13 This view in particular has become popular among economists and political thinkers in the field of sociobiology. The Psychological-Nihilist View The Existentialist view of human nature (which I have called Nihilist) is currently diffused into various academic disciplines. Existentialists like Jean-Paul Sartre believed that humans had no nature at all. As Sartre would put it, “existence comes before essence.”6 One develops an “essence” (or nature) by acting in the world, by using one’s freedom. In one sense this view resembles Locke’s blank slate, but Locke allowed for some preexisting “structure” of the mind that cooperated in shaping the human being. This structure was “built in” by God. But Sartre was an atheist. Therefore, the human came into the world with essentially nothing and thus “makes” himself into what he will become. Man is not predetermined but, rather, self-determined. The Psychological view, on the other hand, derives its understanding of human nature from observation and experimentation. Seeking scientific respectability, psychologists tended to move toward more naturalistic explanations for human behavior.7 But they still were faced with the problem of how to explain external behavior with a satisfactory internal view of human nature. Locke’s “white paper” theory was popular, as was a purely physical-material explanation. The problem has not really disappeared. At present, the dominant view of human nature among psychologists is some variation of the blank slate, though some have argued that humans have no nature. In addition, psychologists have been attracted to the theory of evolution, which teaches that human behavior and the “mind,” have changed over a long period of time for the better. It is not always clear how psychologists have reconciled these different views within the profession. But it is certain that none except Christian psychologists still accept the traditional Christian understanding of human nature — yet it is a crucial issue in the discipline. Explaining why human beings do what they do cannot be done simply by observing stimuli and resultant behavior, as the Behaviorists did in connection with B. F. Skinner’s views. It may be the dominant view that “Human behavior is a product both of our innate human nature and of our individual 6 Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism and Humanism, translated by P. Mairet. Methuen, 1948. 7 Leslie Stevenson and David L. Haberman, Ten Theories of Human Nature, Third edition. Oxford University, 1998, 189.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=