A: i believe people are inherently good. and if they are not its b/c the world has been unfair to them along the way. even the people who fuck me over, i end up defending in some regard
me: i believe people are inherintly selfish and if they arent its because they had a fantastic parent. and if there is no such thing as unfair, just the cards were dealt and how were either wired or taught to deal with them.
A: wow. those are two differing perspectives
me: were hardwired to look out for ourselves. thats what i mean by selfish. we do defend ourselves, we are defensive by nature, we are out for our own protection.
A: i believe people care for others and try to do the right thing. right by themselves and right by their brothers. work really hard to not screw people over intentionally and to be honest when it counts
me: nope. dont agree. i think thats religion and peer pressure that keeps us doing right by our brother. have you ever watched people walk by a homeless person lying sprawled on the ground in manhattan? no one stops to see if hes dead. i think people would rather not screw other people over because religion and our parents and society impose whats right and wrong and that honesty is correct but ultimately our instincts are to do what is best for us. and i dont think people will go that much out of hteir way to help someone else out. particularly not a stranger
A: i believe that everyone wants to do right by others but that we live in fear and that social strata and functioning institutions of order have been organized around stratification, fear, and denial of need. after all how else could the market run?
me: fear, yes i can see that being a factor
A: i see what your saying, but i don't know if its instinctual
me: peopel are afraid of the homeless man.
A: they are. they have learned to be. this is what i learn from watching children
me: they help another kid who has fallen down?
A: no, but they don't run away from a kid who has fallen down. these things are learned
me: i dont know. i think people are good to themselves first, and to the people who they know and love intimately, namely their families, second. its a survival tactic, a species couldnt survive if they were universally compassionate.
A: yes. but thats why we form social groups. and kinship ties
god i can't wait until i've been in school longer and i actually know how to talk about this stuff instead of pulling it out from dusty corners of supposition. so i'm sorry if my argument seems weak. in comparison to what you are saying
me: dont be sorry. and i dont think theres a way in the world that you could convince me that people are not inherently selfish and will only go out of their way to do good if it is easy or if they are feeling pressure from society. this is what my experience has been. it doesnt mean i dont love love love people, i love studying them i love seeing what makes people go out of their way, how we balance our self protective instincts with our inherent loneliness, the other major weight on the scale... we are lazy and selfish yes but we are also lonely. and that leaves us vulnerable and it lets us love and that makes us do all kinds of things that are difficult, not lazy, and selfless in a way... i love people. but thats what i believe is operating at their core.
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