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Thirteen Theories of Human Nature
Over six previous editions, Twelve Theories of Human Nature has been a remarkably popular introduction to some of the most influential developments in Western and Eastern thought. Now titled Thirteen Theories of Human Nature, the seventh edition adds a chapter on feminist theory to those on Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, Islam, Kant, Marx, Freud, Sartre, and Darwinism. The authors juxtapose the ideas of these and other thinkers and traditions in a way that helps students understand how humanity has struggled to comprehend its nature.
To encourage students to think critically for themselves and to underscore the similarities and differences between the many theories, the book examines each one on four points--the nature of the universe, the nature of humanity, the diagnosis of the ills of humanity, and the proposed cure for these problems.
Ideal for introductory courses in human nature, introduction to philosophy, and intellectual history, this unique volume will engage and motivate students and other readers to consider how we can understand and improve both ourselves and human society.
To encourage students to think critically for themselves and to underscore the similarities and differences between the many theories, the book examines each one on four points--the nature of the universe, the nature of humanity, the diagnosis of the ills of humanity, and the proposed cure for these problems.
Ideal for introductory courses in human nature, introduction to philosophy, and intellectual history, this unique volume will engage and motivate students and other readers to consider how we can understand and improve both ourselves and human society.
336 pages, Paperback
Published June 15, 2017
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320 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 7, 2025
The English version can be found below. ⬇️
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German version:
Das Buch liefert einen guten Überblick über verschiedene Denkrichtungen (Konfuzianismus, Hinduismus, Buddhismus, Christentum, Islam, Platon, Aristoteles, Frühe Neuzeit, Kant, Marxismus, Existentialismus nach Sartre, Darwinismus, Freuds Theorie des Unbewussten, Feminismus) und die zugrundliegenden Weltauffassungen und das Menschbild. Im Anschluss daran werden Probleme der Konzept diskutiert und Lösungen als 'Rezept' präsentiert.
Die Sache ist die, dass das eigentlich titelgebende 'Menschenbild' in einigen Kapiteln tatsächlich nicht wirklich behandelt wurde, sondern nur die allgemeine Denkrichtung dargestellt wurde, aber der weitere Schritt, daraus ein Menschenbild abzuleiten, nicht wirklich gemacht wurde bzw. manchmal zu wenig Grundlage dafür vorhanden ist, wobei ich mich dann frage, warum man dieses Thema dann ins Buch aufnehmen musste, wenn es keinen Mehrwert für die Theorie des Menschenbildes hat.
Daher gesamt: 4,0🌟
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English version:
The book provides a good overview of various schools of thought (Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Plato, Aristotle, early modern times, Kant, Marxism, Existentialism according to Sartre, Darwinism, Freud's theory of the Unconscious, Feminism) and the underlying world views and the image of human nature. Problems with the concept are then discussed and solutions presented as a ‘recipe’.
The thing is that the ‘human nature’ that actually gives the book its title was not really dealt with in some chapters, but only the general direction of thought was presented, but the further step of deriving an image of humankind from it was not really taken or sometimes there is too little basis for it, whereby I then ask myself why this topic had to be included in the book if it has no added value for the theory of the image of humankind.
Therefore overall: 4.0🌟
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German version:
Das Buch liefert einen guten Überblick über verschiedene Denkrichtungen (Konfuzianismus, Hinduismus, Buddhismus, Christentum, Islam, Platon, Aristoteles, Frühe Neuzeit, Kant, Marxismus, Existentialismus nach Sartre, Darwinismus, Freuds Theorie des Unbewussten, Feminismus) und die zugrundliegenden Weltauffassungen und das Menschbild. Im Anschluss daran werden Probleme der Konzept diskutiert und Lösungen als 'Rezept' präsentiert.
