what is a human being

Materialistic view

Humans are a natural phenomena, and are purely material/physical with no spiritual aspect. Generally referred to in 'Darwinistic' terms, that we naturally evolved from primates and are not the result of a celestial being. This extends to afterlife - consciousness is neural activity in the brain, and when we do so does our brain. Also suggests morality to be a human creation, and our behavior is determined. The main limitation to this view is explaining the existence of consciousness.

Existentialism

Is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. It focuses on the question of human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence. It holds that, as there is no God. Individuals are entirely free and must take personal responsibility for themselves. It therefore emphasizes action, freedom and decision as fundamental, and holds that the only way to rise above the essentially absurd condition of humanity is by exercising our personal freedom and choice.

Humanism

It has an ultimate faith in humankind, believes that human beings possess the power or potentiality of solving their own problems, through reliance primarily upon reason and scientific method applied with courage and vision.

Atheism

The belief that gods do not exist, or a complete rejection of any belief in a personal god or gods.

Monism

Is any belief based on the assumption of a single underlying principle. Metaphysical monism allows that only one being or type of being exists.

Determinism

Is the philosophical proposition that every event, decision and action is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. This does not necessarily mean that humans have no influence on the future and its events, but that the level to which humans have influence over their future is itself dependent on present and past.

Dualism

Is the position that mind and body are in some categorical way separate from each other, and that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical in nature. Descartes claimed to have discovered one fact beyond doubt: that he is a thinking thing. This famous argument - called the Cogito after the Latin phrase, "cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am) - tries to establish the mind as a separate substance from the body.

Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill stated that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness, and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness, is not just the happiness of the performer but also that of everyone affected by it. It is an effort to provide an answer to the practical question "What ought a man to do?" Its answer is that he ought to act so as to produce the best consequences possible.

Spiritual Position

Plato was the first to propose philosophically the existence of a soul unique to mankind, that gave us our intellectual nature. This soul is non-physical and resides within the body, and attempts to control 'bad' desires such as greed and lust. It suggests we have a purpose extending into the afterlife, and motivation to lead a moral life. It is therefore more comforting than the bleak naturalist perspective. The main limitation to the view is to explain how/if the soul exists, and how (if it does) it connects to the physical world.

David Hume

challenges Descartes' view that we can be certain of the soul and mind if nothing else, stating that we cannot prove the existence of the soul, yet we can prove the existence of our bodies. He also argues that emotions and sensations disprove the existence of the soul, as the impression of the soul would have to be ever present, yet because emotions and sensations change and succeed each other, and never exist at the same time, it cannot be real.

Eudaimonism

is a moral philosophy that defines right action as that which leads to the "well-being" of the individual, thus holding "well-being" as having essential value. It makes up part of the system of virtue ethics by Aristotle, in which a lifetime of practicing the virtues in one's everyday activities, subject to the exercise of practical wisdom to resolve any conflicts or dilemmas which might arise, will allow the individual to flourish and live the good life.

Natural law

is a system of law that is determined by nature, and is universal. Classically, refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature where both social and personal and deduce binding rules of moral behavior from it.

Kantian

refers to a deontological ethical theory by a German philosopher. "act in such a way that you treat humanity,whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merly as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end." In this terminology action is more important than the consequences.

Situationism

takes into account the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it according to absolute moral standards. It is not a universal law that is to be followed, but the law of love. Paul Tillich a German/American, declared that "Love is the ultimate law."