Each
major religion has definitive beliefs regarding the human condition. For example,
Buddhism teaches that existence is a
perpetual cycle of
suffering, death, and rebirth from which humans can be
liberated via the
Noble Eightfold Path. Meanwhile, many
Christians believe that humans are born in a
sinful condition and are
doomed in the
afterlife unless they receive
salvation through
Jesus Christ. Philosophers have provided many perspectives. An influential ancient view was that of the
Republic in which
Plato explored the question "what is justice?" and postulated that it is not primarily a matter among individuals but of
society as a whole, prompting him to devise a
utopia. Two thousand years later
René Descartes declared "
I think, therefore I am" because he believed the human
mind, particularly its faculty of
reason, to be the primary determiner of
truth; for this he is often credited as the father of
modern philosophy. One such modern school,
existentialism, attempts to reconcile an individual's sense of disorientation and confusion in a universe believed to be
absurd. Many works of literature provide a perspective on the human condition. Psychology has many theories, including
Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the notions of
identity crisis and
terror management. It also has various methods, e.g. the
logotherapy developed by
Holocaust survivor
Viktor Frankl to discover and affirm a sense of meaning. Another method,
cognitive behavioral therapy, has become a widespread treatment for
clinical depression.
Charles Darwin established the biological
theory of
evolution, which posits that the human
species is related to all others, living and extinct, and that
natural selection is the primary survival factor. This led to subsequent beliefs, such as
social Darwinism, which eventually lost its connection to natural selection, {{cite book| last = Bowler| first = Peter J.| year = 2003| title = Evolution: The History of an Idea| edition = 3rd ==See also==