On Monday evening, a familiar image was displayed in the auditorium of the University of Bern: one of the Einstein benches well known across the city. But instead of a tourist sitting on it, as usual, the photograph showed this year's Einstein Lecturer: The world-renowned philosopher Susan R. Wolf, seemingly engrossed in a discussion with the statue of the great physicist. “Einstein didn't say much,” jokes the American, “I had to carry the conversation.”

At the beginning of the first of three evenings at the University of Bern, during which she will present central aspects of her work, Wolf said that she does not know what the real namesake of the lecture series would have said about her philosophical positions. However, she explicitly hoped that her first lecture would continue the Einsteinian spirit. Being a humanistically oriented scientist, the founder of the Theory of Relativity also showed great interest in today's topic – the question of human nature.

An old question, newly thought

It is well known that people generally prefer to occupy themselves with themselves. Often this merely expresses self-love. But just as often it testifies to sincere intellectual curiosity. After all, the question of what characterizes human nature is one of the oldest and most central in the history of thought. Especially practical philosophers like Susan Wolf, who examine how we as human beings should live, act and treat each other, are in need of a clear concept of what it means to be human.

However, in recent years there has been a fundamental shift, Wolf explained right at the start of her lecture. Whereas in the past, philosophers focused on trying to distinguish humans from other creatures, today there is an increasing effort to emphasize what humans have in common with animals and even machines. “I feel somewhat uncomfortable in bucking the trend and trying to push the pendulum back in the other direction,” said the award-winning philosopher. However, it became immediately clear that Wolf is not at all interested in asserting the superiority of the human species, as was been done in the past. Rather, her motivation to emphasize the distinctiveness of human beings obviously stems from a sincere fascination for the uniqueness of human experience.

People viewed from an interpersonal perspective

The focus on everyday human experience also characterizes Wolf's method, which is based on the work of British philosopher P. F. Strawson. Strawson had affirmed that when examining ethical questions, one should not take a philosophically detached, “objective” perspective on people, but should always bear in mind how it feels to be part of actual interpersonal relationships. When dealing with real people, we adopt attitudes that would be out of place when dealing with other objects of research (such as gratitude, displeasure, forgiveness, love or resentment) and we enter into relationships with them that would be unthinkable to enter with other things. Albert Einstein himself was also aware that the interpersonal is central to our existence: in his work “The World As I See it” he wrote: “Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men.”

Strawson's (and Einstein's) position wisely points out, explained Wolf, that we cannot consider humans as mere objects of study, but must understand them as “beings with whom we can identify in a particularly rich way and with whom we can form communities.” Wolf is therefore convinced that asking what it means to be human means, first and foremost, asking what it means to be “selves like us” – selves in which we may recognize ourselves and with which we are able to enter into intimate relationships.

Reason is not everything

Accordingly, the traditional analysis of the human being as a “rational animal” also falls short, said Wolf. And, perhaps even more surprisingly, she argued that the concept of a person, which is much debated in contemporary ethics, must also be distinguished from that of human beings: “'Person’ refers to rational, self-aware actors. This could include animals, extraterrestrials, but also artificial intelligence or even companies and nation-states. But it would be highly unusual to consider the latter as 'selves like us',” explained the philosopher.

Strawson's (and Einstein's) position wisely points out, explains Wolf, that we cannot consider humans as mere objects of study, but must understand them as “beings with whom we can identify in a particularly rich way and with whom we can form communities.” Wolf is therefore convinced that asking what it means to be human means, first and foremost, asking what it means to be selves like us – identities in which we recognize ourselves as human beings and with which we are able to enter into intimate relationships.

But what is it that makes “selves like us”? Wolf spent most of the remaining time answering this question. And what followed was a passionate enumerationof human characteristics – an ode to humanity and the diversity of human abilities. In between, Wolf repeatedly drew comparisons with animals and machines. According to her, these may have some things in common with “selves like us”, but they will never share the full range of human nature. “Selves like us,” Wolf claimed, are conscious, intelligent, linguistically talented and emotional. They are capable of empathizing with others, of reflecting their own values and desires, and of forming a unique perspective on the world. They also possess an appreciation of beauty, humor and philosophy, as well as an individual character and the willpower to rise above themselves.

All of this is surprising and refreshingly clear. After all, we are all familiar with thesecharacteristics from our own human experience. Perhaps that is why Wolf's answers seemed almost too simple to some: in the subsequent Q&A session, worries of circularity were raised several times: is it not vacuous for humans to define themselves by referring to their ownexperien? Wolf, however, stood her ground “Who else should create a concept of humanity if not we ourselves” she asked. In her remaining Einstein Lectures, Wolf will shed some more light on selected aspects of human nature, including our agency and the question of whether we are truly free.