Philosophical Anthropology

In the narrower sense, the systematic research and description of the essential characteristics of man is to be understood as philosophical anthropology. In a broader sense, it encompasses the history of human self-interpretation from the Greeks to the present day.

According to some of these teachings, human beings are to be qualitatively distinguished from other organisms by their personality, i.e. their relative freedom of choice and the possibility of self-determination. However, the actual existence of such properties is highly disputed.