“THE MYSTERY OF HUMAN UNIQUENESS”: COMMON SENSE, SCIENCE, AND JUDAISM
Alan L. Mittleman
Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science April 28, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12899 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that commonsense views of humans as unique in kind and value conflict with scientific views that treat human uniqueness as at most a matter of degree and prescind from value judgments, and proposes that a Jewish approach can join these perspectives without giving up on either. |
Abstract
Uniqueness implies singularity, incomparability. Nonetheless, as applied to everything within the human lifeworld, including ourselves, uniqueness is relativized. This becomes clear in the tension between “commonsensical” and “scientific” perspectives on the human. Our commonsense approach posits that human beings are unique among animals—unique because of our properties, most especially our consciousness, as well as because of our significance and value. From a scientific perspective, however, the uniqueness of the human—if it can be affirmed at all—is possibly a matter of degree, not kind. Additionally, the scientific perspective prescinds from judgments of the value of the human. To join these perspectives, without giving up on the importance of either one, is a philosophical and theological challenge. A Jewish approach to the challenge is offered here.