Can Science Explain Human Nature?

Abstract

Abstract Human nature is central to the natural and social sciences, as well as philosophy and other fields of the humanities. Yet an adequate characterization eludes us. Why? Chapter 10 suggests that looking at science for an elucidation of human nature is a mistake. If human nature is something that science cannot explain, where else should an explanation be sought? Traditional humanistic approaches fared no better. How do we get out of this quagmire? The chapter begins by revisiting an influential debate between Chomsky and Foucault. Foucault quips that human nature constitutes an “epistemological indicator,” a designator of a specific kind of discourse. Sparked by Foucault’s intriguing remarks, the chapter develops a more systematic notion of epistemological indicator that captures why, although there can be no scientific explanation of human nature, the concept nonetheless remains central to scientific inquiry. The final section revisits one final time the ten philosophical questions tracing the book’s intellectual adventure.