A New Philosophy of Man and Humanism View PDF

Philosophical anthropology is the basis of philosophy and thus the foundation of our human lives [1-4]. Throughout the centuries philosophers have attempted to devise a consistent system that would bring the truth to light. The object of study was always the world around us, and in their endless search for the absolute truth, many people invented a divine dimension on the basis of which all of life was explained. Numerous philosophies and religions were invented in this way, beliefs on which people could base their lives. For centuries people have killed one another because they felt that their truth was the absolute truth.

But they forgot that all these ideas were things they had invented themselves, and that if there are several absolute truths, they are all patently false. And still, they continue yet today to maintain that they are right and to wage their battles. The philosophers have since discovered that there is no such thing as truth, absolute or otherwise, and that everyone must seek and find his or her own truth in this world [5]. The visual arts have willingly allowed themselves to be annexed and have managed to maneuver themselves into the domain of philosophy [6]. A similar fate will befall philosophical anthropology. Contemporary philosophers make it no secret that philosophical anthropology is up a blind alley and that the sciences have taken over its task, which is finding the fundamental human truth [7]. They no longer have any illusions as to the point of having a philosophical anthropology and have resigned themselves to the fact that the vacuum will simply not be filled [8].

One might well say that we have thus arrived at a complete impasse, whereas the need for something to save the situation has become quite urgent at this point in human history. The deep human yearning for an overall vision, one describing a coherent idea about mankind’s fundamental state of being that could give life a new basis, makes itself very strongly felt at present. The cause of this crisis is the loss of traditional certainties and the non-emergence of new ones in combination with a total preoccupation with materialistic selfenrichment, thus nipping in the bud the development of new spiritual life. The solution must be found in totally letting go of old prejudices and completely opening our minds to new developments while at the same time practicing discipline and soberness, so as to create scope for this [9]. In the firm belief that together we can surely arrive at new insights, we must all engage in a dialogue so as to find them.

My philosophy of man is a hypothetical impetus in that direction, and it could well serve as an initiative to achieve this objective. The most important difference in the way the subject is approached is that philosophical anthropology basically looks at human beings themselves [10] and not outside of them, as most thinkers do [11], to explain human life. This makes it possible to better fathom the process of experience as the basis for every human life and to link conclusions to this in relation to the origin and evolution of human beings as well as their essential characteristics; from there we can then reason further towards more mundane topics.