Exploring Personhood: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Human Nature

(Paperback)

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Exploring Personhood examines the metaphysical underpinnings of theories of human nature, personhood, and the self. The history of western philosophy provides the framework for broaching critical questions pertinent to these three topics. The book explores philosophical anthropology on its most foundational level, with a focus on the basic constituents of the unified self. The coverage of the work is broad in scope, moving from the Pre-Socratics to Postmodernism, critically assessing what transpired during the intervening 2500 year period, but with special attentiveness to the contributions of the Aristotelian/Thomistic tradition of inquiry. While each chapter can stand on its own, they collectively reveal a developing story that finds expression in diverse attempts to come to terms with what it means to be human, and how we understand ourselves as persons. This book is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of readers, from beginners to more advanced students.

Reviews

Readers undeterred by fears of "foundationalism" will appreciate Torchia's study as a hearty meal in a day when so many offerings are thin and unsatisfying. . . . Exploring Personhood is modestly offered as an "alternative account." It is an account that deserves attention, especially by those disinclined to examine it. * Theological Studies *
Exploring Personhood is much more than an introductory text. It argues for the Thomistic view of the human person in our world of seemingly irreconcilable pluralism in philosophy through a sweeping survey of the history of Western philosophy from the Presocratics to Postmodernism. -- Roland Teske, S.J., Marquette University

Author Bio

Joseph Torchia, O.P., is associate professor of philosophy at Providence College. He is the editor-in-chief of The Thomist and the author of Plotinus, Tolma, and the Descent of Being: An Exposition and Analysis and Creatio ex nihilo and the Theology of St. Augustine: The Anti-Manichaean Polemic And Beyond.