Ebooks for the Classroom+Faculty

A Systems View Of Man
ISBN: 9780429048333
Platform/Publisher: Taylor & Francis / Routledge
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: Social Sciences; Sociology & Social Policy;

What does it mean to be human? What distinguishes man from other animals? âeoeMan's creation of the universe of symbols,âe replies Ludwig von Bertalanffy. âeoeMan lives in a world not of things, but of symbols.âe Dr. von Bertalanffy explores the historical development of symbolic language, examines the nature of human values, and shows how a current breakdown of symbolic universes contributes to the feeling of meaninglessness so prevalent in modern society. He notes that a major portion of mankind's aggressive acts are not biologically induced but arise within symbolic frameworks.