Thinking Of Human Nature & The Universe

Philosophers have used two different theories to prove that on some level human nature and the universe are connected. However, these theories, the "Stoic Doctrine of Natural Law" and the "Theory of Knowledge", differ in their approaches to studying human nature.Empiricists and rationalists used the "Theory of Knowledge" to express their own ideas of the Universe.

The "Stoic Doctrine of Natural Law" theorized that the natural world has an order that can be explained by reason.The Stoics believed that by looking outward to nature and the universe and explaining the mysteries they found, they could explain the mysteries of the human mind.Through this theory, they concluded that human beings are unique in the universe because of their ability to use reason to live freely but in accordance with the natural order of things.

The "Theory of Knowledge" developed in the 1700's by British empiricists and Continental Rationalists, states tat all knowledge of nature and the universe was originally formed as a question in the human mind.Therefor, if we focus our studies on the workings of our own minds, we gain insight into the world around us.

Empiricists belived that you cna never know anything more than what you see, feel, hear, touch or taste.That everyting we know need solely be based on fact and all facts are formed through true knowledge.One such empiricist, David Hume, who wrote "A Treatise of Human Nature", believed that if we could further understand tha basis of which human knowledge is supported, then who knows what improvements might be made in other sciences.

Rationalists believe there are things that we know only through reason.Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason": "indifference, doubt, and, in the final issue, severe criticism, are themselves proof of a profound habit of thought.Our age is the age of criticism and to criticism everything must submit.