The Concept of ‘Menschenbilder’

Abstract

The term “Menschenbild” (understanding of the human being) plays an important role in German public and academic discourse, including many branches of philosophy. However, at the same time, the term in highly contested in philosophy. By analyzing the debates in moral and legal philosophy, this paper shows that many disagreements stem from two severe misunderstandings: While the critics of the term have ideological understandings of the human being in mind, advocates think of basic anthropological assumptions; and while critics hold that <italic>Menschenbilds</italic> are unsuited for theoretical justifications, supporters emphasize their role for practical contexts. Both misunderstandings could be avoided by distinguishing more clearly between ideological and non-ideological <italic>Menschenbilds</italic> on the one hand, and between theoretical and practical <italic>Menschenbilds</italic> on the other hand.