# Human condition > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Human_condition > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Human_condition.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_condition > Source revision: 1353018417 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Ultimate concerns of human existence}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Other uses}} [[File:StillLifeWithASkull.jpg|thumb|This painting, with symbols of life, death, and time, is an example of ''[memento mori](/source/memento_mori)'' art.{{Cite web |last=Ostberg |first=R |date=January 18, 2023 |title=Memento mori |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/memento-mori }}]] The '''human condition''' can be defined as the characteristics and key events of [human](/source/human) life, including [birth](/source/childbirth), [learning](/source/learning), [emotion](/source/emotion), aspiration, [reason](/source/reason), [morality](/source/morality), conflict, and [death](/source/death). This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed from many perspectives, including those of [art](/source/art), [biology](/source/biology), [literature](/source/literature), [philosophy](/source/philosophy), [psychology](/source/psychology), [theology](/source/theology) and [religion](/source/religion). As a [literary term](/source/terminology), "human condition" is typically used in the context of ambiguous subjects, such as the [meaning of life](/source/meaning_of_life) or moral concerns.{{cite web |url=http://learn.lexiconic.net/humancondition.htm |title=The Human Condition in Literature |author=C. Welch |access-date=28 April 2021}} ==Some perspectives== Each [major religion](/source/major_religious_groups) has definitive beliefs regarding the human condition. For example, [Buddhism](/source/Buddhism) [teaches](/source/Four_Noble_Truths) that existence is a [perpetual cycle](/source/Samsara) of [suffering](/source/dukkha), death, and rebirth from which humans can be [liberated](/source/Nirvana) via the [Noble Eightfold Path](/source/Noble_Eightfold_Path). Meanwhile, many [Christians](/source/Christianity) believe that humans are born in a [sinful condition](/source/original_sin) and are [doomed](/source/Christian_views_on_hell) in the [afterlife](/source/afterlife) unless they receive [salvation](/source/Salvation_(Christianity)) through [Jesus Christ](/source/Jesus). Philosophers have provided many perspectives.{{Cite journal |last=Kanterian |first=Edward |date=2024-09-28 |title=The Burden of Philosophy: Evil and the Human Condition |url=https://doi.org/10.2478/ress-2024-0020 |journal=Review of Ecumenical Studies |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=291–316 |issn=2359-8107}} An influential ancient view was that of the ''[Republic](/source/The_Republic_(Plato))'' in which [Plato](/source/Plato) explored the question "what is justice?" and postulated that it is not primarily a matter among individuals but of [society](/source/society) as a whole, prompting him to devise a [utopia](/source/utopia). Two thousand years later [René Descartes](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes) declared "[I think, therefore I am](/source/Cogito_ergo_sum)" because he believed the human [mind](/source/mind), particularly its faculty of [reason](/source/reason), to be the primary determiner of [truth](/source/truth); for this he is often credited as the father of [modern philosophy](/source/modern_philosophy).[Bertrand Russell](/source/Bertrand_Russell) (2004), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ey94E3sOMA0C&pg=PA511 ''History of Western Philosophy''], pp. 511, 516–7. One such modern school, [existentialism](/source/existentialism), attempts to reconcile an individual's sense of disorientation and confusion in a universe believed to be [absurd](/source/absurdism). Many works of literature provide a perspective on the human condition, often portraying it as a system of tensions that characters might not fully resolve. Conflicts such as belonging versus individuality, control versus uncertainty, perception versus reality, stability versus change, and equality versus hierarchy are central to developing humanity and shaping the process of self development. Famous examples of this in literature are [Shakespeare's](/source/William_Shakespeare) monologue "[All the world's a stage](/source/All_the_world's_a_stage)" which pensively summarizes seven phases of human life{{Cite web |date=2019-12-12 |title='All The World's A Stage': Quote & Meaning |url=https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/famous/all-the-worlds-a-stage/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=No Sweat Shakespeare |language=en-US}}, and Fitzgerald’s ''[The Great Gatsby](/source/The_Great_Gatsby)'' where characters are chasing illusions of wealth, love, and status that doesn’t match their reality. Psychology has many theories, including [Maslow's hierarchy of needs](/source/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs) and the notions of [identity crisis](/source/identity_crisis) and [terror management](/source/Terror_management_theory). It also has various methods, e.g. the [logotherapy](/source/logotherapy) developed by [Holocaust](/source/The_Holocaust) survivor [Viktor Frankl](/source/Viktor_Frankl) to discover and affirm a sense of meaning. Another method, [cognitive behavioral therapy](/source/cognitive_behavioral_therapy), has become a widespread treatment for [clinical depression](/source/major_depressive_disorder).{{cite journal |author1=Driessen Ellen |author2=Hollon Steven D | year = 2010 | title = Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Mood Disorders: Efficacy, Moderators and Mediators | journal = Psychiatric Clinics of North America | volume = 33 | issue = 3| pages = 537–55 |doi=10.1016/j.psc.2010.04.005 | pmid=20599132 | pmc=2933381}} [Charles Darwin](/source/Charles_Darwin) established the biological [theory](/source/scientific_theory) of [evolution](/source/evolution), which posits that the human [species](/source/species) is related to all others, living and extinct, and that [natural selection](/source/natural_selection) is the primary survival factor. This led to subsequent beliefs, such as [social Darwinism](/source/social_Darwinism), which eventually lost its connection to natural selection, {{cite book| last = Bowler| first = Peter J.| year = 2003| title = Evolution: The History of an Idea| edition = 3rd |publisher=[University of California Press](/source/University_of_California_Press)|page=179| isbn = 978-0520236936| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/evolutionhistory0000bowl_n7y8}} and [theistic evolution](/source/theistic_evolution) of a [creator deity](/source/creator_deity) acting through laws of nature, including evolution.{{cite web|title=The Creation/Evolution Continuum | website=[National Center for Science Education](/source/National_Center_for_Science_Education)|url=https://ncse.ngo/creationevolution-continuum|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=22 June 2022|access-date=January 26, 2024|archive-date=January 26, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240126235939/https://ncse.ngo/creationevolution-continuum}} ==See also== {{Wiktionary | human condition}} * [Human nature](/source/Human_nature) * [Know thyself](/source/Know_thyself) == References == {{Reflist}} {{Humanities}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Human Condition}} Category:Concepts in philosophical anthropology Category:Concepts in social philosophy Category:Concepts in the philosophy of mind Category:Existentialist concepts Category:Humans Category:Personal life Category:Philosophy of life Category:Psychological concepts --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Human condition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_condition) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_condition?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.