Die Sache ist die, dass das eigentlich titelgebende 'Menschenbild' in einigen Kapiteln tatsächlich nicht wirklich behandelt wurde, sondern nur die allgemeine Denkrichtung dargestellt wurde, aber der weitere Schritt, daraus ein Menschenbild abzuleiten, nicht wirklich gemacht wurde bzw. manchmal zu wenig Grundlage dafür vorhanden ist, wobei ich mich dann frage, warum man dieses Thema dann ins Buch aufnehmen musste, wenn es keinen Mehrwert für die Theorie des Menschenbildes hat.
Daher gesamt: 4,0🌟
----------
English version:
The book provides a good overview of various schools of thought (Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Plato, Aristotle, early modern times, Kant, Marxism, Existentialism according to Sartre, Darwinism, Freud's theory of the Unconscious, Feminism) and the underlying world views and the image of human nature. Problems with the concept are then discussed and solutions presented as a ‘recipe’.
The thing is that the ‘human nature’ that actually gives the book its title was not really dealt with in some chapters, but only the general direction of thought was presented, but the further step of deriving an image of humankind from it was not really taken or sometimes there is too little basis for it, whereby I then ask myself why this topic had to be included in the book if it has no added value for the theory of the image of humankind.
Therefore overall: 4.0🌟
June 22, 2022
Toegankelijk, maar that's it.
November 5, 2023
الكتاب غني ودسم ، يعرض مختلف النظريات الفلسفية عن العالم والإنسان بشكل مبسط في الفصول الأولى ، لكن أحسست أن اللغة لم تكن واضحة في بعض الصفحات الأخيرة مثل الفصل الخاص بالوجودية وسارتر ، وفصل التطور، لكن أيا يكن فهو يعتبر وجبة دسمة ومغرية لعالم الفلسفة.
August 5, 2022
Informative and thought provoking in its more philosophical sections, but weaker in its religious perspectives.
The summaries of individual philosophers were generally clear and tried to be sensitive to major issues of interpretation or divergence within traditions. Whether it be the positive and negative interpretations of Confucianism in chapter 1, or Marx’s varying interpretations of Hegel, the major contours of issues were presented to readers so that they had the understanding to do further reading, if they wished.
Less clear were the religious sections. The chapter on the bible was disappointing because it tried to do Judaism and Christianity at the same time. This ended up being a very cursory glance at both, and it certainly didn’t do justice to the richness of Judaism as it has developed in the last thousand years. A reader would have little idea that there are differing Liberal and Orthodox trends and interpretations.
The originality of Christianity was particularly unclear, because it is a reaction against trends within Judaism, so if those trends are not clearly understood, then Christianity’s perspective is harder to appreciate. St Paul preached a Christianity of grace, which was a radical reinterpretation of the role of ‘law.’ Judaism as a religion of ‘law’ offered redemption to the people of God’s tribe. And those people accessed salvation by ensuring the faithfulness of their tribal membership, by obeying the laws of God. This might be rules about which foods can be eaten, or which clothes can be worn. Holiness, health and salvation are all achieved by following the rules to be members of the tribe.
Christianity, on some understandings, is not creating a new tribe which achieve salvation by obedience to laws. Christianity is about becoming a better person, which is transformation of the heart. So obedience to tribal laws is irrelevant, and this was one of the great demarcations between Judaism and Christianity. Readers do not get a very clear sense of what these differences meant.
The chapter on Islam is similarly less clear. Sometimes its generalisations are overly simplistic. We hear for example that there is no evidence to suggest that the Quran as we have it, is any different from the Quran which Mohammad had (p141). Perhaps. But that is an enormously complicated topic, with some strikingly different viewpoints and the book doesn’t do justice to the complexities by glossing over them.
It was a shame that the book essentially jumped from the early medieval period to the Renaissance. Yes there was a chapter called ‘historical interludes’ in between, where there was some mention of some relevant people, but it was all very general. One of the traditional problems of the way Philosophy has been narrated in the Anglo American world, is that it jumps ‘scholasticism’ as if it were irrelevant or aberrant. Modern scholars are starting to see that there is a subtle bias at work, especially in the English speaking world where traditional Protestant scholars have been more likely to undervalue the scholasticism which was rejected by the Reformation. Its a shame that this book didn't address that, especially as Roman Catholicism is particularly difficult to understand without an appreciation of the role of scholasticism in developing its ethical theories.
