Personal essence is the intrinsic relationship between the fundamental nature of a specific and specific person and its various attributes.

There are three major aspects of human attributes:

1. Natural attributes (including appearance, beauty, etc.);

2. Social attributes (including moral character) Good and evil, etc.);

3. Mental attributes (including IQ, etc.).

Virtue is a concentrated expression of personal essence; in other words, the most important criterion for identifying personal essence is the quality of moral character. What is the most popular question most children ask when watching movies and TV shows? ——"Is he (she) a good person or a bad guy?"

About the essence of human beings, Marx has a famous saying: "The essence of human beings is not an abstract object inherent in a single person. In its reality, it is It is the sum of all social relations. "Many scholars have misinterpreted this famous saying as: "The essence of a person is determined by social relations." In fact, personal essence is the unity of social constraints and subject choice. . The transformation of the last emperor Puyi into a new socialist man was the result of social transformation and personal efforts. However, Gao Gang, a leading cadre of the new society, chose to end his life by suicide when he was criticized and educated.

Extended information:

If the natural attributes of human beings are regarded as human essence, then humans and animals will be confused, and the concept of "human essence" will lose its meaning. specific meaning. What is the fundamental difference between humans and animals? Engels pointed out: "The essential difference between human society and the animal kingdom is that animals can only collect, while humans can produce." ("Selected Letters of Marx and Engels", p. 336 Page)

This means that being able to produce and actively transforming nature to obtain material means of life to meet one's own needs is the foundation of human beings. On the basis of productive labor, humans will inevitably develop a new attribute that animals do not have, which is human sociality.

As Marx pointed out: If people "are not combined in a certain way to carry out the same activities and exchange their activities with each other, they cannot produce. In order to produce, people have certain connections." and relations; only within the scope of these social connections and social relations can there be their relationship to nature and production” ("Selected Works of Marx and Engels" Volume 1, page 362)

This means that human production can only be a social activity and cannot be an isolated individual activity; in order to produce, certain social relationships must be formed between people. Therefore, Marxism believes that only the social nature that reflects the various social relationships formed by people in society can truly mark the essential difference between humans and animals and is the fundamental attribute of humans.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Ren