Human Nature - Origin, Difficulties and Denial

The list of human natural traits and characteristics is long, but here a list of only a few: Selfishness, altruism, anger, aggression, curiosity, belonging, love, attachment, sexual drive and desire, loyalty, infidelity, tribalism, empathy and compassion, the need for purpose and freedom.

Many believe in an innate morality as part of our nature, or at least the ability to develop and adopt morals. Other’s believe in a “Blank Slate”, where humans are born entirely free of values or traits.

Throughout history humans were occupied with the question, where our traits come from, what generates and shapes them and how to control them.

The Biological View
E.O. Wilson’s famous book “On Human Nature” (1978) argues that human nature is a biological product of evolutionary history and natural selection, rather than a “blank slate” shaped purely by culture. Instead, he argues that genetics and evolutionary history provide biological predispositions and developmental biases.

Gene-Culture Coevolution: Human behaviour is shaped by a dual interaction between genetic evolution and cultural innovation. Biology sets broad channels, while culture provides the specific expressions within them. Cultural norms control human traits, by either reward or punish them.

The Biological Roots of Morality and Altruism: Ethical systems, empathy, fairness, and altruism are not purely philosophical or religious constructs; they evolved as adaptive strategies to enhance group survival and social bonding.

Innate Social Behaviours: Major human traits, including tribalism, aggression for resource protection, sexual reproduction, and mating patterns, are tied to thousands of years of hunter-gatherer natural selection.

The Persistence of Religion: Wilson views religion as an stabile part of human nature because it deeply reinforces group cohesion, tribal identity, and a sense of shared destiny.

More recently, Steven Pinker, addresses the topic in " The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature" (2002). To him human nature is an evolved set of universal mental traits, emotions and capacities by natural selection. Interestingly, Pinker argues that modern intellectual life has long denied biological reality by clinging to three myths:

The Blank Slate (Tabula Rasa): The false idea that the human mind has zero innate traits at birth and is written on entirely by environmental and cultural forces. Pinker counters that learning itself requires rich, pre-existing innate mental hardware.

The Noble Savage: The Romantic belief (attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau) that human beings are naturally peaceful and good, and that all vice and aggression are corrupted artefacts of modern society and civilisation. He points out that human aggression and conflict exist across all known societies, but we also possess innate capacities to inhibit them.

The Ghost in the Machine (Cartesian Dualism): The belief that inside each human body resides a non-material soul or disembodied decision-maker completely independent of biology. Pinker counters that neuroscience shows physical changes to the brain directly alter consciousness, thought, and personality.

Human Nature According to S. Pinker
Evolutionary Roots: The human brain is a complex system of computational adaptations shaped in our ancestral environment. This includes innate dispositions for language, number sense, spatial awareness, and social bonds.

A Mix of Motives: Human nature is neither purely angelic nor purely demonic. It contains a complex mixture of competitive, selfish, and aggressive drives alongside deep capacities for empathy, self-control, reason, love, and cooperation.

The Non-Biological View of Human Nature argues that human beings cannot be understood simply as biological objects or genetically programmed organisms. Instead of viewing human behaviour, intellect, and morality as predetermined by evolutionary history or DNA, non-biological perspectives argue that what makes us uniquely human is shaped by our minds, cultures, choices, and social environments. Rather than looking at biological sciences, these views look at history, philosophy, and sociology to explain who we are. The prominent non-biological frameworks of human nature can be described by three major perspectives: The Blank Slate (everything is learnt), Social Constructionism (gender roles, morality etc. are inventions of our minds) and a Cultural Condition (there is no pure biological human, all is culture).

The Denial of Human Nature
The denial of human nature generally refers to rejecting, ignoring, or refusing to acknowledge fundamental aspects of what it means to be human, such as emotions, desires, weaknesses, social needs, mortality, or natural instincts.

Virtues and morality, commonly known as morals, do demand the self-restriction of desires, urges, wishes and moods. They provide a common text book for which human natures are allowed to run free, and which need to be restricted or denied.
Religion, particularly in the past has given its followers many rules to deal with their psychological and social issues. The state has now taken over by providing many laws and regulations to control matters arising from actions, which are part of our nature (e.g. anger, aggression, tribalism, compassion etc.).

However, a denial of Human Nature also part of many ideologies. There are many examples, but in recent times the so-called Woke Culture assumes that people can completely overcome innate biases, competitive instincts, or group loyalties. Treating differences between groups as entirely the result of social factors rather than a combination of biology, culture, and environment. Expecting individuals to consistently act against self-interest in favour of collective goals.

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