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Dennis M. Weiss, ed.
Interpreting Man
(Critical Studies in the Humanities)
Are human beings little more than complicated animals? Are we
defined by our biology? What role does culture play in shaping us?
Can science account for the whole of our nature? These perennial
philosophical questions are being raised with new urgency in recent
provocative debates that include mapping the human genome, cloning,
nature/nurture, animal rights, robotics, and the merits of
sociobiology and evolutionary psychology.
In order to address these questions, Interpreting Man brings
together, for the first time, substantial selections devoted to a
critical examination of what it means to be human, from the works of
an international group of philosophers and social theorists. The
essays comprising this collection, many of which have been
out-of-print and no longer widely available, offer thought-provoking
insights into human nature, and provide a framework for
understanding issues that go to the heart of contemporary
philosophical, scientific and humanistic studies. Focusing on themes
such as laughing and crying, the upright posture, the nature of
culture and symbolism, and social and interpersonal relations, they
represent some of the finest contemporary perspectives on human
nature and are an essential resource for anyone with a strong
interest in philosophy, women’s studies, anthropology, sociology and
psychology.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface—Douglas Browning
Dennis Weiss, The Anthropological Task
Max Scheler, Man’s Place in Nature
Arnold Gehlen, Man: His Place and Nature
Ernst Cassirer, The Symbolic Animal
Helmuth Plessner, Laughing and Crying
Michael Landmann, The System of Anthropina
Martin Buber, Elements of the Interhuman
José Ortega y Gasset, The Self and the Other
Erwin Straus, The Upright Posture
About the author
Dennis M. Weiss is Associate
Professor of Philosophy at York College of Pennsylvania. He holds a
B.A. in Philosophy from Emory University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy
from The University of Texas at Austin. His published works are in
the area of philosophical anthropology, philosophy of technology,
and the emerging cyberculture.
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