“The Spiritual Nature of Man”
Anselm Muller, University of Trier
Cosponsored by the Department of Philosophy
Are human beings essentially spiritual creatures or can human life be explained entirely by material principles? The great twentieth century philosopher, Elizabeth Anscombe, suggests that we are essentially spiritual beings because we are naturally and consciously oriented beyond our material life toward transcendent norms of truth and goodness. This is the ground of our dignity and value over other, non-spiritual animals.