending on their epistemological presuppositions, and other premises.