Biological and Anthropological Foundations of Arnold Gehlen's Political Theory

• Authors: Sonia Horonziak

Abstracts

EN

The problem of the body-soul separation has long been the subject of both philosophy and science. There is no doubt that man is a biological being. What is not certain is how human biology influences our actions and decision processes. Does it constitute humanity or is it just an excess. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Arnold Gehlen, who laid the foundations of the institutional theory, stated that man is a being marked by a deficiency. This statement was derived precisely from man’s biological deficiencies. At the same time, those influenced the human’s ability to create complex institutional systems. From the biological foundations of the analysis of man as a psychophysical being, Gehlen derived the need to establish a system of rules and norms that helps us to survive. This article will primarily discuss the biological foundations of Gehlen's theory. It will show how this 20th century anthropologist moved from researching the biological aspects of individuals to the cultural challenges faced by modern humans.

Keywords

EN

political anthropology; philosophical anthropology; Mängelwesen; Arnold Gehlen; language origin; institution theory

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Jagielloński
• Journal: Teoria Polityki
• Year: 2021
• Volume: 5
• Pages: 161-172

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Sonia Horonziak

• Polska Akademia Nauk - Stacja Naukowa PAN w Wiedniu

• https://orcid.org/0000000174776600

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Identifiers

DOI

10.4467/25440845TP.21.011.13791

Biblioteka Nauki

2046442