How We’re Wired
Nature vs Nurture
Nature versus nurture is one of the seemingly perpetual debates. The reason for all the controversy is because both positions are true. I think most of our behavior is from how we were raised and educated. There are also fundamental characteristics of our species stemming from the way we evolved. Primitive humans had two basic needs for survival. They could not function and have children without a community providing mutual support. They also needed fear and aggression to protect the group from attacks from animals and rival tribes.
So here we are, wired to connect with others and nurture children and relationships. We are also programmed for flight or fight responses when under threat. It isn’t Satan making all this trouble, it’s us. A single person out there on the veldt won’t last long among the lions and mammoths. If he joins up with others, they can build protection from predators and provide shelter. All they then need are food sources and something to clothe themselves with.
If the people are out of their enclosure and encounter a Sabre-Toothed Tiger or a rival from a neighboring tribe they have two responses. They can stand their ground and fight the enemy or flee. Encountering the threat triggers several internal responses. The body goes on high alert, releasing adrenaline, tensing muscles, increasing respiration, and so on. We are then better equipped to fight off the threat or run.
We run home, where we can get support from family members and members of our tribe. We are then better equipped to fight. The community provides defense. The members have gathered together to raise babies, find mates, play poker, dance, kick balls, and get sick and die together. If we are in Michigan, we are trained to dislike Ohio State.
The need for coming together to meet threats is institutionalized into sport. We also get together to run and jump training to flee if necessary. The two mechanisms are working in concert for pleasure. Michiganders don’t seek to kill Ohioans. Ethiopians often try to kill Eritreans.
Warfare between groups is most often for territory, power, or simple greed. Groups ally themselves with other groups to meet a threat or defuse threats. All the strife and conflict occurs within and between groups. It has been going on as long as we have been a species.
There is a remedy using our innate need for community. We nurture and support those in our community then expand the support and nurturing to all. I can’t directly support the one billion Chinese but I can pray for them. The act of praying opens my heart, building empathy and lovingkindness for the billions out there. The others praying together create a web of connection, acting across oceans and nations to bring us all together.
There are also forces attempting to tear us apart, stemming from the we-they response. The twentieth century is an example of the we-they response going wildly out of control and killing millions of people.
I think the natural world wide web of human interconnection, lovingkindness, and empathy is keeping the strife from destroying us all. My goal is to build as much lovingkindness within my own community. I also believe praying for all beings to be safe, happy, and free works to strengthen the web of connection. Keep it up, folks, our civilization depends on us.
