In the context of worldview studies (like in a Christian Worldview 101 course), “human nature” is the part of a worldview that asks what human beings are and what we are like at the most basic level.

Core idea in worldview terms

When a course or textbook asks, “In worldview, what is human nature?” it is usually referring to a set of questions such as:

  • What are humans made of?
    • Just bodies (physicalists/materialists)?
    • Bodies and souls/spirit (dualists)?
    • A unified “body–soul” being (holistic views)?
  • What are humans like at the core?
    • Basically good, basically sinful, or a mix of both tendencies?
  • What makes humans distinct from other creatures?
    • Rationality, moral capacity, freedom, relationships, ability to know God, etc.

So, in worldview terms, human nature is the doctrine or belief about what humans essentially are (our composition) and our basic moral and spiritual condition.

Typical exam/quiz-style answer

If you need a short quiz-style definition (like in CWV 101):

In worldview, human nature deals with questions about what humans are made of (body, soul, or body–soul unity) and what we are like at our core morally and spiritually.

Why it matters for a worldview

Different worldviews answer the human nature question differently, and that shapes everything else:

  • Naturalistic/atheistic: humans are purely physical, products of evolution, with no immaterial soul.
  • Christian/biblical: humans are created in God’s image, embodied souls (or unified body–soul persons), noble yet fallen in sin.
  • Other religious/philosophical views: may emphasize rationality (Plato, Aristotle), basic goodness (Confucius, Mencius), or inner conflict and drives (Freud).

Because of this, worldview courses treat human nature as one of the central “big questions,” alongside God, reality, and morality.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.