Overall, this book should be accessible to a wide range of readers, without requiring skills in Philosophy. It is essentially a text book for the top of High School and undergraduates. Each chapter ends with suggestions for further reading and some helpful questions to ponder. The book broadly does what it sets out to do, but I think the specifically religious issues could have been sharpened up a little.
The summaries of individual philosophers were generally clear and tried to be sensitive to major issues of interpretation or divergence within traditions. Whether it be the positive and negative interpretations of Confucianism in chapter 1, or Marx’s varying interpretations of Hegel, the major contours of issues were presented to readers so that they had the understanding to do further reading, if they wished.
Less clear were the religious sections. The chapter on the bible was disappointing because it tried to do Judaism and Christianity at the same time. This ended up being a very cursory glance at both, and it certainly didn’t do justice to the richness of Judaism as it has developed in the last thousand years. A reader would have little idea that there are differing Liberal and Orthodox trends and interpretations.
The originality of Christianity was particularly unclear, because it is a reaction against trends within Judaism, so if those trends are not clearly understood, then Christianity’s perspective is harder to appreciate. St Paul preached a Christianity of grace, which was a radical reinterpretation of the role of ‘law.’ Judaism as a religion of ‘law’ offered redemption to the people of God’s tribe. And those people accessed salvation by ensuring the faithfulness of their tribal membership, by obeying the laws of God. This might be rules about which foods can be eaten, or which clothes can be worn. Holiness, health and salvation are all achieved by following the rules to be members of the tribe.
Christianity, on some understandings, is not creating a new tribe which achieve salvation by obedience to laws. Christianity is about becoming a better person, which is transformation of the heart. So obedience to tribal laws is irrelevant, and this was one of the great demarcations between Judaism and Christianity. Readers do not get a very clear sense of what these differences meant.
The chapter on Islam is similarly less clear. Sometimes its generalisations are overly simplistic. We hear for example that there is no evidence to suggest that the Quran as we have it, is any different from the Quran which Mohammad had (p141). Perhaps. But that is an enormously complicated topic, with some strikingly different viewpoints and the book doesn’t do justice to the complexities by glossing over them.
It was a shame that the book essentially jumped from the early medieval period to the Renaissance. Yes there was a chapter called ‘historical interludes’ in between, where there was some mention of some relevant people, but it was all very general. One of the traditional problems of the way Philosophy has been narrated in the Anglo American world, is that it jumps ‘scholasticism’ as if it were irrelevant or aberrant. Modern scholars are starting to see that there is a subtle bias at work, especially in the English speaking world where traditional Protestant scholars have been more likely to undervalue the scholasticism which was rejected by the Reformation. Its a shame that this book didn't address that, especially as Roman Catholicism is particularly difficult to understand without an appreciation of the role of scholasticism in developing its ethical theories.
Overall, this book should be accessible to a wide range of readers, without requiring skills in Philosophy. It is essentially a text book for the top of High School and undergraduates. Each chapter ends with suggestions for further reading and some helpful questions to ponder. The book broadly does what it sets out to do, but I think the specifically religious issues could have been sharpened up a little.
February 12, 2025
STEVENSON, Leslie (et al.) «Trece teorías de la naturaleza humana». Trad.: Carmen García Trevijano (Traducción del prefacio y los capítulos 3, 7 y 13, más la actualización de la traducción anterior: Rodrigo Guijarro Lasheras). Cátedra (Col. Teorema. Serie mayor), Madrid, 2018.
