A PHILO-ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION OF MAN FROM OTHER BEINGS IN THE UNIVERSE: A SCHELERIAN PERCEPTIVE

Abstract

Philosophical anthropology is concerned with the questions of what man is and his place in the universe. Philosophers, thinkers, and intellectuals of all ages have provided a variety of answers to these questions. Man has been defined as "a rational animal," "God's image," and "a recent evolutionary product on our planet." According to Max Scheler, these three views are incompatible with one another and thus lack a unified view of man. He believes that the true nature of man remains unknown to us. In light of different philosophers' conceptions of man, this study exposes and evaluates the concept of man against the backdrop of Scheler's philosophical anthropology. The work examines Max Scheler's concept of man as presented in his book man's place in nature, as well as references to other relevant materials. The significance of this study is that it allows man to gain a better understanding of himself from Scheler's perspective. The researcher employs the analytic method of research. The researcher discovers during the course of this work that man can only actualize his being when he emerges from the illusions of his impulses into his conscious self.