HUMAN NATURE: what the heck is it REALLY? (page 2)

Calliope

here's what i think,

human nature is skewed as soon as your out of the womb because as soon as your exposed to the air of this world, someone begins their influence on you. you don't even have a chance.

Some kids hate vegetables.

someone told those kids to hate vegetables.

We come in shapes and sizes completely not of our choosing. It defines us.

until someone tells you it's not good enough and you need a penis enlargement, breast implants, face lifts, nose job...

Each of us has a greyness/whiteness/blackness on this on each characteristic.

and so many people fight this. they can't see the grey and have been told "it's black and white" their whole lives. "i must make this much money or i won't make it". "the nat'l health board says i should excercise 5/week for 30 mins otherwise i'll die of heart disease". "someone somewhere said i won't make it to the "new system" if i don't go to all 5 mtgs/week, READ THE BIBLE DAILY, do personal study (oh, but only from the society's published works, and please don't bother with anything written circa and pre 1950, we've since had "enlightenment")..." and then, when they can't make it and they fail think they are nefariously wicked and need redemption or perhaps maybe, they'll simply kill themselves.

to the extent we are born beautiful, healthy, unlimited and intelligent.....or.....less....much less.....tragically less.

and then they come up with a show like "the swan" (or whatever the hell it's called) to ensure that people know that "nature-as-intended" kinda messed up on them.

we learn to live with it and reach for the stars when we know on some deep level that our reach exceeds our grasp.

and then we realize that our 5 digit income doesn't quite cover the 7 digit debt we've amassed. "o good god, i'll just kill myself then".

I find it fascinating that we don't actually know who or what we are for many years.

but then at 18 (or 16 or 17) some f*ckin' school counselor tells you that you better figure out what you're gonna do for the rest of your like, otherwise "you'll be NOTHING". and then you end you end up dropping out of school cause you figure "if i can't come to terms with what i wanna be for the next 60 years, then i'm better off being nothing" and then sadly "o good god, i'll just kill myself then".

How many of us bristle with resentment at this? Most? Many? Some?

ummm, okay, so perhaps i'm bitter.

HUMAN NATURE: what the heck is it REALLY?

human: http://www.answers.com/topic/human-1?method=6

nature: http://www.answers.com/nature

that's it. that's all. two seperate definitions.

Cal.

moshe

Go back 200 or so generations and meet your hunter- gatherer ancestors. Try as you might those genes won't go away. Why do you think golf is so popluar? Men still want to wield a club or spear and be victorious in the hunt. As long as man has food and shelter he can keep his primal nature in check. Governments know what will happen if it's citizens run out of food, beer and cigarettes,too. New Orleans ( Katrina) was a window to our past human nature.

peace,

Moshe

Golf

Its going to the TOILET!

Golf

peacefulpete

Evolutionary psychologists would define 'human nature' as the residual patterns of behavior resultant our evolutionary past. I want to define human nature as that which is uniquely human. When I look at humans I see the overwhelming desire to have mastery over our physical environment and our animal past. A simple definition of 'civilized' might be to stand out as opposite our animal kin. Every effort is made to smell unlike an animal, sound unlike an animal, look unlike an animal. We cover our bodies with color and geometric lines to disguise our primate form, we scent our bodies with flowers and spices, we practice diction and grammar to distinguish ourselves from the 'primative' peoples. We prepare food so artfully so as to forget it came from the ground and dead animals. We praise the philanthropists, thinkers and poets for lifting us above our baser instincts. We chafe at disorder and so try to structure our surroundings. If we refine this nature by better understanding the interplay of these endeavors 'human nature' might just be the best thing to happen in the last few billion years. It is likely true that this unique human desire to differ has itself an evolutionary purpose, then again it might just be an emergent property of self awareness and intelligence. I do not share the belief that our growing awareness of our relatedness to the animals, condemns us or limits us to our animal past.

JamesThomas

So far the discussion here is about the phenominal nature of differences and characteristics of the objective body, mind and emotions, which are largely defined by -- what else -- but the phenominal nature of genetics and environment. Different labels, placed on the ever-changing movement of parallel energies.

What is it that actually sees all this? What doesn't move? Is it reasonable to define self via the nature of what is seen, or by what is seeing?

What really looks out these eyes?

alt

j

bigmouth

human nature is the description that you may wish to apply to a behavioural stereotype.

Is this the shortest answer that can be given?
What I mean is I think human nature is a term to describe your perception of someones behaviour rather than something intrinsically human as all humans can be capable of selfless love to mindless torture, it's just how you view it from your perspective at that time that makes it 'natural'

Terry

Now I'm really interested in how you'll relate this tragic perspective to the rest of your philosophy (especially the political/moral part)...

Being realistic is a start!

But, in order to be realistic we have to be able to recognize what is real. Is our assessment of our self real? Is our evaluation of opportunity accurate? What are our chances for actual success in this or that?

The thing is, we cannot afford to waste our precious time on investments of time, energy or goal-setting that squander our resources.

What is truly tragic is not seeing where we are headed is a train wreck when we could veer off to a safe siding instead.

Not all of us can be "best".

All that aside, every great thing that has been achieved on this planet has been by the individual. It all starts there. A singular vision comes from the genius of knowing when the time and place are ripe for the moment of applied knowledge.

Think of all that baloney JW "accurate knowledge" we were spoon fed. What good came of that investment of our intellect? Nada. It was a blind alley.

If we only were a bit more realistic our lives would blossom into the maximum realization of our potential.

Self-knowledge is tricky. Very tricky.

Terry

What I mean is I think human nature is a term to describe your perception of someones behaviour rather than something intrinsically human as all humans can be capable of selfless love to mindless torture, it's just how you view it from your perspective at that time that makes it 'natural'

Are you separating our behavior out and away from the self?

What we DO is our behavior; not somebody's perception.

A baker bakes. That is why he is called a baker.

You must be saying something else I'm not understanding.

Could you clarify this for me, please?

I think it is quite likely many of us do not PUBLICLY behave the way we desire to behave. Our actual nature is disguised in social settings when we repress.

But, stifling our true self is behavior too!

As Jehovah's Witnessess we became expert at disguising our true self.

We counted what we actually were as being unworthy and killed the identity of our own self. Instead, we became a persona rather than a person.

That sort of behavior is the most tragic.

Terry

trevor

We are only one of many creatures on this planet. What sets us apart is that we are the most complicated due to our large brains. It is our very brain that has become the problem and may cause our downfall, because in our quest for fulfilment, purpose and satisfaction we are destroying the planet we depend on.

So much heartache and neurosis is caused by our inability to control the endless chatter of our minds. We continually relive every hurt we have experienced and dwell on thoughts that we know will cause us pain.

I am among a growing number of strange people who believe that our true nature is found through meditation. Through the regular quieting of the mind we can discover our true nature and become more than just intelligent neurotic animals.

I know you will not think much of my suggestion - Terry - but with such a large brain you would benefit more than most from meditation.

Narkissos

Not all of us can be "best".

Or, everyone of us can be -- and perhaps is -- but then "best" doesn't mean the same to everyone. It can even mean the opposite.

Perhaps there is just no common scale.

HUMAN NATURE: what the heck is it REALLY?

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