This paper came together in a strange sort of way. I was fully planning on not writing a paper, but when I was writing the to-be introduction for my artifact, I realized I would need more words than I had first intended. I did not know how to explain the depth and merits of both sides of the “human nature” debate without going into depth— and I could not achieve that sort of depth without writing an essay, so, here we are.
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Brockman, John, editor. "A Biological Understanding of Human Nature:." Edge, With, A Conversation, et al. "A Biological Understanding of Human Nature." A Biological Understanding of Human Nature | Edge.org, www.edge.org/conversation/steven_pinker-a-biological-understanding-of-human-nature.
Ekman, Paul. "Darwin's Compassionate View of Human Nature." JAMA, 10 Feb. 2010, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/185330. Geertz, Clifford. "The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man." The Interpretation of Cultures, Basic Books, 1973. Goode, Erica. "Human Nature: Born or Made?" The New York Times, 14 Mar. 2000, www.nytimes.com/2000/03/14/science/human-nature-born-or-made.html. Handler, Richard. "Of Cannibals and Custom: Montaigne's Cultural Relativism." Anthropology Today, vol. 2, no. 5, 1986, pp. 12–14. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3032977. Accessed 13 Feb. 2020. Lewis, Tanya. “Twins Separated at Birth Reveal Staggering Influence of Genetics.” LiveScience, Purch, 11 Aug. 2014, www.livescience.com/47288-twin-study-importance-of-genetics.html. Oed : "human nature, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/274634. Accessed 24 April 2020. To be completely honest, I have been very preoccupied the past few weeks. I haven’t made much progress at all since the last update. With trying to adjust to online learning, get all my work done, and avoid getting yelled at by my mother, I haven’t had time to think about my capstone project. Before I feel ready to fully approach the topic of my artifact, I would need more time to dive further in the subject. Overall, I just need time (and understanding), not only in regards to capstone but just with everything.
Intro:
For my senior capstone project I would like to explore how science (and more specifically, evolution) affect the patterns of thinking, feeling and decision making that humans are said to have biologically programmed into us— human nature. The subject of human nature has long been a topic of speculation among philosophers and anthropologists alike, and remains a source of debate for many thinkers. The topic of human nature is broad and spans many disciplines— from religious studies to biological sciences. I intend to research how evolution may have answers for why humans act the way we do as well as speculating on the influences human nature has had on culture and vice versa. Experts:
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Scholarly conversation
Initial thoughts:
Annotated Bibliography Brockman, John, editor. "A Biological Understanding of Human Nature:." Edge, With, A Conversation, et al. "A Biological Understanding of Human Nature." A Biological Understanding of Human Nature | Edge.org, www.edge.org/conversation/steven_pinker-a-biological-understanding-of-human-nature. This source is an interview between an Edge writer and Stephen Pinker, a cognitive psychologist who was one of the first to champion evolutionary psychology. Pinker details his stance on human nature and the importance of understanding it. Pinker argues that if systems like sight and hunger evolved to keep early humans from running into things or starving, why wouldn’t systems like “sexuality, violence, beauty, and family feelings” also have evolutionary roots? Pinker believes that it is vital to have a correct understanding of human nature because disproven theories of human nature (ex. blank slate theory) have caused many missteps and outright atrocities (WWII). This source provides valuable insight into the “purely biological” approach to human nature. Ekman, Paul. "Darwin's Compassionate View of Human Nature." JAMA, 10 Feb. 2010, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/185330. This source provides insight into the Darwinian view of human nature. Darwin believed strongly in the concept that while human nature was evolutionary advantageous, human nature is strongly influenced by culture. This source provides a basis for the understanding of human nature from one of the most influential voices in evolution. Geertz, Clifford. "The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man." The Interpretation of Cultures, Basic Books, 1973. This source outlines both an overview of many theories of human nature as well as Geertz’s argument— that both the biological and cultural aspects must be considered and that the link between the two is how we ought to define human nature. This source provides a very valuable insight into how culture and biology intersect. Goode, Erica. "Human Nature: Born or Made?" The New York Times, 14 Mar. 2000, www.nytimes.com/2000/03/14/science/human-nature-born-or-made.html. This source details the beginnings of the field of evolutionary psychology and its applications. Evolutionary psychology seeks to explain how the mind was shaped over time to respond to problems we no longer face and how this leads to the “design flaws” in the human mind. This source is helpful because the field of evolutionary psychology is critical when discussing the biological influences on human nature. Handler, Richard. "Of Cannibals and Custom: Montaigne's Cultural Relativism." Anthropology Today, vol. 2, no. 5, 1986, pp. 12–14. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3032977. Accessed 13 Feb. 2020. This source overviews Montaigne’s belief that there is no human nature because “custom” or culture dictates human behavior more than our “nature” does. Long story short: every worldview is situated in a specific time and place. This source is valuable to my research as it shows the other end of the spectrum of “what is human nature”— with Pinker on one end and Montaigne on the other. Internal Expert Plan: Since I’m planning on speaking with DW, I don’t want to lock myself into a strict script since conversations with DW tend to work best when you aren’t looking for a specific answer or end goal. I’m planning on starting the conversation by asking: do you believe there is anything “innately human”? External Expert Plan: For my external interview it will have to be more structured since it’ll (most likely) be over email. I intend to ask Dr. Donnelly the following questions:
So far, I have been reading an interview with Steven Pinker (who’s work I intend to read soon) and I’ve started reading Plato’s republic to gain a better understanding of the basis of the theory of human nature. I’ve definitely only scratched the surface of the research I’d like to do, so I definitely need to keep reading and researching. I also think I need to rephrase my research question (more for my own comfort than anything else), so I’m thinking I’ll phrase it as “the scientific basis of human nature and its implications for society” for now. Going forward I will be focusing on questions such as: is there a biological basis for human nature? Do our evolutionary roots affect how we interact with the modern world? If so, does this affect the way we structure our society? I plan to discuss these ideas with DW (first question: do you believe there is anything “innately human”? most important: if yes, how does this impact the way we view the world and our place in it?). Externally, I plan to talk with Dr. Roarke Donnelly, an Ogelthorpe process doing research on the intersection between science and human nature (first question: do you think that our biology/evolutionary heritage affects us in the modern world? most important question: if yes, do you think there’s a way people could “evolve out” instincts like those?).
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