Human nature as defined by the Britannica Encyclopedia is the “fundamental
disposition and traits of humans”. Throughout all of time great thinkers and
philosophers have debated the traits of human nature, and if certain traits are
learned or if they are innate. It is also debated if the essence of human
nature even exists. According to Aristotle, the study of human nature
originated with Socrates, who related studies of the heavens to the studies of
human things. Plato thought that humans were rational, social animals, and
connected our nature with our souls and not our bodies, differing from
Aristotle, who believed both our body and soul contributed to our human
identity.
For the thinkers who believe in our
species having human nature, here are some generally agreed upon categories
that are believed to be part of any human naturally.
1. Being Playful / Being Entertained. All
mammals play, but humans pursue a much wider variety of entertainment and spend
much more time enjoying themselves.
2. Being Scientific. As children we learn
how to understand puzzles, patterns, and more. Our species is constantly
sorting the world into categories, predicting things and checking our
predictions.
3. Being Legislative. We can't speculate
that every human naturally has formal laws, but by nature us humans tend to set
rules. They are generally comprised of three categories.
-Kinship. the rights
and connections relating to blood related families. (for example: parents
providing for offspring, Offspring inheriting land or belongings)
-Safety. Desire of
safety is always an important trait in humans, and rules are generally made to
secure safety, for example a culture governing whether someone can kill another
person or not.
-Use of Objects.
Societies everywhere and in the past have rules that govern who can and cannot
use certain things at certain times, or go certain places.
4. Being Epicurean. It means to be adapted
to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures, especially in eating and
drinking.
5. Being Clandestine about Sex. Being
clandestine means to be secretive or private aboout something, usually because
it is inappropriate. One could say this is due to centuries of social
conditioning, however studies have shown that private sex also happens in other
species that have inter-male competition.
6. Being Gossipy. Humans by nature like to
bond over having similar opinions. According to Robin Dunbar, the author of
"Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, "Gossip isn't
negative by nature... it's not that we like to bitch, it's just that we like to
talk".
The other argument, obviously, is that
human nature doesn't exist at all and that we are all formed by how we are
raised and the events that happen during our time alive. The way we are depends
entirely on our experiences. Everything humans "tend to do" can be
explained. It is also argued that whatever is believed of human nature is not
completely true across the world, but rather only applicable to certain
cultures and societies. Some also say that there are aspects of human nature
like smiling and laughing that are considered universal. However, these
behaviors exist in other animals, so it couldn't be human nature
to do them, but rather an evolutionary trait that humans have received.
QUIZ QUESTIONS
1: According to Aristotle, the study of Human
Nature originated with what Philosopher?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1: Do you believe that Human Nature exists,
and why?
2. If so, how can you explain the large
amounts of people that do not match the general laws of human nature?
Sources:
Posts I have commented on:
-Stephen Byers Section 13
Interesting list, but different humans express them in differing degrees. Some are deficient in playfulness but strong in scientific curiosity, others are more epicurean or stoical, etc. So maybe it makes more sense to speak in the plural of human natures, depending in each case on the particular mix of traits an individual happens to express, and not of a singular and monolithic Human Nature. Of course we do all possess a shared biological nature, and within specific cultures and subcultures we share traits that have been reinforced by local norms. It's all a continuum, ranging from the universal to the idiosyncratic particular. And this sort of pluralism is good, no?
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