The Backward OX

Human nature

Someone else on this site has postulated that we are all driven, a little or a lot, by motive.

I say that all humans are inherently lazy.

What do you think? And what’s your reason for thinking the way you do?

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

CodeRed

At a base level, Ox, I will agree with you. However, I also believe that human beings have a tendency towards passionate extremes, which - more often than not - overrides inherent laziness.

I believe that motivation comes from the desire to achieve a specific result; passionate drive causes one to go to any length to acheive that result.

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All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients. Ralph Waldo Emerson

terrib

Only a lazy person would say that!

Neo

People are driven to satisfy themselves, even if they think they are being altruistic. We only help others to make ourselves feel better or to gain something. We are egocentric and greed-driven, even those who genuinely think they are "nice people" or are "not like that."

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Writ-with-Hand

I agree with St Thomas Aquinas that human beings are inclined toward wanting to live out virtue.

The problem is every culture and subculture has their own idea of what constitutes virtue in their world.

I believe this to be true because just about everyone on this board to everyone in the world present self-righteous critiques of others and or how the world should operate per peoples personal choices and behaviors and thoughts.

If you ever enter my neighborhood it is regarded as virtuous to respond with physical violence or cursing or threats to anyone who accidently brushes up against you. If someone takes your money it is considered right to either beat them down or kill them. Doing time in prison is also considered of great virtue, production of manhood, and can be a great honor at times. Women hold these notions particularly toward men also.

Republicans, Libertarians, Democrats, Muslims, Jews, Buddhist, Catholics, feminists, anti-feminists, gay-rights activits, and anti-gay people, to gangsters, to nazis all think they are living by prinicples of virtue.


We all want to do what's "right."

Neo

Good point - but many of us don't really question what is "right" and what is "wrong," do we?

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Writ-with-Hand

Now that you mention it, I suppose not. I guess most people just follow along with whatever their environment tells them.

Neo

I mean, there's a lot of people for whom "doing what's right" is imperative, but the cost of "doing what's right" might cause more problems than it solves.

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spider8

Psychology Today: Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature

The above link takes you to "10 Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature"

A lot of it blames ALL our motivations on getting sex. From suicide bombers to playing sport, it's all to do with getting it.

Neo

That's actually just about true. Who was it who once said that men built civilization to impress our girlfriends?

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HarryG

Most of the posts and the excellent link from Spider8 link human nature to what we consider as common sense. It goes right back to the Garden of Eden, or the Big Bang, our need to procreate our species, built into our souls. Both Bill Clinton and the Muslim suicide bombers acted with the same aim, the be blunt, sex, or the lack of it.


That's human nature, the search for sex, it's not complicated, it's plain old common sense.


It took me back to my first visits to dance halls to meet members of the opposite sex. If there were enough to go round, everybody would be reasonably sober and contented, if there weren't, we'd all be fighting drunk. Club everyone around, grab them by the hair, and drag them back to the cave.


And if there were none around, none at all, you might as well attack the nearest dinosaur with your little club and die.

Modest Me

Well, I really don't know the point of this thread. Of course we are driven by motive. Everything we do, we do because we think something good will come from it. We eat because we think it will make that hungry feeling go away. We sleep because it will take away our tiredness (if thats a word). And so on and so forth.
Wheres the debate?

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Warning: Will talk about religion at the drop of a hat.

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