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An extremely common misconception. Human nature does not mean that our behavior is permanent, set in stone, fixed. Our biological bugs are not our humanity, nor

An extremely common misconception. Human nature does not mean that our behavior is permanent, set in stone, fixed. Our biological bugs are not our humanity, nor are our biological advantages. We are quite greater than our biology, and we've proven again and again that we are capable of improving upon it. I'll just throw the whole institution of "education" out there as an example.

pron 12y ago
Well, that's a deep philosophical question of whether there's an essence to humanity. But I think that if by some miracle we can turn humans into rational beings, then our entire set of motivations, aspirations and drives will change. Education does not do that. So far, over the course of history, we have not changed any of what people may call "our nature".
- calinet6 12y ago
  We have turned humans, largely, into much more rational beings than they were in the past. Education and progress does do that, most clearly. There is always human nature, but in the most educated societies, you see a completely different behavioral state.
  - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
    We have trained people to behave in a mode that appears rational, when examined from the framework of their culture. But that's always been true - even prehistoric people survived according to how well adapted their myths and behaviors were to their environment.
  - pron 12y ago
    I think most historians would disagree with you. Actually, there's one quite famous study that touches on this topic, The Civilizing Process[1] by Norbert Elias. It is a fascinating work, but debated by most historians. One interesting subtopic there is the internalization of the feeling of disgust. Elias shows how disgust -- which we often experience physiologically -- is a social construct that evolved through the ages. Other than that, it is well accepted that some societies have built large, faceless institutions, and evolved from a face-to-face society to a society of strangers. It is a profound change, but no one claims that such a society is more rational than a face-to-face, let alone its members. The behavioral state you're referring to is largely accepted to be nothing more than social norms in a society of strangers. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civilizing_Process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civilizing_Process

pron 12y ago

Well, that's a deep philosophical question of whether there's an essence to humanity. But I think that if by some miracle we can turn humans into rational beings, then our entire set of motivations, aspirations and drives will change. Education does not do that. So far, over the course of history, we have not changed any of what people may call "our nature".

calinet6 12y ago
We have turned humans, largely, into much more rational beings than they were in the past. Education and progress does do that, most clearly. There is always human nature, but in the most educated societies, you see a completely different behavioral state.
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  We have trained people to behave in a mode that appears rational, when examined from the framework of their culture. But that's always been true - even prehistoric people survived according to how well adapted their myths and behaviors were to their environment.
- pron 12y ago
  I think most historians would disagree with you. Actually, there's one quite famous study that touches on this topic, The Civilizing Process[1] by Norbert Elias. It is a fascinating work, but debated by most historians. One interesting subtopic there is the internalization of the feeling of disgust. Elias shows how disgust -- which we often experience physiologically -- is a social construct that evolved through the ages. Other than that, it is well accepted that some societies have built large, faceless institutions, and evolved from a face-to-face society to a society of strangers. It is a profound change, but no one claims that such a society is more rational than a face-to-face, let alone its members. The behavioral state you're referring to is largely accepted to be nothing more than social norms in a society of strangers. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civilizing_Process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civilizing_Process