What are your thoughts on human nature?

[Deletedaccount1]

I recently re-read Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate and found myself conflicted over his views on human nature. Pinker thinks human behavior is largely hardwired and endorses a Hobbesian view of human nature which is that people have a violent tendency to desire and acquire power.

I find his idea that our behavior is evolutionary hardwired extremely convincing but his views on human nature rather cynical.

What are your thoughts?

[Mifuyne]

Human nature is pretty "brutal".
Compared to how we are now.

[Deleted]

Ever observed a Baboon rock in the zoo for a while? That right there is our nature.

Violence, power, sex, sleeping and eating.

[Deleted]

We are very intelligent primates

That's human nature

Morality exists in our minds and can be a counterbalance to nature, but let's not kid ourselves about what lies underneath

[Deleted]

Hobbes and Locke were wrong. There are many indigenous people who live without any kind of hierarchy. Look up the Pirahã for example. The problems of our society are ancient as many philosophers and sociologists and can be broken down to the Patriarchat and Capitalism (both "ideas" started long before the industrial revolutions and reach way back to ancient Egypt). If you just look at what is possible Rousseau was much closer to the truth.

It's much more complicated though - I really recommend getting into reading some works from current authors like Tiqqun who combine most famous Philosophers in their work.

[Deleted]

The idea that the natural world is a brutal existence of savage lethality, where every animal is solely out for their own gain is demonstrably false with the idea only really holding any weight because of socio-political bias.

Read Kropotkins book Mutual Aid if you want a good analysis of why that form of social Darwinism is incorrect both in the animal kingdom and human society.

[Deleted]

The idea that the natural world is a brutal existence of savage lethality, where every animal is solely out for their own gain is demonstrably false with the idea only really holding any weight because of socio-political bias.

Read Kropotkins book Mutual Aid if you want a good analysis of why that form of social Darwinism is incorrect both in the animal kingdom and human society.

I can also recomment Elias' work about human evolution (with abstract => http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/...urnalCode=jcsa )

[Sharein]

Intelligent apes.

[Deleted]

I can also recomment Elias' work about human evolution (with abstract => http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/...urnalCode=jcsa )

Stop reading made-up sociology conjecture (Elias) and quasi-religious philosophy (Tiqqun)

Read science

We are animals, both cooperative and competitive, neither good nor evil, just animals

[Deleted]

Stop reading made-up sociology conjecture (Elias) and quasi-religious philosophy (Tiqqun)

Read science

We are animals, both cooperative and competitive, neither good nor evil, just animals

Oh yes I missed primitive natural science fan tackles. You haven't read either, you don't know their thesis nor the sources and empirical data they use. Just go away and let adults talk.

/edit: Just cause this troll fucks me up so much with how ignorant and last century his view is... Even animals reflect and are social beings. Read Brosnan, S. F., Talbot, C., Ahlgren, M., Lambeth, S. P., & Schapiro, S. J.
(2010). Mechanisms underlying responses to inequitable outcomes in
chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes. Animal Behaviour

[Deleted]

Intelligent apes.

[Yunru]

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

[Dezerte]

I think human beings are influenced both by internal (genetics, DNA triggers) and environmental factors (society, media, childhood, traumas, friends etc). This is generally my view as it's the most evidence-supported theory at the moment, but I have previously been intrigued by the idea of Tabula Rasa (blank slate). The mind itself is also a powerful thing, from placebos to controlling instincts/emotions.

[Grishnaar]

Humans are a mix of "the worst kind ever imagined, so bad that we're better without them" and "the best kind of beings ever imagined, so good that we would be at the loss without them".

ALthough generalization leads to mistakes, this is a specific question so Humans are:

1) Unrealistic (I can't even stress this enough)
2) Irrational
3) Most are very corrupt


I still think the BEST (for now, since there might be better ideas) form of leadership for human race is "Benevolent dictatorship", even though it sounds contradicting.

Basically a "Dictator" that will not use power for the bad, but is there to:

1) Make sure everything publicly done is transparent
2) The laws are fair and actually care about equality and justice
3) Put evil down with such force that it will never try again (When you do things right, there are a lot of haters)

Then he has hundreds of "Team of experts" which are there so everything that needs specific knowledge actually happens and works fine xD


Alas, if we go back to how humans are unrealistic and corrupt and the fact how this world is atm.....that, unrealistic, idea is reserved for fantasy books.

If nothing changes, I fully expect that (some form of) human greed will eventually ruin Earth and all of us.

My final (fantasy ) hope is that aliens with "Goodness scanners" come along and send every last evil human being far, far away.

One can dream

p.s. I'd turn into "digital Castro" if I wanted to write all, I think I'd need 10 pages loooooool

[Deletedaccount1]

I think human beings are influenced both by internal (genetics, DNA triggers) and environmental factors (society, media, childhood, traumas, friends etc). This is generally my view as it's the most evidence-supported theory at the moment, but I have previously been intrigued by the idea of Tabula Rasa (blank slate). The mind itself is also a powerful thing, from placebos to controlling instincts/emotions.

This is my view as well although I think I lean more on nature than nurture. There are obviously extreme cases where nurture needs takes precedent like with feral children, imprisoned children, etc.

[Independent voter]

Kids are born good and helpful, living life teaches them to be jerks. A 4 year old worries about the homeless wino they see on the streets and ask if they have a warm place to sleep and food.

By the time they're 13 life teaches them to be jerks.

[Ghostpanther]

Kids are born good and helpful, living life teaches them to be jerks. A 4 year old worries about the homeless wino they see on the streets and ask if they have a warm place to sleep and food.

By the time they're 13 life teaches them to be jerks.

Good point. I think it is basically true for the most part.

[derpkitteh]

that it must be controlled through our higher knowledge. that if we're ever to prove we're more than base animals, we have to shatter it and become something new.

as it currently stands, human nature is greed and domination. i fear that's all it ever will be, because the masses are idiotic. instead of behaving like the higher being a human should be, they simply mindlessly exist like basic beasts.

[Deleted]

Kids are born good and helpful, living life teaches them to be jerks. A 4 year old worries about the homeless wino they see on the streets and ask if they have a warm place to sleep and food.

By the time they're 13 life teaches them to be jerks.

You're hardly 4 years old when you're born.

[Super Kami Dende]

Humans are hierarchical creatures. We also vary differently dependent on our Gender/Surroundings.

It's why saying "everyone is equal" or "everyone is the same" is idiotic and goes directly against Human nature.

Also Human Nature is the best Boy Band of the 90's.