People - photo wallpapers; Photowallpapers.org In general, the English word people refers to a specific group of humans, or to persons in a general sense. A people may also be a group of humans which possess a common characteristic such as nationality, skin colour or a common culture. In the case of nationality, the group might be a nation. The Old Testament refers to the people of Moses, who are considered a nation, a religion, and a culture. The individuals were assumed to share values, beliefs and a group identity. In practice, it was often hard to define such a group precisely, due to its static nature. As this type of racial identity is a compelling concept, such notions are often subverted as propaganda an attempts to promote political issues. In the West, a notable example is the German Nazi Party's propaganda against the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s.
A people is a group of individuals who belong to and function within a particular society. In common usage, the term people may be synonymous with human, or otherwise may carry an exclusive meaning. In general, the word people is a collective noun used to define a specific group of humans. However, when used to refer to a group of humans possessing a common ethnic, cultural or national unitary characteristic or identity, "people" is a singular noun, and as such takes an "s" in the plural; (example: "the English-speaking peoples of the world"). The concept of personhood (who is a person within a society) is the fundamental component of any selective concept of people. A distinction is maintained in philosophy and law between the notions "human being", or "man", and "person". The former refers to the species, while the latter refers to a rational agent (see, for example, John Locke's Essay concerning Human Understanding II 27 and Immanuel Kant's Introduction to the Metaphysic of Morals). Central issues of interest to people are the understanding of the human condition and the meaning of life, and survival. Religion, philosophy, and science represent modes and aspects of inquiry which attempt to investigate and understand the nature, behaviour, and purpose of people. Sociology, economics, and politics represent modes by which people investigate how to maximize a collective survival strategy.