Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft : Being Humans : Anthropological Universality and Particularity in Transdisciplinary Perspectives

Kant claimed that the principal topics of philosophy all converge on one question: Was ist der Mensch? Starting with the main claim that conceptions of the human play a significant structuring role in theory construction, the contributors in this volume(renowned scholars from various disciplines - philosophy, anthropology, psychology, literary studies) investigate the roles that conceptions of the human play both in philosophy and in other human and social sciences. Preface 5 On Being Humans. An Introduction 11 I Conceptualising the Human 33 Anthropological Universality. On the Validity of Generalisations about Human Nature 35 “World-Openness” and the Question of Anthropological Universalism. Comments on Justin Stagl’s Paper 47 A Reply to Neil Roughley 55 Human Nature, Human Variety, Human Freedom 57 A Cultural-Historical View of Human Nature 74 Human Diversity and Human Nature. The Life and Times of a False Dichotomy 91 II Contexts of the Human 115 Encountering the Other through Grammar 117 A Grammar of Human Life? Comments on Rom Harré’s Paper 141 A Reply to Thomas Luckmann 148 Human Beings and “An Absolute Conception” 150 Human Universals and their Implications 166 Are Women Human? 185 III Anthropology, Literature and the Aesthetic 207 Redefining the Human. A Survey of Approaches to Literary Anthropology 209 Approaching Literary Anthropology. Comments on Aleida Assmann’s Paper 226 A Reply to Gottfried Seebass 231 Understanding Homer: Literature, History and Ideal Anthropology 234 The Implications of Human Picture Making: The Articulation of Visual Space 243 Universality and Cultural Particularity in Visual Aesthetics 268 IV Humanity, Morality and Politics 295 Learning to be Natural 297 Emotion, Moral Value and Being Human. Comments on Ronald de Sousa’s Paper 318 A Reply to Wolfgang Friedlmeier 323 Politics and the Unnatural Infirmity of Being Human 327 Rationality, Autonomy and Basic Needs 344 Hedgehogs, Foxes, and Persons: Resistance and Moral Creativity in East Germany and South India 366 Afterword: “Human Nature”. A Conceptual Matrix 389 Bibliography 401 Notes on Contributors 432 What then did I formerly think I was? Undoubtedly I judged that I was a man.