Philosophy of Hans Jonas - Essay Example

? Philosophy of Hans Jonas Philosophical biology according to Hans Jonas is the realization of many ethical issues facing the modern science. Hans Jonas never believed in cognitive science but for him, philosophy of biology has generated the maximum balance in a health science. In general, some philosophers adapted the philosophy of biology to explain their views on the modern biology. These philosophers, Aristotle from Greece, Rene Descartes from France, and Immanuel Kant from Germany believed that biology is part of God’s creation. Hans Jonas studied the philosophy of biology and at some point made the whole theory belong to him, this resulted in many philosophers following suite. It is for this reason that the philosophy of biology has become an independent subject of its own and this was realized fifty decades ago. Hans Jonas’s thought of biology in terms of life and this made his work willingly easier. For him, life was not just a living presence but also a cognitive science of a living being. Many philosophers of biology ignored to cover the traditional mechanism of life in a living being and instead covered the theory of modern biology. Philosophy of Hans Jonas Hans Jonas discovered the phenomenal origin of life in relations to biology, and this quickly changed into a venture of philosophy. Hans Jonas justified the thought between God’s creation and the existence of life on earth. From the introduction of Deoxyribonucleic acid (D.N.A) to the study of psychology, biology has become an important aspect in life. Hans Jonas examined that the philosophy of biology can sometimes be interpreted in the same concept as theoretical biology. This is because of the mathematical concept involved in the study of medicine in theoretical biology. Hans Jonas made the study even more related to the philosophy of biology by using genes to examine both theories of biology. According to Hans Jonas, the main issue facing many scientists is doing a research on the living beings without the experimental exploitation. Hans Jonas stresses out that the main solution is putting across and explaining the individual rights to biological theories. The medical experts have attributed outbreak of various diseases to lack of human experiments. Hans Jonas examines the philosophy of biology and reflects on the justification of medical experiments on human beings. Hans Jonas also ponders on life as an experience that might have biological experiments of its own. According to him, not all aspects of life require biological attention as some human beings justify life as an experience. Though some philosophers have linked the two to biology, Jonas has come out to differentiate the two as stemming back to the traditional examination of biology. Hans Jonas has used this approach to differentiate the biblical theory of life from the philosophy of biology. Though Hans Jonas does not criticize the biblical concept attributed to life, he acknowledges the biological concept as an easier understanding of life. Hans Jonas has categorized life in three aspects and this has enabled many philosophers to understand biology more easily and as a result put it in their own understanding. Being is the first classification that Hans Jonas used to examine life. He acknowledged that without life, there would not be in existence any living being. He ponders this theory of life as a mortal tension between being and nonbeing. According to him, the idea of death causes trauma in the minds of every being. Birth is more an intellectual theory of life than death and Han Jonas examines that all beings would welcome the idea of birth more than death. Self and world is the second classification that Hans Jonas used to relate life to biology. Hans Jonas ponders into the idea that once an individual is born then he considers himself to be alone in this world. According to him, alone would mean owning your own life and not the physical self. He examines the fact that an individual has an access to his own life and therefore can live it the way he deems fit. Hans Jonas has connected this to the main reason for suicidal missions on a being’s life. Hans Jonas has also connected life to the world and self, simply because life has its existence in the world. He acknowledges that the world has brought into existence the main concept of life because of birth and death taking place in the world. Hans Jonas examines this reason to the idea of nonbeings laid to rest in the world while the newly born living beings coming into existence. Teleology is the third aspect classification of life that Hans Jonas put across to understand life in relation to biology. Hans Jonas explains that teleology is typically a philosophical belief that makes something come into existence. He explains that living beings have often used teleology to enhance development, both financially and biologically. He goes on to explain that living beings often set goals that they challenge themselves to meet. A living being can biologically set a target to lose or gain a few pounds and Hans Jonas relates this to life. He goes on to explain that beings would not be living without life in them. Some philosophers consider Hans Jonas approach wild but he has inexplicably related life experience in order to back his facts. He outlines that teleology has occupied a more biological than experimental status in beings life. He further clarifies that teleology has a fundamental importance to the life’s daily activities. He uses the thinking ability of a living being to clarify this point. He outlines that set goals by living beings enhances a more direct approach to life. Hans Jonas explains that teleology encourages a living being to improve his life in a unique way to other living beings. According to him, teleology examines the primary welfare of a living being and acts as a motivating factor of life. Teleology relates only to the living being, as it has no effect on the nonbeing. Hans Jonas clarifies that goals can only be set by the living beings. In this paper, Hans Jonas discusses the importance of philosophy of biology and he differentiates being human from the rest of life. Question 1. Philosophy of biology seeks to examine how living beings interact