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Philosophy and Culture
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Gurevich P.S. Human. Who is He?

Abstract: The subject of the research is the human identity in the situation of changing views on human nature. In the vocabulary of philosophical anthropology the terms 'human nature' and 'identity' have been reviewed and changed most of all over the past decades. Not too long ago 'human nature' was understood as a set of stable and permanent features, general dispositions and characteristics that express peculiarities of human as a living creature and that attribute to Homo sapiens at all times disregarding biological evolution and historical process. Today there are many debates on who a living creature is and what distinguishes a living creature from a cyborg. Moreover, the term 'human nature' loses its universal and abstract meaning. When a certain part of human population starts to become 'post-humans', general characteristics of human should become unstable, too. This raises a question about what part of humanity can be described through human nature. However, even more difficulties appeared when the term 'identity' was interpreted. In his article Gurevich has used the methodology of philosophical anthropology. Today's philosophical anthropology is not only a branch of philosophy or a certain philosophical discipline but a special way of thinking that can't be explained by the means of formal or dialectic logic. The initial point of anthopological philosophy has always been human in a concrete historical, social, existential or psychological situation. In his article Gurevich shows that modern transhumanism does not view human as an animal any more but at the same time human is not viewed as a social creature either. All the previous philosophical concepts of human are not 'legal' any more. We witness human stop being an animal. Transhumanists are not satisfied with the biological form of life any more. They prove that anthropomorphism is just one of the variants of intelligent life, thus other variants of intelligent life are also possible. However, human is not a social creature any more either. Quantum thinking creates new forms of coexistence and allows to distinguish an intelligent being from the social world. However, this is not the whole story. A new intelligent being becomes a Messiah who is intended to put the Universe in order and to achieve his destination which will allow to win the competition with other nonearthly creatures. All the previous definitions of identity become demolished. 


Keywords:

philosophy, mind, human nature, identity, life, post-human, being, existence, quantum thinking, sociality, spirit


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