Edición última de la ya clásica obra 'Siete teorías de la naturaleza humana' (Cátedra, 1992) que Stevenson (profesor de filosofía en Saint Andrews, Escocia) publicara en Oxford, en 1974. Contiene las tres teorías que se añadieron a su posterior revisión y ampliación para la edición de 2010, más las tres que han sido incluidas por vez primera en esta edición definitiva de la obra.
Clasificadas y tratadas de modo diferente tras su última revisión, suponen una aproximación a la naturaleza humana mediante la exposición y discusión de siete teorías sobre el hombre, rivales o complementarias, que han influido en la configuración de las distintas sociedades. Basado en una estructura repetitiva para cada una de las teorías (Teoría del Universo / Teoría de la Naturaleza Humana / Diagnóstico / Prescripción / Discusión Crítica), que facilita el seguimiento de las ideas expuestas, y en una explicación clara y concisa de éstas, y un posterior objetivo juicio crítico, que pone a cada una de las teorías en el lugar que se merece.
El libro, sin mayores pretensiones que servir de introducción a ciencias como la antropología y la filosofía, cumple sobradamente su propósito. Además, incluye una lista de lecturas recomendadas acerca de los distintos autores que resulta muy útil y un breve glosario al final del libro. La obra recoge de forma breve las concepciones de la naturaleza humana del Confucianismo, Hinduismo, Budismo, Platón, Aristóteles, Cristianismo (La Biblia), Judaísmo (Tanakh), Islam (Corán), Kant, Marx, Freud, Sartre, las teorías darwinistas (Darwin, Skinner y Lorenz) y el Feminismo.
P.S.: 'Siete teorías de la naturaleza humana' era un libro de obligada lectura en la asignatura de filosofía (3.º BUP) de algunos institutos españoles durante los antiguos planes de estudio. Para mí, sigue siendo una obra de referencia a la hora de iniciar a los estudiantes en dicha disciplina.
Edición última de la ya clásica obra 'Siete teorías de la naturaleza humana' (Cátedra, 1992) que Stevenson (profesor de filosofía en Saint Andrews, Escocia) publicara en Oxford, en 1974. Contiene las tres teorías que se añadieron a su posterior revisión y ampliación para la edición de 2010, más las tres que han sido incluidas por vez primera en esta edición definitiva de la obra.
Clasificadas y tratadas de modo diferente tras su última revisión, suponen una aproximación a la naturaleza humana mediante la exposición y discusión de siete teorías sobre el hombre, rivales o complementarias, que han influido en la configuración de las distintas sociedades. Basado en una estructura repetitiva para cada una de las teorías (Teoría del Universo / Teoría de la Naturaleza Humana / Diagnóstico / Prescripción / Discusión Crítica), que facilita el seguimiento de las ideas expuestas, y en una explicación clara y concisa de éstas, y un posterior objetivo juicio crítico, que pone a cada una de las teorías en el lugar que se merece.
El libro, sin mayores pretensiones que servir de introducción a ciencias como la antropología y la filosofía, cumple sobradamente su propósito. Además, incluye una lista de lecturas recomendadas acerca de los distintos autores que resulta muy útil y un breve glosario al final del libro. La obra recoge de forma breve las concepciones de la naturaleza humana del Confucianismo, Hinduismo, Budismo, Platón, Aristóteles, Cristianismo (La Biblia), Judaísmo (Tanakh), Islam (Corán), Kant, Marx, Freud, Sartre, las teorías darwinistas (Darwin, Skinner y Lorenz) y el Feminismo.
P.S.: 'Siete teorías de la naturaleza humana' era un libro de obligada lectura en la asignatura de filosofía (3.º BUP) de algunos institutos españoles durante los antiguos planes de estudio. Para mí, sigue siendo una obra de referencia a la hora de iniciar a los estudiantes en dicha disciplina.
June 24, 2022
'Human Nature', of het Slim Fit jasje dat geen van de besproken denkers past.
December 14, 2023
enjoyable textbook!
