It's not that they are rethink human nature. It is that science is understanding it better. What he says, is that we need to "rethink the human narrative", the way people are brought up, the nurture in the nature/nurture debate, to help people to come to grips with their empathetic nature. Right at the end he says that this true nature is being repressed by current business, government, and education practices and people are turned from empathy to selfishness, and I kind of agree. I connect with this idea, because I believe that people are inheritance good. I don't know how that goes with the scripture that says that the "natural man is an enemy to God", but I know our spirits, who we really are, were made by God and his creations he saw where "good".
Well 10:19 says "begin rethinking human nature". Your second thought is closer, Gods creations are good we are all natural men and have this life to learn how to overcome our natural bad desires. Communism was based on the inherently good idea. If they give you everything you need you will be happy to work for the greater good, our constitution had the opposite view and was full of safeguards to protect us against peoples more negative instincts. Despite the higher aspirations Communism led to incredible selfishness. Capitalism requires you to do good to your fellow man in order to profit. If mankind is more empathetic then the peasant man why have 6 million people been killed in the Congo this decade (we wont bring up the last century) and why does my baby steal toys from other babies? I didn't teach her that, its human nature I am afraid. It's sad but true man will always want more then his neighbor, you'll notice it happens within nations, religions and even families.
While I find your argument about penny(your baby) and communism interesting, I think your mention of the deaths in the Congo as an argument about human nature as ridiculous. I just read Ishmael Beah's book "A long way gone", about his time as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. He was not a murder. He was "a good boy", then he was pulled into the war, drugged, and taught to kill and murder. There are many reasons behind the killings and death in Africa, and around the world, however I don't believe that human nature is the reason.
So who taught the child soldiers? Other child soldiers maybe but who taught them? I think any of those individuals would have similar stories about how they personally were empathetic and they were innocent by standards and in a way a lot are, but somehow a collection of good boys can do some really bad things. A lot of kids in the 1930s were raised in a civilized way and after the war many of them would say they were just following orders but things can go downhill fast when your society isn't organized in a way that recognizes humans as flawed and constrains their negative natures. Not that people are evil, just selfish and that will trump empathy naturally.
Sounds nice, but I am wary of anyone who plans to "rethink human nature"
ReplyDeleteIt's not that they are rethink human nature. It is that science is understanding it better. What he says, is that we need to "rethink the human narrative", the way people are brought up,
ReplyDeletethe nurture in the nature/nurture debate, to help people to come to grips with their empathetic nature. Right at the end he says that this true nature is being repressed by current business, government, and education practices and people are turned from empathy to selfishness, and I kind of agree.
I connect with this idea, because I believe that people are inheritance good. I don't know how that goes with the scripture that says that the "natural man is an enemy to God", but I know our spirits, who we really are, were made by God and his creations he saw where "good".
Well 10:19 says "begin rethinking human nature".
ReplyDeleteYour second thought is closer, Gods creations are good we are all natural men and have this life to learn how to overcome our natural bad desires.
Communism was based on the inherently good idea. If they give you everything you need you will be happy to work for the greater good, our constitution had the opposite view and was full of safeguards to protect us against peoples more negative instincts. Despite the higher aspirations Communism led to incredible selfishness. Capitalism requires you to do good to your fellow man in order to profit.
If mankind is more empathetic then the peasant man why have 6 million people been killed in the Congo this decade (we wont bring up the last century) and why does my baby steal toys from other babies? I didn't teach her that, its human nature I am afraid. It's sad but true man will always want more then his neighbor, you'll notice it happens within nations, religions and even families.
While I find your argument about penny(your baby) and communism interesting, I think your mention of the deaths in the Congo as an argument about human nature as ridiculous. I just read Ishmael Beah's book "A long way gone", about his time as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. He was not a murder. He was "a good boy", then he was pulled into the war, drugged, and taught to kill and murder. There are many reasons behind the killings and death in Africa, and around the world, however I don't believe that human nature is the reason.
ReplyDeleteSo who taught the child soldiers? Other child soldiers maybe but who taught them? I think any of those individuals would have similar stories about how they personally were empathetic and they were innocent by standards and in a way a lot are, but somehow a collection of good boys can do some really bad things. A lot of kids in the 1930s were raised in a civilized way and after the war many of them would say they were just following orders but things can go downhill fast when your society isn't organized in a way that recognizes humans as flawed and constrains their negative natures. Not that people are evil, just selfish and that will trump empathy naturally.
ReplyDelete