Human Nature: What Kind of Creature Are We?
By John Robbins
 These days, many of us tend to think that human nature is inherently competitive and destructive. We hear about “selfish genes,” as if our genetic makeup predetermines that we will be egotistic people and that we will fight with one another. We’re told that our species contains a built-in “killer instinct,” that we are descended from apes who needed to be brutal and ferociously aggressive to survive the hostile conditions of prehistoric times. According to such notions, the natural world is an unrelenting battle for survival, and it is mere wishful thinking to believe that people can live in peace with one another and with their environment for any significant length of time. “War,” said Dick Cheney, seeking to justify the invasion of Iraq, “is the natural state of man.” Read more
|
