The Creation of the self in Hegel and Marx-and-Human, Nature, World: Heidegger. Buddhism, Japan and Ecology

Essay 1: "The Creation of the Self. .. " addresses Hegel's response to the individualistic ontology of the Nineteenth Century. I will explore Hegel's idea of the social construction of the self, and subsequently culture, in humanity. Through Marx, I will attempt to show the inadequacies of Hegel's approach, and also how contemporary society limits humanity's ability to define the self. Finally, I hope to show some of the limits of Marxian theory in the human relationship to nature. Essay 2: "Human, Nature, World... " addresses the environmental crisis through the later Martin Heidegger. To universalize Heidegger and approach his "planetary thinking", I will touch on some agreements between Heidegger and Buddhism, as well as the Japanese philosopher, Watsuji Tetsuro. Finally, using the works of Augustin Berque and Heidegger's theory of technology, I conclude that humanity should reject any separation between itself, culture and nature in order resolve our current environmental issues.