Promises of the Modern Scientific Search for Human Nature's Multifaceted Soul

Abstract

Since time immemorial, hwnan beings have sought to understand the essence of human nature. One well-known explanation-human nature is dualistic, body and soul, and composed of organic and spiritual dimensions- has not ended the debate over subissues that proceed from the main concept of hwnan nature. Our concern here is how the spirit and the body influence each other. As modem knowledge and science are far from having the last word in this domain, the perplexity of human nature continues to engage the attention of philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and scientists. In real terms, nothing has changed in our dualistic human nature except its labeled names. In general, modem psychologists have come to see the dualism of human nature in its innate/learned dimensions. Some modem philosophers have stuck by the asserted dualism of hwnan nature, making only slight modifications concerning its spirit/body duality. For them, human nature consists of a body/mind dualism.' Modem scientists have also tried to solve the riddle of human nature's puzzling dualism. Behavioral psychologists have sought to eliminate entirely, or at least as much as possible, the innate state (the inner, spiritual dimension) of our dualistic human nature, with the result that they view the latter as no more than a mere reflection of the external environment(s). In a similar manner, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim has oriented his own sociology toward the concept of /es fairs sociau.x, which he believed to be the only forces that one needed to consider when explaining human behavior. His resulting perspective bears a strong resemblance to behaviorism, for both desire to eliminate the innate, the psychological, and the spiritual side of human nature. Contrary to Durkheim's rigid social determinism and behaviorism's narrow S-R, sociologists have emphasized the importance of human nature's innate biogenetic2 factors and how they shape and determine human behavior. For them, the social behavior of human and nonhuman living beings can be explained by biogenetic determinants. For example, the practice of not marrying one's very close relatives can be seen as a result ...