"'Our telepaths have reported the animals are reluctant to fight.'
"'They are adaptable...'" (p. 277)
That sums up humanity. We have peaceful cultures, warlike cultures and plasticity/adaptability. We are not just one thing.
I worked with a guy who, although young, was well on his way to becoming a factory sage with a one-liner for everything.
Denis' economic policy: "Get the country on its feet!"
His morality of the arms trade: "If other people want to be mad, that's their problem!"
His theory of education: "You can't lead a donkey to water if he doesn't want to drink."
His theory of human nature: "Man is a violent thing."
His general philosophy of life: "I'm past thinking about life. It's just there!"
Man is a violent thing! If that was all we were, then we would never have cooperated, developed language or built civilizations.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I have to disagree. I can't think of a single human culture in all of our history that was peaceful. And I recall Stirling mentioning pre-historic examples of how brutal humans were.
I mostly agree with your ex-acquaintance, albeit I would try to express some of the things he said in a more nuanced manner.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Not a single peaceful culture? But cultures are not all warlike either. Most of us most of the time do not attack our neighbors. It is now unthinkable that the English and the Scottish should settle their differences by sending armies across the Border. There is a lot of peace and we can make more of it.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Of course! Most of the time, we as INDIVIDUALS, don't feel inclined to commit violence and mayhem others. But I have sure as heck have sometimes been angry enough that it might have happened. And I believe that tendency or possibility of us being violent will always be a part of human nature. And some, like criminals and rioters, DO commit violent acts.
I think any peace states and societies may have will always at least at risk of being precarious and fragile.
Ad astra! Sean
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