The Perfectibility of Human Nature in Eastern and Western Thought

Chapter 9 Conclusion

Chapter 9 Conclusion The chapters of this book offer an introduction to the ideas and practices regarding the perfectibility of human nature found within philosophy , psychology, and the major world religions. By way of conclusion, let us briefly review the findings of the preceding chapters. We began by surveying some of the views of human nature and its perfectibility found in Western philosophy and psychology. While there is considerable diversity in the understanding of human nature, there is general agreement that while progress may be made toward perfection , the limitations inherent within it make the full realization of perfection unlikely. For example, although Plato allowed that one might perfect oneself in the performance of the role in life to which one is called, he held that that is not sufficient by itself to ensure one’s perfection as a human being. This view was adopted by other Western thinkers, including Luther, Calvin, and Duns Scotus. Aristotle’s more complex idea of “teleological perfection” argues that every form of activity is directed toward reaching its natural end, which for humans is “happiness” or “well-being.” This way of thinking was picked up and given further development by Aquinas and Kant. Kant, as we saw, thought of one’s natural goal in terms of unrealized potentialities and “becoming perfect” as the actualizing of one’s inherent potentialities—although this cannot be fully achieved in this life, thereby necessitating additional time to work at it in the afterlife. Augustine solves the problem presented by negative elements within human nature (e.g., lying, stealing , or bigotry) by suggesting that such negative behaviors are not the actualization of one’s true potentialities but rather the result of their absence. Descartes and Leibnitz seem to follow Augustine in their understanding of evil as the absence of good. In Western philosophy Plato seems to have started the speculation regarding human perfectibility by introducing the idea of a metaphysical good as the ideal to be achieved and the idea of evil as the lack of good, with the human 185 186 The Perfectibility of Human Nature condition being the tension between the two and the struggle to resolve it. To help in this struggle an ideal is often conceived for humans to emulate—for Plato (in the Theaetetus) and Aquinas, God is adopted as the metaphysical ideal of perfection upon which humans must model themselves. However, in other dialogues Plato identifies perfection with order and harmony in society. As we saw in chapter 2, this idea that society has a role in enabling humans to progress toward perfection is given further exploration in later Western philosophy and psychology. In the chapter on Judaism we saw that there is no single answer to our question regarding the perfectibility of human nature. Although within Jewish thought there is no single answer, there is general agreement that humans are created in the image of God and have a role to play in the work of creation. Unlike the dualistic Greek view of human nature as composed of a separate soul weighted down by a materialistic body, Hebrew thought (especially in the Hebrew Bible) conceives of the person as a psychosomatic unity composed of many parts. Because they are created in God’s image, humans are seen to have been given both authority and responsibility as established by God’s covenant with Moses at Mount Sinai, later reaffirmed by God speaking through the prophets. Israel’s failure to live up to the covenant revealed other aspects of human nature, namely, its sinfulness that obstructs progress toward perfection. The Psalmists also point out that as constituted from dust humans are subject to disease, diminution, and death. This inherent frailty, taken together with human sinfulness, works to prevent the actualization of the image of God within, but does call forth God’s mercy, which makes progress toward a perfect covenant relationship possible. While the priests focused on holiness and the prophets focused on righteousness as the path to perfection, for the rabbis it is the observance of commandments and the study of Torah that is required. Observance of the commandments is seen by the rabbis not only as the path to perfection but also as an act of cocreation with God. Turning to the Jewish philosophers, we observed that while they ground themselves in biblical and rabbinic thought, they evidence varying degrees of Greek influence in their understanding of human nature and the role of reason in the pursuit...