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Sorry, you can't completely escape biology. Look at any number of studies on the effects of testosterone. We have many of the same instincts as animals, since

Sorry, you can't completely escape biology. Look at any number of studies on the effects of testosterone. We have many of the same instincts as animals, since we are, animals. Of course we have consciousness and culture, so we can tame ourselves to an extent, but that is not the same as being a blank slate. Your example of bonobos still does not show males are less aggressive (note that I'm saying aggressive and competitive, not necessarily violent), just less than chimps. I know it's very attractive to deny biology so that any imagined society becomes a 'simple' matter of rewriting culture, especially for certain groups, but it just isn't so. And in fact I find this argument quite specious. It's the same one used to justify 'correction programs' for gay people for example. I mean if sexual orientation is just culture, then we could 'fix' gayness with boot camps, or more-masculine/feminine upbringing and role models etc, no? It's very clear to me that sexual orientation or desire is more of an inherent collection of traits or instincts, at most merely 'colored' by culture, and there is nothing to 'fix', quite apart from any argument of why would we want to anyway. We can at best tame our instincts, but they are there.

wizzwizz4 2y ago
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31785281/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31785281/ > Testosterone is often considered a critical regulator of aggressive behaviour. There is castration/replacement evidence that testosterone indeed drives aggression in some species, but causal evidence in humans is generally lacking and/or-for the few studies that have pharmacologically manipulated testosterone concentrations-inconsistent. […] > Baseline testosterone shared a weak but significant association with aggression […] in men […] but not women […] Changes in T were positively correlated with aggression […] in men […] but not women […]. The causal effects of testosterone on human aggression were weaker yet, and not statistically significant […] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33309817/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33309817/ > The behavioral tendency to react aggressively increased in three studies out of four (at three months follow-up), whereas only one study out of five found angry emotions to increase (at seven months follow-up). In contrast, one out of three studies reported a decrease in hostility after initiation of testosterone therapy. The remaining studies found no change in aggressive behavior, anger or hostility during hormone therapy. You're arguing that humans are not “blank slates”. I do not dispute this. I do dispute that it's as simplistic as you claim: the evidence that my quick PubMed search turned up is consistent with the idea that testosterone increases arousal in humans, and the effects of that depend on the person and how they believe they're expected to act. This is the case with alcohol (which https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1403295/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1403295/ and https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00321-0 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00321-0 seem to support). People without the concept of a violent drunk tend to get happy and sleepy when taking alcohol, without exhibiting violent behaviour, whereas people who usually get violent when they're drunk will get violent even if they're not drunk, if they think they are. Does alcohol cause violence, in humans? Well… depends what you mean by those words – but it's true to say that it's cultural.

wizzwizz4 2y ago

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31785281/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31785281/ > Testosterone is often considered a critical regulator of aggressive behaviour. There is castration/replacement evidence that testosterone indeed drives aggression in some species, but causal evidence in humans is generally lacking and/or-for the few studies that have pharmacologically manipulated testosterone concentrations-inconsistent. […] > Baseline testosterone shared a weak but significant association with aggression […] in men […] but not women […] Changes in T were positively correlated with aggression […] in men […] but not women […]. The causal effects of testosterone on human aggression were weaker yet, and not statistically significant […] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33309817/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33309817/ > The behavioral tendency to react aggressively increased in three studies out of four (at three months follow-up), whereas only one study out of five found angry emotions to increase (at seven months follow-up). In contrast, one out of three studies reported a decrease in hostility after initiation of testosterone therapy. The remaining studies found no change in aggressive behavior, anger or hostility during hormone therapy. You're arguing that humans are not “blank slates”. I do not dispute this. I do dispute that it's as simplistic as you claim: the evidence that my quick PubMed search turned up is consistent with the idea that testosterone increases arousal in humans, and the effects of that depend on the person and how they believe they're expected to act. This is the case with alcohol (which https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1403295/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1403295/ and https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00321-0 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00321-0 seem to support). People without the concept of a violent drunk tend to get happy and sleepy when taking alcohol, without exhibiting violent behaviour, whereas people who usually get violent when they're drunk will get violent even if they're not drunk, if they think they are. Does alcohol cause violence, in humans? Well… depends what you mean by those words – but it's true to say that it's cultural.