human nature and its consequences

1

Human Natureand its consequences

Un-distinguished Lecture Series (UDLS)

Marcus Rohrbach

Computer Science DepartmentUniversity of British Columbia

2UDLS - Marcus Rohrbach - 2007-04-13

Human Nature and its consequences

Front note:

This talk might be generalizingBest to my knowledge - Might not be always scientific

Controversial topic- Consequences

• Political, economic theory• Religion• …



Experts or novice?

Have you heard of- Human nature?- Hobbes?- Rousseau?



Robin Hood alive: Good in nature?

University of CaliforniaExperiment- 120 students- Each has virtual amount

of money- See each others amount- Move money of other people in 5 rounds

Result- 70% took money from rich and gave to poor

[tagesschau.de, picture-alliance/ dpa]

http://www.tagesschau.de/bildstrecken/0,,OID6616094_MTB1_POS1,00.html



Outline

DefinitionHistoric Overview- Hobbes- Rousseau- DiscussionRecent work- E. O. WilsonConsequencesFlashlight feedback



Definition

What do think when you sayHuman Nature?



Definition

Merriam-Webster- the fundamental dispositions

and traits of humans

Wikipedia- Fundamental nature and substance of humans- and behavior- Invariant

• Long time• Cultural context



Outline




Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679)

Idea- homo homini lupus

„man is man‘s wolf“- Man is ‘bad’- Leads to war all against all.Political Theory- Social contract- Transfer power to Sovereign

• To have peace• Sovereign all power, misuse ‘OK’

[public domain, see wikipedia]



Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778)

Idea- Man is good by nature- But corrupted by society

Political Theory- Social contract- People have sovereignty- Volonté générale

• General will• Not equal to will of all (Volonté de tous)

[public domain, see wikipedia]



State of nature

Inherently good- John Locke- RousseauInherently bad- Hobbes- Original sin (Christianity)

• Lack of holiness (Psalm 51:5)

Neutral- Social/biological determinism

• Human determined by social/biological factors



Discussion

What do you think about- Human nature?- State of nature?



Outline




Edward O Wilson (* 1929)

Human nature- epigenetic rules

• “Development after DNA inheritance”

- Does not include• Artworks

- Includes• Art appreciation• Fear for snakes• Incest taboo

Exploration by all sciences

[Copyrighted, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Edward_O_Wilson.jpg]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Edward_O_Wilson.jpg



Consequences

Political/social system- Monarchy vs. direct democracyEconomical system- Capitalism vs. common ownershipHuman traitsFree will vs. determinismWhy do we do things we do?- Loving, killing, hating, helping……



Flashlight Feedback

Everyone gives a short uncommented statement



Flashlight Feedback - Initiator

- Interesting topic?- Was it new for you?- Do you think its relevant?

- Was it well presented?



“If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are

not the same as truth.”[Edward Osborne Wilson - Consilience, p 262]

Thank you for your attention!Questions?

Let’s forget about passion and fulfill our desire at Koerner’s to find the real truth.



Reverences

All the important terms in this talk @- http://de.wikipedia.org/- http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID6616094,00.htmlwww.m-w.com

http://de.wikipedia.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID6616094,00.html

http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID6616094,00.html

human nature and its consequences

Technology