human nature

Human nature is genetically predetermined features of behavior, thinking and inclinations of a person as a biological species. It includes both what came to us from our animal past, as well as newly acquired features that were formed in the history of human civilization proper.

The biological nature of a person is the sum of instincts, innate programs of behavior in typical situations, presented in the human mind in the form of unconscious inclinations; in these instincts, he does not differ radically from other biological species, except that they play a smaller role in him, and, accordingly, they are weaker and, like everything weakening, rudimentary, sometimes ugly … However, in the same biological nature of man, as of the human being itself, speech and hands enter — reliance on a free and transforming mind enters. The higher nature grows in man from the lower and becomes something independent.

Is human nature positive?

Modern psychological trends in relation to views on human nature sometimes adhere to diametrically opposed views. One of the main disputes is the dispute about whether human nature is good (aimed at good), humane, constructive. Approximately a quarter of experts are convinced that human nature is positive, a quarter that human nature is negative, a quarter believes that people are born with different natures, the last quarter considers it generally pointless to consider this issue. See →

Second nature

The second nature is that which has become internal and completely natural for a person, just as natural as genetically given.

If a girl at a young age allowed herself complete freedom of elemental emotions and practiced this with her soul every day for two decades, her unbridled emotionality became her natural, second nature. If another girl was once impressed by the beauty of her movements and for many years honed the beauty and nobility of her movements at the ballet school every day, then the nobility of her movements and royal posture also became her second nature.

From the point of view of L.S. Vygotsky, since the nature of a person is determined not by his body, but by the culture surrounding him, it is always something artificial. Your real human nature is always, completely, completely artificial, created and built into us by your parents, your teachers, your friends, the books you read and the movies you watch.

Human nature and personal growth

Personal growth is a concept that is possible only within the framework of the view of the positive nature of man. For Freudianism, the concept of «personal growth» is absurd and nonsense. See →

Political correctness in thinking about human nature

Pedology ceased to exist when the report of pedologists, which cited the statistics they had made, hit Stalin’s desk. According to their research, the children of intellectuals were far ahead in the mental development of the children of workers. Having received such conclusions, Stalin immediately liquidated both pedology, as a science as a whole, and its statistics. They misunderstood the nature of the working class! See →

Human Nature Data Pedagogy

It should be borne in mind that data on human nature not only state, but also form reality. If children learn that people are by nature beasts, then due to natural suggestion, the likelihood of them exhibiting highly moral behavior will rather decrease. On the contrary, stories about the good nature of man usually contribute to moral education.

In psychotherapy, to attract clients, it is more profitable to talk about severe internal conflicts (create a problem, see →). For healing, it is more convenient to inspire the client that his inner nature is good. constructive and his unconscious will help us.

The Gestalt approach and NLP avoid talking about human nature, but in therapy they start from its positive and constructive nature.

Useful links

• What is «human nature»? — articles by Alexander Kruglov