Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?

The transition from pre-human to human has, for a long time, been associated with tool use and construction. The implicit self-definition of humans in this is that of planned control over life world. This is reflected on in the work of Hanna Arendt on the homo faber and the novel by Max Frisch of that name. However, this definition has become problematic in a number of ways: Planned tool use has been seen to occur outside the human species, and the focus on control of the environment has become suspect because of the environmental crisis. The burial practices of Homo naledi indicate high-level self-awareness and social communication, with little tool use being evident. This article asks whether this might be an occasion to redefine our conception of what it means to be human away from the focus on mastery and control and towards including trust, also religious trust, as the true mark of humanity.

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Main Author: Tönsing,Detlev L.
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2017
Online Access:http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222017000300081
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spelling oai:scielo:S0259-942220170003000812018-02-02Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?Tönsing,Detlev L.The transition from pre-human to human has, for a long time, been associated with tool use and construction. The implicit self-definition of humans in this is that of planned control over life world. This is reflected on in the work of Hanna Arendt on the homo faber and the novel by Max Frisch of that name. However, this definition has become problematic in a number of ways: Planned tool use has been seen to occur outside the human species, and the focus on control of the environment has become suspect because of the environmental crisis. The burial practices of Homo naledi indicate high-level self-awareness and social communication, with little tool use being evident. This article asks whether this might be an occasion to redefine our conception of what it means to be human away from the focus on mastery and control and towards including trust, also religious trust, as the true mark of humanity. University of Pretoria HTS Theological Studies v.73 n.3 20172017-01-01journal articletext/htmlhttp://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222017000300081en
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language English
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author Tönsing,Detlev L.
spellingShingle Tönsing,Detlev L.
Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?
author_facet Tönsing,Detlev L.
author_sort Tönsing,Detlev L.
title Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?
title_short Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?
title_full Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?
title_fullStr Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?
title_full_unstemmed Homo faber or homo credente? What defines humans, and what could Homo naledi contribute to this debate?
title_sort homo faber or homo credente? what defines humans, and what could homo naledi contribute to this debate?
description The transition from pre-human to human has, for a long time, been associated with tool use and construction. The implicit self-definition of humans in this is that of planned control over life world. This is reflected on in the work of Hanna Arendt on the homo faber and the novel by Max Frisch of that name. However, this definition has become problematic in a number of ways: Planned tool use has been seen to occur outside the human species, and the focus on control of the environment has become suspect because of the environmental crisis. The burial practices of Homo naledi indicate high-level self-awareness and social communication, with little tool use being evident. This article asks whether this might be an occasion to redefine our conception of what it means to be human away from the focus on mastery and control and towards including trust, also religious trust, as the true mark of humanity.
publisher University of Pretoria
publishDate 2017
url http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222017000300081
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