 The Nature Of Man (Human Evaluation)~ The UT Instinct ~Chapter 2: The IndividualIf this is your first visit to this site please read the Glossary Please note: there is an introduction and 17 chapters in this section. If you have not read the introduction and all the chapters preceeding this one you will not understand the points I am trying to make. To gain understanding you should start - at the beginning Chapter 0.
Let us take a simple look at a human; at an uncomplicated - non-programmed - version of a member of that species - a new born baby. It doesn't matter if be was born ten thousand years ago, three thousand years ago, five hundred years ago, this very day or even two hundred years in the future. What does be know? Be knows nothing but the simple natural instincts - the instinct to suckle, the instinct to grasp, the instinct to imitate and mimic, the instinct not to breathe underwater etc. What nationality is be? Be doesn't have any predefined notions of what nationality be belongs to. Be doesn't know if be is French, American, Irish, Japanese, Indian, or any other nationality. Only later on will be acquire an idea of bes nationality. At this stage be has the potential to be of any nationality. What language can be speak? None. Be does not have a in-built dictionary - that, be will acquire with time. Be doesn't understand any word at all. And what language will be be able to speak? At this stage be has the potential to be able to speak any language, and to be able to learn to pronounce any ‘strange’ word, or any strange language sound. What kind of food can be eat? What kind of food will be consider acceptable to eat? Be doesn't know. Be will try and eat everything! Be doesn't know if worms are acceptable food items; nor snails, nor live grubs in the rotten remains of trees, nor pork, nor human flesh, nor any flesh for that matter. At this stage be has the potential to like or dislike any type of food item, or to consider any type of food item as being either acceptable or unacceptable. How will be judge others (both of bes and other species)? Be doesn't know. Be won't know if be should be afraid of snakes. Be won't know if be should be wary of strangers. Be won't know how to judge fat people, thin people, old people, disabled people, White people, Black people, males, females, Jewish, Catholic, Muslims, Protestants, ‘illegitimate’ children, unmarried mothers, etc. Be does not know, at all, how be should consider all these things outside beself. At this stage be has the potential to like or dislike any entity, or group of entities; or to consider any of these entities as either being acceptable, or totally unacceptable. What does be know of god? Be doesn't know if there is a god or not. The fact is that be has the capacity to believe in any god, or number of gods. Be has the capacity to believe in male gods, female gods, neutral gods, non-earthly gods, earthly gods, selfless gods, selfish gods, peace-loving gods, fierce violent gods, savage gods, forgiving gods, and any other type of god I may have left out of the list. Be has the capacity to believe in snake gods, wolf gods, frog gods, cow gods, tree gods, mountain gods, sun gods, alligator gods, bear gods; and any other animate or inanimate entities one may like to include. What does be know of religion? Be knows nothing. Be doesn't know if be is a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew, a Moslem, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Shintoist etc. At this stage, although be has the potential to belong to any religion whatsoever, no matter how bizarre or strange, be belongs to no religion. Be has no beliefs. What are bes morals? Be has no morals. Be doesn't know whether killing a member of the same species is acceptable or not (be doesn't even know what species be belongs to!). Be doesn't know whether killing a member of the same tribe is acceptable or not (be doesn't even know what tribe be belongs to!). Likewise, be doesn't know the moral questions regarding stealing, violence, hatred, rape, slavery, torture; and any other kind of activity which may create a moral crisis, or question. At this stage be has the potential to consider any of the above actions as being either acceptable or non-acceptable - to beself and in the opinion of others. What are bes values? Be does not have any. Be doesn't know if forgiveness is correct, or laudable. Neither does be know whether patience, sharing, helping others, equality, bullying; and any other type of value, or behaviour, is acceptable or not. At this stage be has the potential to believe any or all, or none, of these traits to be either a positive or negative reflection of bes behaviour. What does be know as regards knowledge? Does be know whether the earth is round or flat, or balanced on the back of a turtle? Does be know if it is the centre of the solar system, or the centre of the universe? Does be know whether a camera will steal a person's soul? Be knows nothing. Be doesn't know about fire, about hunting, about mathematics, about science, about biology, about computers, about gravity, about evolution, about relativity. Be knows none of these things. At this stage be has the potential to believe in any of these things; to believe in any facts regarding any of these things, or be has the potential to learn nothing at all regarding all of these things. So one could define the baby - the human being - as a dumb biological entity with the capability, or potential, to have any variation of beliefs, values, morals, culture, and knowledge whatsoever; to have any traits that one may care to think of, or imagine. So where, and how, do we acquire these human traits? These human ‘traits’ (in simple terms) are generated and developed within the tribal structure. If be is brought up in a White family living in the USA be will have totally different values, knowledge, religion etc than if be was brought up in a village in Indonesia, Afghanistan, Britain, Mexico or China etc. In other words the beliefs, values, culture etc do not reflect the actually nature (savagery, intelligence, decency etc) of the individual whatsoever. Most importantly it is up to you to understand that YOUR values have no more importance or value than anyone else's, no matter what they believe - or don't. YOUR beliefs are only as valid as anyone else's. This includes those values by which you consider yourself to be civilised and good and decent. For the most part everything you believe is mere chance - you happen to be of a certain religion, of a certain nationality, etc etc etc.
See also Appendix 2 - The Two Babies Scenario Lou Gogan
published: 2006
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