John Cottingham

Human Nature and the Transcendent

Let me start with the enigmatic dictum of Blaise Pascal: ‘lhomme passe lhomme’ – ‘man goes beyond himself’; ‘humanity transcends itself’. What does this mean? On one plausible interpretation, Pascal is adverting to that strange restlessness of the human spirit which so many philosophers have pondered on, from Augustine before him, to Kierkegaard and many subsequent writers since. To be human is to recognize that we are, in a certain sense, incomplete beings. We are on a journey to a horizon that always seems to recede from view. Unlike all the other animals, who need nothing further for their thriving and flourishing once the appropriate environmental conditions are provided, human beings, even when all their needs are catered for – physical, biological, social, cultural – and even when they enjoy a maximally secure and enriching environment, still have a certain resistance to resting content with existence defined within a given set of parameters. They still have the restless drive to reach forward to something more.

The Question of Ageing

Abstract For humans, as for other animal species, old age is a good, provided that the disease and decrepitude that often accompany it are not so severe as to swamp further flourishing. This accords with Aristotles holistic account of flourishing, which embraces the entire biological lifespan. However, Aristotles stress on rational activity as the key to human fulfilment suggests flourishing may be eroded in proportion as the intellectual faculties deteriorate. The Judeo-Christian tradition, by contrast, construes human flourishing primarily in terms of moral integrity, so allowing that old age (and its associated infirmities) can bring with it its own contribution to a worthwhile life. These Judeo-Christian lessons on ageing do not, as is commonly supposed, depend on whether there will be an after life in which the pains of aging will be eliminated.