Table of Contents

Preface PART I: STORIES OF WHO WE ARE 1. The Story-Telling Animal A Human Condition? / The Narrative Urge / Primary Readings: Paul Ricoeur, Oneself As Another / Richard Hanley, The Metaphysics of Star Trek / Narrative: Star Trek: The Next Generation: "The Measure of a Man" / Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book / Ursula Le Guin, The Telling 2. Stories of Human Origins Where Do We Come From? Mythological Explanations / The Generally Accepted Story Today / Primary Readings: Darwin, Descent of Man, excerpt / Narrative: Roger McBride Allen, Orphan of Creation PART II: MOSTLY DESCRIPTIVE APPROACHES 3. The Sociobiological Challenge Darwin's Legacy / Are Humans Aggressive by Nature? / Are Humans Selfish By Nature? / The Weapon and the Basket / Primary Reading: Ardrey, from African Genesis / Midgley, from Beast and Man / Narratives: Lord of the Flies / 2001, A Space Odyssey / Review 4. Determinism and Free Will Can We Choose Our Actions? / The Case For Free Will / Primary Readings: Aristotle, from Nicomachean Ethics Book III, Ch.1. / Sartre, from "Existentialism Is a Humanism" / Narratives: Hans Christian Andersen, "The Ugly Duckling" / Henrik Pontoppidan, "Flight of the Eagle" / A Clockwork Orange / Aldous Huxley, Brave New World / Review 5. The Human Race The Human Races? / Race: Descriptive Turned Normative / Theories of the Biology of Race / The History of Race as a Concept / Philosophy of Race Today / Primary Readings: From Ethnicity and Race / Naomi Zack, from Thinking about Race / Narratives: Mississippi Masala / American History X / Review 6. Different Gender, Different Nature? Race and Gender, Same Issue? / Gender Differences: Nature or Nurture? / Three Non-Western Views of Gendered Nature / Early Western Views of Gendered Nature / England and Continental Europe before the Twentieth Century: / Modern Western Feminism: "Classical" and "Difference" / An Alternative Interpretation of Gendered Nature: Louise Antony / Primary Readings: Plato, from The RepublicDeborah Tannen, from You Just Don't Understand / Louise Antony, from "Human Nature" / Narratives: American Indian and other myths: Can Women and Men Live Without Each Other? / Alice Walker, from Foucault's The Temple of My Familiar (novel) / Adam's Rib / Review 7. Minds, Bodies, Selves Having a Mind, a Body, and a Self / Consciousness Developing: Rival Theories / What Is a Mind? / A Sense of Body / A Sense of Self / Primary Reading: Descartes, from Meditations, / Maxine Sheets-Johnstone: from Primacy of Movement / Narratives: Being John Malkovich / Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis" / Peer Gynt / Memento / Review PART III: MOSTLY NORMATIVE APPROACHES 8. Stuck Between Good and Evil? From Descriptive to Normative Theories / Plato: The Troubled Soul / Aristotle: The Purpose of Human Life / St. Augustine: The Human Soul is Weak / St.Thomas Aquinas: The Natural Law / Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil / The Question of Souls, and the Capacity for Good and Evil / We¿re Only Human: Good and Evil in Films and Literature / Primary Readings: Plato, from The Republic / Aristotle, from On The Soul / Aquinas, from Summa Theologica / Nietzsche, from Thus Spoke Zarathustra / Narratives: The Destiny of the Soul / What Dreams May Come / The Alter Ego / Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / Hans Christian Andersen, "The Shadow" / Beyond Good and Evil? / Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment / The Eternal Return of the Same / Ken Grimwood, Replay / Albert Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus / Review 9. The Political Animal Plato's Ideal State / Aristotle: The Political Animal / The Social Contract Thinkers / Karl Marx: Human Nature Will Change / Hayden White: Cultural History Is Storytelling / Primary Readings: Plato, from The Republic / Aristotle, from Politics / Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from The Social Contract / Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, from "The Communist Manifesto" / Narratives / William Golding: Lord of the Flies / Dances With Wolves / Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged / The Grapes of Wrath / Review 10. Personhood: The Community of Equals Theories of Human Nature as Political Statements / What Does It Take to Qualify For Personhood? / Primary Readings: Descartes: from Discourse On Method / Kant: from Grounding / Roger Fouts, from Next of Kin / "Declaration on Great Apes" / Francine Patterson and Wendy Gordon, from "The Case for the Personhood of Gorillas" / Narratives: El Norte / Bicentennial Man / Bibliography