What Is Man?
What is man but the sum of his experiences. Mark Twain referred to this as training in his writing of "What is Man?", and first we will consider training.
From an early age, man is exposed to his emotions, he is trained intellectually, and he develops in his family and other relationships. Through social interactions he chooses a personality which is comprised of learned responses based on similar past experiences. Over time, these intuitions become deeply ingrained in the thought processes of the individual. But not just these intuitions, habits become even more see a part of the individual's identity, and they dictate how the intuitions will be governed.
How much of an individual would you say possesses in-born traits? Is training the major component of predicting an individual's thoughts and actions? Was any of this personality geneticly predisposed, or was it all brought about by responses to external stimuli? Mark Twain claims that there is only one drive that is born into the human. This is the cause of self, an egotism which lies behind all of our actions, the need to gain our own contentment through our actions, no matter how noble they may seem. This selfish core is what drives us, and as a person over time is exposed to his environment he evolves his sense of self.
So while there are certainly genetic factors involved, only through training can they come about.
From an early age, man is exposed to his emotions, he is trained intellectually, and he develops in his family and other relationships. Through social interactions he chooses a personality which is comprised of learned responses based on similar past experiences. Over time, these intuitions become deeply ingrained in the thought processes of the individual. But not just these intuitions, habits become even more see a part of the individual's identity, and they dictate how the intuitions will be governed.
How much of an individual would you say possesses in-born traits? Is training the major component of predicting an individual's thoughts and actions? Was any of this personality geneticly predisposed, or was it all brought about by responses to external stimuli? Mark Twain claims that there is only one drive that is born into the human. This is the cause of self, an egotism which lies behind all of our actions, the need to gain our own contentment through our actions, no matter how noble they may seem. This selfish core is what drives us, and as a person over time is exposed to his environment he evolves his sense of self.
So while there are certainly genetic factors involved, only through training can they come about.