What is Human Nature?
What Is Human Nature?
Since the dawn of consciousness, we humans have been on a quest to figure out who we really are. Are we inherently good? Are we inclined toward evil? Are we born innocent, a tabula rasa, only to be shaped by our environment? In this class, students explore these questions by looking into literature. Golding employs a Hobbesian view of humanity in Lord of the Flies. Thoreau's Walden and Emerson's "Self-Reliance" provide a transcendental view. Finally, the class delves into Voltaire's biting satire Candide.
In "What is Human Nature," students delve deep into the writings of important philosophers and themselves to question what they hold to be true. On the first day of class, students participate in an activity which determines their moral stances on certain issues. On the the last day, students participate in the same activity to see if their views have changed. More often than not, they have! By working introspectively and by reading the works of great philosophers students learn about the world and themselves.
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Sample Assignments
(1) Write a two-paragraph piece that follows the grammatical constructions and echoes the style of Thoreau in the first two paragraphs of "Walking."
(2) Write your opinion on why or why not the U.S. should open “Safe Injection Sites” for people with heroin and IV drug addictions. Defend your opinions with philosophy learned in class.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
Hobbes, Of the State of Men without Civil Society
Williams, A Critique of Utilitarianism
The United Nations Charter: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Mill, Utilitarianism
Emerson, Self-Reliance
Royce, The Moral Insight
Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
Golding, Lord of the Flies
Transcendentalism
Utilitarianism
Hobbesian Philosophy
Many, many more types of philosophy
Student Q&A
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.