Semester 1 - Philosophy of Human Nature

  Here is the first of my course series! I would first like to mention that I buy my books because I enjoy annotating and highlighting. Also, I enjoy books so they will be nice to have for future reference or interest. I'm starting with my Philosophy of Human Nature course because it has the most books. This is the course I was most excited about taking. In high school I read a book call Sophie's World which got me really interested in philosophy. Sophie's World is one of my top favorite books. The course explores the concept of human nature from the interdisciplinary perspective philosophy, religion, and behavioral science and also shows the connection between human nature and ethics. As of now we have covered over all Early Greek Philosophy, Thales (only a bit), Plato, Hinduism, and Aristotle. I enjoy this class overall but the downside is that I have a Professor who has a extremely monotone voice that makes you want to sleep the whole class!

We are required to have five books for this course which are:

1. Twelve Theories of Human Nature by Leslie Stevenson, David L. Haberman, and Peter Wright in the 6th edition.
2. The Study of Human Nature by Leslie Stevenson in the 2nd edition. 
3. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl.
4. Contemporary Ethical Issues: A Personal Perspective by Walter Jeffko (my professor) in the third edition. 
5. Man for Himself: An Inquiry into Psychology of Ethics by Eric Fromm. 

Over five previous editions, Ten Theories of Human Nature has been a remarkably popular introduction to some of the most influential developments in Western and Eastern thought. Now titled Twelve Theories of Human Nature, the sixth edition adds chapters on Islam (by Peter Wright) and Freud to those on Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, Kant, Marx, Sartre, and Darwinism. The authors juxtapose the ideas of these and other thinkers and traditions in a way that helps students understand how humanity has struggled to comprehend its nature.To encourage students to think critically for themselves and to underscore the similarities and differences between the many theories, the book examines each one on four points--the nature of the universe, the nature of humanity, the diagnosis of the ills of humanity, and the proposed cure for these problems. (Source)

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. 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. (Source)

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful. (Source) 

This book explores a series of contemporary moral problems from a personalistic perspective influenced by the Scottish philosopher John Macmurray (1892-1976). In many books, articles, and pamphlets spanning fifty years, most notably his Gifford Lectures, "The Form of the Personal", MacMurray developed a robust personalism that emphasizes the primacy of persons as rational agents whose self-realization is achieved in community. Walter G. Jeffko utilizes key elements of MacMurray's thought in developing his own viewpoint, and he relates MacMurray's ideas to those of a wide variety of important philosophers, ethicists, and behavioral scientists. In the opening chapter, Jeffko develops a personalistic anthropological and ethical theory within a framework that views the person as a relational and rational agent, reason as the standard of value, and the principle of community as the supreme moral standard. In successive chapters, this theory is applied to such issues as suicide, abortion, euthanasia (including assisted suicide), the death penalty, privacy (including private property and capitalism), the moral treatment of animals, and affirmative action. Jeffko brings logical precision to the study of ethics, blending powerful scholarship with readability. (Source)

In Man for Himself, Erich Fromm examines the confusion of modern women and men who, because they lack faith in any principle by which life ought to be guided, become the helpless prey forces both within and without. From the broad, interdisciplinary perspective that marks Fromm’s distinguished oeuvre, he shows that psychology cannot divorce itself from the problems of philosophy and ethics, and that human nature cannot be understood without understanding the values and moral conflicts that confront us all. He shows that an ethical system can be based on human nature rather than on revelations or traditions. (Source)

All the book required are for reference only. I found the most use from The Study of Human Nature, Twelve Theories of Human Nature, and Contemporary Ethical Issues: A Personalist Perspective. I can't wait to read the other two but for now I get the most use out of those three I mentioned. 

I purchased all the books from my school book store. I found all these books that I mentioned on Barnes and Noble. I am sure you can find them at other book stores as well.