Contemporary Theories of Man

CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MAN 1 I IN TREATING of modem man's metaphysical and religious needs, two preliminary points require brief mention. How do these needs compare with other human needs that are commonly recognized? And what special weight should be given to the word "modern " in this context? There is a legitimate sense in which the metaphysical and religious requirements imposed by our having a human nature stand alongside the other requirements for the good life. At the outset of an empirical inquiry into the human condition, it is only necessary to observe that the human drives toward realization are various, that the reaches of human desire extend in many directions. Merely private wants and social ones, those which are only momentary and those which remain throughout a lifetime, wants which are shared with other animals and those which seem peculiar to man, these are some of the distinctions which come immediately to mind. It is usual to differentiate between the technological, biological, cultural, social and political aspects of our life. In addition, man can be viewed-and, indeed, can regard himself-from the standpoint of widest generality as one being among others in the world, displaying certain traits and having certain needs in virtue of his inclusion in the common situation. Like the rest of nature his tendency toward the good is a search after actual goods and hence after some share in God's perfection. He is, then, also a metaphysical and religious animal. What distinguishes man from the other parts of nature is his ability to place an interpretation upon his life and to guide his actions by the insight so gained. He is not content simply to 1 The educational importance of these conceptions of man is borne in mind throughout this study. 17 18 JAMES COLLINS be implicated in the world and to be subject to certain desires. He wishes to understand his presence in the world, to test and order his desires, and to pursue his ends in accord with the meaning he places upon his existence. In addition to the fact of various human needs, there is question of the nature of the distinction and order obtaining between them. When this comparative study inquires in a fundamental way about the nature, existence, operations, and ends of man, one avenue has been opened to a metaphysical treatment of human nature. Because this approach tries to determine the most comprehensive traits of our experience, it holds the first rank among the ways of gaining self-knowledge. The pursuit of metaphysical and religious wisdom is an abiding and central need of man. Its great importance does not, however, seal it off in proud isolation from man's other preoccupations . Investigation of the structure and dynamism of being in general and of our human mode. of being cannot be carried on in an intellectual vacuum; It is impossible to discover the common pattern of human experiences unless they are actually attended to at every level where they make their .appearance. There are metaphysically important aspects of our artistic, political, scientific, and economic activities. If they are disdained, the resultant metaphysics will be an artificial and inhumane account which fails to provide a basis for human unity and integration. In revenge, the other sciences which touch upon man' will try to organize human life around one or another particularist standpoint. Some such defection on the part of metaphysicians has led to the present state of affairs, in which general agreement about the sense of human existence is neither present nor held desirable. If metaphysics is commonly regarded as a misty and irrelevant pastime or as the .scullery maid in the scientific house,.. hold, the responsibility lies primarily with philosophers themselves . Many of them have either taken scandal or taken fright at one stubborn feature of human reality: its temporal, historical character·. Those who have taken scandal tend to depreciate the importance of the world of development and to CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MAN 19 overstress the timeless and changeless nature of metaphysical principles. They retreat into a realm of immutable· essences where all is neat, undisturbed, and thoroughly inhumane. Those who take fright are liable to abandon all...