December 30, 2022
عرض تاريخي اكتر منه علمي لنظريات الطبيعة البشرية يحكمه نظرة الايدلوجية النسوية لكن لطيف كمقدمة في الموضوع بالذات مع توصيات القراءة اخر كل فصل .
November 24, 2025
يقدم هذا الكتاب استكشافًا معمقًا لثلاث عشرة وجهة نظر متنافسة حول ماهية الإنسان وكيف ينبغي أن يعيش. يتجاوز الكتاب الفلسفة الأكاديمية التقليدية ليركز على النظم الفكرية التي تقدم إجابات على الأسئلة الوجودية الكبرى.
يقر الكتاب بأن النظريات المتنافسة غالبًا ما تكون متجسدة في طرق حياة ومؤسسات، مما يجعل تقييمها بموضوعية أمرًا صعبًا. ومع ذلك، فإنه يدعو إلى الفحص النقدي والعقلاني، مؤكدًا على ضرورة التمييز بين:
الأحكام القيمية (ما يجب أن يكون).
العبارات الواقعية/التجريبية (ما هو كائن، والتي يمكن إثباتها أو دحضها بالملاحظة).
النظريات الميتافيزيقية (الادعاءات العامة حول طبيعة كل ما هو موجود، وتتجاوز الأدلة العلمية).
يترك الكتاب للقارئ مهمة تقييم هذه النظريات الـ 13 ومقارنتها لوجهات نظره الخاصة، وتشجيعه على تحديد "فلسفة للحياة" التي يمكن أن ترشده.
يقر الكتاب بأن النظريات المتنافسة غالبًا ما تكون متجسدة في طرق حياة ومؤسسات، مما يجعل تقييمها بموضوعية أمرًا صعبًا. ومع ذلك، فإنه يدعو إلى الفحص النقدي والعقلاني، مؤكدًا على ضرورة التمييز بين:
الأحكام القيمية (ما يجب أن يكون).
العبارات الواقعية/التجريبية (ما هو كائن، والتي يمكن إثباتها أو دحضها بالملاحظة).
النظريات الميتافيزيقية (الادعاءات العامة حول طبيعة كل ما هو موجود، وتتجاوز الأدلة العلمية).
يترك الكتاب للقارئ مهمة تقييم هذه النظريات الـ 13 ومقارنتها لوجهات نظره الخاصة، وتشجيعه على تحديد "فلسفة للحياة" التي يمكن أن ترشده.
November 17, 2021
It’s very hard to critique a book like this. It’s not the most exciting read, it’s not very insightful, but it’s not dogmatic either. There is no ideology it’s trying to convey as such. It’s a bit like this, okay. This, IMO obviously, is to texts about ethics and psychology what a tour guide text about a town is to a history textbook. Or, okay, that’s a bit harsh, but maybe one of those snazzy History Channel shows vs a history text? It’s written accessibly, all the ideas are correct, as far as I’m qualified to make such statements but they’re presented in such a determinedly inoffensive manner that you’re somehow bored by these incredibly radical writers.
September 8, 2024
Si te gusta leer sobre el ser humano, psicología, historia y filosofía; definitivamente debes leer éste libro.
Entender qué es el ser humano es una de las preguntas más interesantes y difíciles de entender que existen, y sin embargo de alguna u otra forma la humanidad misma ha tratado de resolverla, ¿ha tenido éxito? Tal vez sí, tal vez no; pero es fascinante tratar de comprender cada una de las propuestas que se han hecho a lo largo del tiempo.
Entender qué es el ser humano es una de las preguntas más interesantes y difíciles de entender que existen, y sin embargo de alguna u otra forma la humanidad misma ha tratado de resolverla, ¿ha tenido éxito? Tal vez sí, tal vez no; pero es fascinante tratar de comprender cada una de las propuestas que se han hecho a lo largo del tiempo.
