A question of human nature cannot evade the consideration of the one establishment of mankind through which we must strive to understand our behaviors, instincts, and desires. This establishment is civilization, and it must be taken into account as the context through which our nature readily exists. Our relation to and attitude towards civilization has the potential to reveal a lot about our natural inclinations, but it is also possible to look at our relation to civilization in retrospect and use our assumptions of human nature to create an amicable relation between man and civilization. In The Fitness of Human Nature, Edward O. Wilson characterizes human nature as a resultant of cultural influences, and argues that with understanding, man
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The nature of these faculties, however, differs from one author to another and largely defines how each author sees the attitude of man towards civilization. Wilson relies heavily on the role of biology and the evolutionary growth of man’s behavior to define human nature. In describing the categories of human behavior that have been shaped by culture, Wilson pointedly lists lastly the notion of contractual agreement to illustrate that the other categories of behavior—kin selection, parental investment, mating strategy, status, territorial expansion and defense—benefit from the development of civilization through contractual agreement itself. In other words, having a civilization in which people can coexist allows them to make choices that exercise their instinctual desire to pass on their genes, acquire status, and invest in offspring. Wilson says, “[Contractual formation] is a human trait as characteristic of our species as language and abstract thought, having been constructed from both instinct and high intelligence” (361). For this reason, his attitude towards the construction of society is an optimistic one, portraying man as not only capable of benefitting from civilization, but also intelligent enough to maintain it. This is a reasonable assumption, given that it does not rely on any one phenomenon but rather is logical and …show more content…
Freud’s generalization that all is well if only a few “possess superior insight into the necessities of life and who have risen to the height of mastering their own instinctual wishes” (1695) is an open-ended generalization that leaves room for speculation. He recognizes that some have this capacity, and it is surely questionable whether it is possible to allow the rest of society to learn and strive for this “mastering of instinctual wishes” without automatically granting them power over others. In fact, it could arguably be hostile to retain from men a way with which to overcome their burdening instincts in the name of maintaining order. Wilson’s concepts of understanding our relation to culture are less exclusive, and in this I relate excerpts from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Tzu explores a peaceful and unified approach to government in which leaders and common citizens alike are encouraged to follow “the Way,” or the “Inner Life,” a spiritual wholeness that encompasses not only the need for leader and citizen to coexist, but also to understand and cooperate in their respective roles. Unlike Freud’s sense of tension created by the coercion of man, Tzu believes that “If I act from Inner Life, the
The nature of these faculties, however, differs from one author to another and largely defines how each author sees the attitude of man towards civilization. Wilson relies heavily on the role of biology and the evolutionary growth of man’s behavior to define human nature. In describing the categories of human behavior that have been shaped by culture, Wilson pointedly lists lastly the notion of contractual agreement to illustrate that the other categories of behavior—kin selection, parental investment, mating strategy, status, territorial expansion and defense—benefit from the development of civilization through contractual agreement itself. In other words, having a civilization in which people can coexist allows them to make choices that exercise their instinctual desire to pass on their genes, acquire status, and invest in offspring. Wilson says, “[Contractual formation] is a human trait as characteristic of our species as language and abstract thought, having been constructed from both instinct and high intelligence” (361). For this reason, his attitude towards the construction of society is an optimistic one, portraying man as not only capable of benefitting from civilization, but also intelligent enough to maintain it. This is a reasonable assumption, given that it does not rely on any one phenomenon but rather is logical and …show more content…
Freud’s generalization that all is well if only a few “possess superior insight into the necessities of life and who have risen to the height of mastering their own instinctual wishes” (1695) is an open-ended generalization that leaves room for speculation. He recognizes that some have this capacity, and it is surely questionable whether it is possible to allow the rest of society to learn and strive for this “mastering of instinctual wishes” without automatically granting them power over others. In fact, it could arguably be hostile to retain from men a way with which to overcome their burdening instincts in the name of maintaining order. Wilson’s concepts of understanding our relation to culture are less exclusive, and in this I relate excerpts from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Tzu explores a peaceful and unified approach to government in which leaders and common citizens alike are encouraged to follow “the Way,” or the “Inner Life,” a spiritual wholeness that encompasses not only the need for leader and citizen to coexist, but also to understand and cooperate in their respective roles. Unlike Freud’s sense of tension created by the coercion of man, Tzu believes that “If I act from Inner Life, the