Discussion about our Human nature, the egotistic instincts intentions that truly drive us
“You wrote before: ‘On the other hand the act you described about yourself, instinctively saving your family with your own body against a car approaching was an instinctive act of survival reflex, you protecting your loved ones who you consider as your own parts. Thus it is not altruistic according to the true meaning of the word, serving, protecting others unconditionally without any self-serving reason, condition.’
What you describe as our instincts are part of our “original software” as you call it, along with mirror neurones in a brain which allow us to experience the pain and distress of others as though it were our own and feel drawn to help. These are more fundamental than much of our behaviour which is a result of social learning. I see people moved to help others all around me all the time. If the child had not been my own, in the example I gave I cannot think that I would have acted differently. In fact, I can give another example, many years ago when a friend dashed out into the street in front of a lorry to pick up a child who had wandered out into the traffic while his mother was seeing to an infant in a pram. All these things are part of our evolved nature as a cooperative species.
You also wrote that ‘We are programmed to protect, save and send ourselves at all cost.’
‘At all costs’. No. The many well-attested wartime examples you “can’t comment on, obviously” disprove this claim completely. Your arguments, as usual, are no more than unevidenced assertions, expressions of belief, not statements of fact.
Clearly we have an ‘instinct’ and a desire for self preservation, and a desire to meet our own needs, but we also have a capacity for altruism and self sacrifice. So, your comments don’t only seem black and white; they are black and white and one-sided to boot.”
What you write about my personal assertions, opinion is probably true, but I am not writing about my own personal experiences, opinion.
I am studying an empirical science which has been studying Human nature for millennia in contrast to the fundamental qualities in Nature’s truly altruistic system.
These scientists left for us their observations on an organized, truly scientific form and also devised a method through which we can observe, research our own instincts, behavioral patterns in “laboratory conditions”.
Without this method we can never get to know ourselves as it is impossible to honestly, objective judge our true intentions - which are the true “actions” not what we see on the surface.
I fully understand you, I felt the same when I started studying myself. By default we always want to justify ourselves, twist everything somehow to come out clean. Normally no sane person can accept - without the black and white truth this method provides - that by birth we are incapable of anything if it doesn’t serve our own interest in some way, that inherently there is “nothing good” in us.
Only those study this method and accept the findings and carry on with it who already feel that without changing ourselves we keep causing damage to ourselves and to everybody else.
On the other hand as Humanity in our generation is inevitably heading towards self-destruction, due to the previously unknown, unfelt inner program that drives all of us, more and more people are in need of such an honest self-recognition so we can purposefully, methodically start changing, “upgrading” ourselves.
I don’t want to convince you about anything, I don’t want to disturb your feelings about yourself, there is no coercion in this method of self-recognition, only those go through it who enter willingly through their free choice.
But if you comment on my writings, ask me questions I have no ability to answer in any other way, as I am not giving you my own opinion, but I am describing the laws of Nature, the characteristics of Human nature, the above mentioned scientists compiled all through Human history.
I don’t know if you are familiar with the futuristic TV series called “Westworld”, where people monitor, record and sort all aspects of Human behavior in order to become able to “upload” Human consciousness into robots to achieve eternal life. The above mentioned scientists - their long chain from generation to generation - have been doing that in their own methodical way, the data they work with encompasses the complete Human development.
Everything depends on need, some people still don’t need this method while others already want it desperately.