EPS Article Library

Natural Anthropology and Revealed Anthropology

by Jean-Baptiste Guillon

Let’s define revealed anthropology as the conception of human beings at which we can arrive thanks to the information of the Christian revelation (the Bible, and whatever magisterial documents, if one recognizes such authorities).

And let’s define natural anthropology as the conception of human beings at which we can arrive by the natural light of reason alone, unaided by the revelation. It is tempting for Christian philosophers to concentrate only on revealed anthropology, considered as providing the true anthropology.

In this paper, I argue that Christian philosophers should investigate more precisely natural anthropology and the relationship it has with revealed anthropology. I argue that discoveries in natural anthropology can affect our understanding of revealed anthropology itself.

The full-text of this paper is available for FREE by clicking here. It is part of an ongoing EPS web project focused on a Philosophy of Theological Anthropology.