The Study of Human Nature: A Reader

Book Overview

Now in a new edition, this exceptional anthology provides an introduction to a wide variety of views on human nature. Drawing from diverse cultures over three millennia, Leslie Stevenson has chosen selections ranging from ancient religious texts to contemporary theories based on evolutionary science. An ideal companion to the editor's recent book, Ten Theories of Human Nature, 3/e (OUP, 1998), this interdisciplinary reader can also be used independently.
The Study of Human Nature, 2/e offers substantial selections illustrating the ten perspectives discussed in Ten Theories of Human Nature, 4/e--The Bible, Hinduism, Confucianism, Plato, Kant, Marx, Freud, Sartre, B.F. Skinner's behaviorism, and Konrad Lorenz's ethological diagnosis of human aggression. The Islamic tradition is represented by a selection from the 20th-century Iranian philosopher Ayatullah Murtaza Mutahhari. The 17th- and 18th-century philosophers Descartes, Hobbes, Hume, Rousseau, and Kant are also represented. Selections from Rousseau, J.S. Mill, and Nancy Holmstrom discuss alleged differences between women and men, and a paper by Henry Bracken deals with racial issues. Examples from E.O. Wilson's sociobiology and his critics are also included, together with material from Chomsky and from recent evolutionary psychology.
This new edition includes more substantial selections from the Hindu, Confucian, and Christian traditions and provides more accessible extracts from Marx, Sartre, and Lorenz. An excellent reader for introductory courses in philosophy, religious studies, human nature, and intellectual history, The Study of Human Nature, 2/e, is also an essential resource for anyone interested in ancient, modern, and contemporary perspectives on human nature.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195127153
• ISBN13: 9780195127157
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

This book helped change my life.

Wow, it is truly amazing when a book can drastically change your life, as this on did mine. The diverse theories of human nature are awesome to investigate. Some people believe the weirdest shiznit. The class I took allowed me to contemplate deep questions that I didn't even know I had within me. I thought long and hard for many cold nights with a cup of tea in hand, a teddy bear to keep me company. I discovered myself. Who I really am? "I am what I am. I will become what becomes of me." There can be no more solid truth than that. I think my philosophy professor thought I was one step away from the loony bin after she read all my radical theories of human nature. But I only used logic to come to my conclusions. This book takes you on a quest through the past to review the logic used by ancients and somewhat contemporaries, to come up with personal beliefs about God, life, and existence. Now I don't even know if I exist. I cannot prove it really. Maybe all is a dream world. I wanted to find truth, and this book helped me find a path toward truth. And that is no lie. Buy this book and see what I mean. You will come to understand human nature- hopefully. But buyer beware; you may find that- you too- do not know whether you truly exist.

Must Have

This fascinating book consist on a compilation of the best writing on the subject of what is to be human. Since the books included here are the bible , other sacred books, Decarte, etc, it is absurd to rate the writer's talents. They have been established a long time ago. Therefore all merit goes to the editor who has done a briliant job selecting what was worth showing.