Nnadiebube Journal of Religion, Culture and Society

Unlike other animals, man possesses the capacity for voluntary and involuntary actions. The latter bestows on him the ability for acts of man, while the former enables him to perform human acts. Human conduct falls under these voluntary acts, as it represents actions man performs intentionally, and without coercion. This paper, therefore, critically examined how philosophy shapes human conduct in contemporary society. Precisely, it explored the meaning of human conduct, the factors that affect it, and the role of philosophy in it. Drawing on the ethical theories of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Mill, and Kant, and so on, this paper argues that philosophy has played and is still playing a significant role in shaping human conduct. Relying on conceptual analysis, it broke the topic into its basic components and utilised the essential concepts for analysis, drawing on data from the extant literature and the author’s intuition. The result indicated that philosophy plays a crucial role in human conduct today, as it lays its foundation, moulds and moderates it, and determines its endpoint. Thus, this paper concluded that philosophy is an inevitable tool for shaping human conduct today.

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