with the earth. This helps understand the behavioral functions of living beings especially if they interact with other living beings from another society. This will result in population increase of the living beings due to the social interaction perceived. Hans Jonas used this behavioral concept to differentiate between life as an experience and life as a philosophy of biology. Philosophy of biology also tends to study the environmental aspects that the living beings call home. Hans Jonas outlines the environment as the primary factor that commands the life of a living being (Brenner & Gayon, 2009, 203). He clarifies that a healthy living environment motivates a living being to make some necessary changes in his life. Hans Jonas further goes to explain the need for a living being to conserve the environment. He explains that poor environment can lead to a non-existence of life. This is because the environment plays a major role in providing a daily bread for the living being. Philosophy of biology also realized the fact that living beings do not necessarily need carbon dioxide in their body to meet the targets they have set. Hans Jonas made a more categorical approach to this as he outlined what a living being would require to possess a healthy life. He outlined that a living being requires good nutrition for a better health. This will encourage a healthy life, which Hans Jonas attributes to a good balanced diet. He explains that the nutrition or a balanced diet that living beings have as their meals originates from plants and animals. This is why Hans Jonas calls for a direct approach on environment conservation. The environment does not necessarily mean plants but the whole surrounding which also includes animals (Ben-Menahem, 2009, 4183). The philosophy of biology also ensures that a living being becomes aware of what pollutes the environment. Hans Jonas examines that the environment does not only play a part in providing a healthy diet to a living being but also exhibits beauty. He clarifies that an attractive environment motivates a living being in a self-conservation. An attractive environment also brings out the art that might excite the life of a living being. Hans Jonas also outlines that the philosophy of biology has led to the invention of several drugs that cure numerous diseases. These drugs have originated from plants and chemicals that have been reacted together for a common result. Hans Jonas still connects this to the environment and the importance of its conservation. He also examines the fact that most diseases are realized through experimental procedures on a living being. He outlines that most diseases have been brought to the living being’s attention through the philosophy of biology. Hans Jonas clarifies that most of these diseases are cured after an experiment on a living being’s body (Drenthen, Keulartz & Proctor, 2009, 119). He further goes on and explains that these diseases attack a living being through biological means and that gives the need of philosophy of biology. Question 2. Hans Jonas differentiates life of a living being through the various features in a being. Hans Jonas outlines that humans have a larger brain compared to animals. This is an advantage to humans since they think and reason using their brains in a way that animals cannot. Hans Jonas also clarifies that humans can maintain their own health by having a good nutrition or a balanced diet (Henning & Scarfe, 2013, 340). Animals or any other form of life like plants depends on humans to stay alive. Plants have to be watered during the dry spell while animals especially the domestic need maximum attention from humans to stay alive. Hans Jonas goes on to explain that humans can cure themselves of various chronic diseases and disorders. He explains that humans themselves invent the drugs that are needed to cure the diseases. Even though these drugs originate from plants and chemicals, humans are the ones who do the biological invention of these drugs coming into fruition. He further explains that the humans identify these diseases themselves after a thorough research, which attributes to the useful brain that they posses. Han Jones outlines that humans cook their food, unlike the other forms of life that depend on humans to offer them food. Humans differentiate from other forms of life since they can self-express themselves (Keller, 2010, 10). In fact, Hans Jonas explains that humans are the only form of life that can talk and convey messages unlike the other forms of life. Han Jones further examines that only humans recognize the importance of environment conservation. This is because other forms of life, most notable animals would eat the plants covering the environment for the purpose of killing starvation. While other forms of life might not realize the importance of environment, the same environment conserves their lives. It is only humans that posses pigmented skin upon birth unlike other forms of life. This pigmentation of the skin is termed as race and it can be black, brown, pink, or white. Humans can suffer health effects with lack of enough sleep as the average sleep in an adult human is nine hours unlike the other forms of life, which do not need sleep to stay healthy (Wiese, 2007, 40). Some animals for example can go days without sleep and still stay normal without any health issues. Hans Jonas also clarifies that the human brain gives humans the capability to think, and a far difference from other forms of life. Humans are the only biological form of life that can mend and wear clothes. Bibliography BRENNER, A., & GAYON, J. (2009). French studies in the philosophy of science: contemporary research in France. [Dordrecht], Springer. BEN-MENAHEM, A. (2009). Historical encyclopedia of natural and mathematical sciences. Berlin, Springer. DRENTHEN, M. A. M., KEULARTZ, J., & PROCTOR, J. D. (2009). New visions of nature: complexity and authenticity. Dordrecht, Springer. HENNING, B. G., & SCARFE, A. C. (2013). Beyond mechanism: putting life back into biology. KELLER, D. R. (2010). Environmental ethics: the big questions. Chichester, West Sussex, Wiley-Blackwell. WIESE, C. (2007). The life and thought of Hans Jonas: Jewish dimensions. Waltham, Mass, Brandeis University Press. Read More