Paper Summary:

From ancient times, man has persistently asked questions about the meaning and purpose of life. In particular, this paper examines how Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud were among the most influential of modern philosophers and provides an overview of their philosophies, as elucidated in Roger Trigg's book, "Ideas of Human Nature". It discusses how Marx maintained that the realization of this perfect society would come about only if the social condition changed while in comparison, Nietzsche's philosophical view is imbued with radical subjectivity. He was set on the idea that everything was constantly changing. The paper also looks at how Freud asserted the good of instinct and implied that reason unfortunately controlled instinct out of necessity, not because of the moral good.

From the Paper:

"Karl Marx was the earliest philosopher of this set. He was deeply interested in the social context of man (124) which, at that time was highly affected by new economic structures. His early work tells of his concern for the working class. He believed that work distinguished man from the animals and ought to be a "free creative expression of individuality" (128) however, he felt that the onset of industry created a dehumanizing situation where the worker became "alienated from the product of his labour" (127). He asserts that in this situation man loses his freedom, becomes exploited, and the product of his labor becomes more central to his life than himself or others in his community. Moreover, Marx believed that the social structures of work led to further alienation which could be clearly distinguished in the class structure, ownership of private property and overt patriotism. In response, Marx had vision of the "perfect society" in which a person could find his "true self" (130) free of these divisions. The true self is one that is unconcerned with private interests, is altruistic, and cooperates freely with others (131). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Trigg, Roger. Ideas of Human Nature; 2nd edition (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1999)

Visitors who viewed this Analytical Essay also liked these:

• Comparison Essay # 141347 : "The Confucian Idea of Human Nature Vs. Buddha Nature"
• Comparison Essay # 32334 : "Confuciani vs. Buddhist Concept of Human Nature"
• Essay # 1492 : "Karl Marx' View of Human Nature"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: