Can Science Explain Human Nature? - Marco Nathan (University of Denver)

Human nature is central to the natural and social sciences, as well as philosophy and other fields of the humanities. Yet, an adequate characterization eludes us. Looking at science for an elucidation of human nature is a no-go. Traditional philosophical approaches fare no better. How do we get out of this quagmire? In his influential debate with Chomsky, Foucault quipped that human nature constitutes an “epistemological indicator,” a designator of a specific kind of discourse. Sparked by Foucault’s intriguing albeit vague remarks, I develop more systematically a notion of epistemological indicator which captures why, although there can be no scientific explanation of human nature, the concept nonetheless remains central to naturalistic inquiry.