Images of Man

Under the heading of “images of man” or “human images” (German: Menschenbilder), this chapter deals with those paradigms of being human which describe the goal or destiny to what a human being could or should develop realizing his or her potentials during their lifetime. Because human nature has a specific “world openness” (German: Weltoffenheit) and is characterized by a significant expressivity there is not only one “image of man” or “human image” in the history of culture, but a significant number of such “images.” Each one is rich in content and normative in function (as guiding goal of education, as paradigm of developing personal identity, as morally orientating pattern in the field of action, and others). This chapter analyzes the roots of such “images of man” or “human images,” their character as “comprehensive doctrines” and various significant types that occur.