The problem of human being in the philosophy of biology

The issue of human being is a focal point of interest in many research fields and holds a significant place on the agenda of the rapidly developing philosophy of biology. The philosophy of biology, while attempting to explain how humans evolve as living organisms, also provides important insights into the nature of their cultural characteristics. This study aims to examine the relevant views in both philosophy and the philosophy of biology, starting from the assumption that humans are beings with both biological and cultural dimensions. Since the discussion about the essence of humans is essentially philosophical, our research firstly examines the main theories of human being in classical philosophy. In this context, the doctrines of Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Cassirer, which emphasize different defining characteristics of human being, are discussed. As the study shows, these theories generally define humans by ability to think and, consequently, to produce knowledge, values, and symbols. In the second stage of the study, we examined claims in the philosophy of biology that explain the defining characteristics of human being. This chapter examines the latest findings and explanations in the philosophy of biology related to the emergence of culture and evaluates current discussions on three topics: knowledge, cultural transmission, and morality. Finally, we examined the human theory of Turkish thinker T.Ş.Duralı in the context of his writings in the field of philosophy of biology. The research shows that in today's philosophy of biology, culture is understood as a product of the evolutionary process and as a phenomenon related to the biological structure and lifestyle of humans. Cultural transfer, which occurs both vertically and horizontally, indicates that cultural evolution is a different selection mechanism that accelerates biological evolution. Thinkers who examine the field of morality distinguish between moral norms and moral behavior. They show that moral behavior is a generic trait and type of adaptation, but moral norms are products of cultural evolution and vary from society to society. The study also examines how information and symbolic coding are explained in the context of biological processes and discusses whether it is the same as human knowledge. The results indicate that biology and the philosophy of biology provide a suitable factual basis for testing and illuminating many questions and claims posed by classical philosophy. Keywords: Culture, ethics, evolution, human, knowledge, philosophy of biology.