man vs wild
my cat has been here for almost 5 years now, and was only a few months old when it came. after being around humans and ZERO cats for this long, it is quite interesting, yet often overlooked as to how its behaviour came to be more cat-like rather than human-like.
is it really through instinct alone that makes it behave like a cat? if so, how much of our humanity is instinctive, and how much is through nurture? how correct would it be to say that it's the instinctive side, the things that are just there inside each and every one of us, that is truly human?
i think it's through this understanding that'll allow us to know what we really are, what's real and what's just an imprint of society.
feral children are known to take the traits of the animals that cared for them, but is that because of their human-like ability to learn and imitate? following that, is my cat still cat-like because of its inability to learn? are humans merely empty vessels that will be filled by whatever that comes our way?
does this mean that it is truly a human quality to take to the traits of our society, such that whatever which comes of it is 'real'? i wonder how much of society is imprinted upon us to the point that we believe it IS a part of our being.
even something such as the concept of love, everyone accepts it as just being there in us, but we seldom question why. if it were really a part of us, then it should be ever-present, in every culture and every society. i don't know if it is, but i'm not discounting the chance that there could be a culture out there where love doesn't exist.
if that's possible, then where does it leave our love? for something that almost everyone place such great importance in, it may well be just... not real.
is it really through instinct alone that makes it behave like a cat? if so, how much of our humanity is instinctive, and how much is through nurture? how correct would it be to say that it's the instinctive side, the things that are just there inside each and every one of us, that is truly human?
i think it's through this understanding that'll allow us to know what we really are, what's real and what's just an imprint of society.
feral children are known to take the traits of the animals that cared for them, but is that because of their human-like ability to learn and imitate? following that, is my cat still cat-like because of its inability to learn? are humans merely empty vessels that will be filled by whatever that comes our way?
does this mean that it is truly a human quality to take to the traits of our society, such that whatever which comes of it is 'real'? i wonder how much of society is imprinted upon us to the point that we believe it IS a part of our being.
even something such as the concept of love, everyone accepts it as just being there in us, but we seldom question why. if it were really a part of us, then it should be ever-present, in every culture and every society. i don't know if it is, but i'm not discounting the chance that there could be a culture out there where love doesn't exist.
if that's possible, then where does it leave our love? for something that almost everyone place such great importance in, it may well be just... not real.
6 Comments:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_human_nature
By
Anonymous, at April 05, 2011 3:40 am
idealising love give life meaning I guess... making people feel special.
By
dqb, at April 09, 2011 3:13 pm
i read the wiki and it gave me a headache.
dqb: so you're saying it is real as long as we think it is?
By
cr, at April 09, 2011 5:07 pm
duh. too lazy to explain. it's very philosophical. lulz. things become real when we believe it is. how do you know it is a chair in front of you? because everyone call it a chair. if not it's nothing, you don't even know its purpose. that's probably a poor example.
By
dqb, at April 10, 2011 10:53 am
and what if one day you realise that there is no chair?
By
cromber, at April 11, 2011 9:24 pm
it's hard to believe that there's no chair right now... we have been brainwashed and taught to function like that right from the start. and so.. i believe the chair exists so there's definitely a chair. ok stop.
By
dqb, at April 14, 2011 7:01 pm
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