Where does our view of humanity come from?

Starting from his own view of humanity, Svend Brinkmann offers a perspective on what our view of humanity may be shaped by and how it is reflected in the way we generally relate to other human beings. He did so in connection with Bevica Foundation’s 150th anniversary in 2022 in this video:

His view of humanity emphasises that human beings are capable of being formed to become free, but that we are also dependent on one another.

“We are not born free. We are born relational. And it is also important to my view of humanity that we are connected, that we are bound to others. Of course, we are so to a very high degree from birth, but we continue to be so throughout life. Sometimes we forget this and believe that we can stand on our own in life without the help of others. And as soon as we encounter a crisis of some kind, we realise that we could not, after all,” he explains.

His view of humanity thus places emphasis on the fact that we are fundamentally connected to one another.

“Løgstrup, our famous Danish theologian and philosopher, called it interdependence. We are interdependent beings, mutually dependent. Yet out of that interdependence we can still become free. Being connected to others is not an obstacle to becoming free. It is a prerequisite for becoming free as adults who can take responsibility for what we do, who can act and justify our actions and discuss them with others,” he notes.

He also formulates it in another way, describing it as a fundamentally Greek view of humanity that sees the human being as a creature that can be perfected.

“Our human nature has a potential that can be expressed if it is formed. But where I would like to discipline Greek perfectionism with the heritage of Christianity, which precisely says that we are also imperfect. We can never become perfect. We may strive to be mature, responsible people who have control over our lives, but in a certain sense we can never fully achieve that, and there is a point to this. That is why we must forgive one another when we fail all the time,” he points out.

Because of our interdependence, our connections to others, we owe one another something, Brinkmann argues. When we are able to help someone in need, we actually have a duty to do so. That duty arises from the ability to act, he says.

“I have mentioned Løgstrup and his famous formulation of the ethical demand: ‘We never have to do with another human being without holding something of that person’s life in our hands.’ This arises from our mutual connectedness. We can choose to use the power we have over another for our own benefit, to manipulate others and act for personal gain. Or we can use the power we have over another for the good of that other person. And that is what Løgstrup claims, rightly in my view, that we are called upon to do. It is something we ought to do,” he concludes.

The video is part of a series of 12 films in which we invite experts and prominent voices from society to share their reflections on how an inclusive view of humanity can help shape and transform our shared future. The films were produced in connection with Bevica Foundation’s 150th anniversary.