February 19, 2022
Great book. It gave helpful introductions to a wide range of theories and, I think, did justice to them. There weren’t biases against cultures, beliefs, or values, but a helpful description and a healthy critique/discussion of each. This helped me greatly in broadening my understanding of beliefs as disparate as Confucianism to platonism
July 28, 2024
I read this book in conjunction with a short course on Human Nature — all in all a very good experience. I thought this book was clearly written and readily understood by a person who is interested, but not well-versed, in philosophical topics.
July 6, 2018
Stevenson masterfully presents different theories of human nature based on different worldviews. It is an exceptional book and I highly recommend it.
April 1, 2022
Good introductory reading for humanity. 🤣
December 8, 2022
3.5 stars
November 15, 2023
الكتاب منحاز إلى حد ما تجاه الفلسفة الحديثة والعقلانية والنظرة العامة للثقافات تجاه المرأة لم أجد المتعة في قراءته مع أنني وجدت فيه المعارف الجديدة لدي.
November 23, 2023
الكتاب ممتاز وشامل فيما عدا الفصل بتاع النظرية النسوية، فهو غير مفهوم وغير مُعتنى به بالمرة. والأسلوب الترجمي كان بحاجة لبعض التنقيح.
April 18, 2024
A great, compact overview of philosophies from the very Ealy vedanta to modern neodarwism. It's not for the casual reader but a good companion to courses.
June 9, 2024
تم في 9/6/2024
October 18, 2025
This is an excellent overview of different views about human nature including philosophic, religious, and scientific approaches.
May 18, 2025
I found this book very useful. Since reading it I have used it in a classroom setting with undergraduate students and they benefitted substantially from the way in which the material was presented.
I agree with the other reviewers who found that the treatment of all sections of the book is not even.
Nevertheless the book is designed to be used in a learning and teaching setting and makes for easy reading.
I agree with the other reviewers who found that the treatment of all sections of the book is not even.
Nevertheless the book is designed to be used in a learning and teaching setting and makes for easy reading.
January 12, 2020
This is my textbook for my class on Human Nature (a blended psychology/philosophy course in undergrad psychology).
The writing style is so terrible. Dry. Dense. Overly verbose. Extremely bizarre sentences that run on forever or veer off into weird tangents. Clearly the author just wants to prove how smart they are by writing in a ridiculous, overly-academic style and it is not working. I literally can barely get through this fucking book and I have the highest GPA in my year of my program, so clearly the problem is not that I'm just an idiot. If you can't explain an idea clearly and succinctly, don't try to be a textbook writer. Just don't. The chapter on Darwin made me want to claw my fucking eyes out (and yet I didn't feel the same way when studying Darwin in my history of psychology class because that textbook writer could actually write his way out of a paper bag, unlike Stevenson... Sorry for the harsh truths.).
Some of the information itself was interesting. The earlier chapters were better. There were some mild chuckles to be had at the snarky tone the writer took during the Bible chapter. But overall, trying to get through a chapter of this book was always the low point of my week. Would definitely recommend staying away from any class that has this on the syllabus.
I would never read this book again, not even if you paid me to do it.
The writing style is so terrible. Dry. Dense. Overly verbose. Extremely bizarre sentences that run on forever or veer off into weird tangents. Clearly the author just wants to prove how smart they are by writing in a ridiculous, overly-academic style and it is not working. I literally can barely get through this fucking book and I have the highest GPA in my year of my program, so clearly the problem is not that I'm just an idiot. If you can't explain an idea clearly and succinctly, don't try to be a textbook writer. Just don't. The chapter on Darwin made me want to claw my fucking eyes out (and yet I didn't feel the same way when studying Darwin in my history of psychology class because that textbook writer could actually write his way out of a paper bag, unlike Stevenson... Sorry for the harsh truths.).
Some of the information itself was interesting. The earlier chapters were better. There were some mild chuckles to be had at the snarky tone the writer took during the Bible chapter. But overall, trying to get through a chapter of this book was always the low point of my week. Would definitely recommend staying away from any class that has this on the syllabus.
I would never read this book again, not even if you paid me to do it.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews