Being Human: Historical Knowledge and the Creation of Human Nature by Roger Smith

ISBN: 9780231141666

Columbia University Press 11 September 2007

Hardcover | 256 pages

Challenging commonly held biological, religious, and ethical beliefs, internationally renowned historian of science Roger Smith argues that human nature is not some fixed essence awaiting discovery but instead is actively formed through reflective thought and action. Drawing on debates from across the human sciences — including philosophy, sociology, anthropology, brain science, history, and critical theory — Smith shows that there is no vantage point outside history from which an absolutely objective or eternally valid definition of “human” can be established. Rather than treating human nature as solely biological, economic, or moral, *Being Human* explores how diverse conceptions of what it is to be human emerge in different contexts and purposes, offering a multidimensional and historically grounded approach to one of philosophy’s most persistent questions. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}