Human Nature, Culture, and Dualism: A Philosophical and Scientific Exploration
Artificial Intelligence: a scientific discipline studying the possibility of creating thinking machines or computers that mimic human activity. Behaviorism: all we know is affecting and encourages the organism and answers physical questions. There are two separate realities, but a single one integrates both physical and psychological aspects of functionalism: the mind refuses to be a substance and reduces to a function carried out by the brain. Substances: in philosophical language, reality exists independently and needs nothing else to be. Monism: a theory defending that humans are a unique substance. Materialistic: material substance; we are only the body. Spiritualist: mental substance; we are only mind. Berkeley (spiritualist): the body has no existence independent of its conception in the mind. This is called idealism or mentalism. Body: material, sensible component part. Soul: intangible, spiritual part. Body and soul form our being. This conception is called dualism, defended by many religions and philosophies. Dualist Conceptions: Orphism / A dualistic conception. Platonic dualism states that human beings comprise an immaterial soul that accidentally unites with a material body. Body and soul are two opposite and irreconcilable poles: body (sensuality) – soul (rational). Cartesian Dualism (Descartes): the more nuanced than Platonic. Body and soul are different and independent substances. Descartes identifies the soul with reason and the body with inert matter. Problem of dualism: if soul and body are two separate substances, how can one relate to another human being? Stimulates the brain to process data received through the nervous system in the form of a response. Brain: Input (data received) – Software (program that processes data received) – Output (response or output information). Anthropogonic Myth: a religious story about the origin of humankind.
Creationism: a way of thinking whereby we are the direct result of a creator who created us in his image and likeness. Fixism (Aristotle): the theory that species have not been created by anyone, but are eternal, fixed, and unalterable. Each species corresponds to a perfect and unmodifiable form. Theory of Disasters: cataclysms cause the extinction of many species, creating new ones. Theory of Evolution (Lamarckism): current species come from previous ones. Two laws: 1- Law of use and disuse (individual efforts to adapt to the environment may cause changes in the body). 2- Law of inheritance of acquired characteristics (these changes are transmitted to offspring). Hominization – Humanization process: 5-3 million years ago (Australopithecus). Climatic change, disappearance of the rainforest, selective pressure on arboreal primates, selection of individuals more adapted to the open environment, adoption of bipedalism (freeing the hands). 1-2 million years ago: consolidation of bipedalism, hand evolution, increase in cranial volume, first tool fabrication, discovery of fire. 300,000 years ago: continued encephalic growth, greater manual ability, fabrication of more elaborate tools, improved diet (cooked foods), socialization. 40,000 years ago: intensification of brain evolution, neoteny (prolonged childhood), articulate language, intense socialization, learning, symbolism.
Attitudes towards cultural diversity Ethnocentrism: believes that one’s own culture is the only correct one; does not accept other cultures; attempts to impose its culture. Relativism: does not evaluate whether a culture’s values are correct or not; evaluates internal consistency. Universalism: the hypothesis that, due to existing communication facilities, cultures are mixing; defends the hypothesis that, in some years, this mixture will result in a macro-culture. Culture: what we learn socially through interaction; language allows us to learn, socialize, and adapt; cultural evolution is increasingly accelerated. Nature: given; does not change; it seems that our natural evolution has stopped.
Mental acts are characterized by: Qualitative (cannot be located in concrete space; subjective (are accessible only to the subject who perceives them); Intentional (possess meaning). Theory of the 3 worlds (Popper): physical phenomena belong to a level of physical reality (world 1), while mental phenomena, which arise in world 1, constitute a different world called 2. The world 3 is formed by human cultural constructions (arising from world 2).
Angels (Rousseau): are sociable by nature; we are born sociable; we are naturally good; we seek pleasure. Aristotle: language (the word) gives rise to sociability, creates links, and establishes relationships. Demons (Freud): act through egoism; are not naturally sociable; we are naturally egoistic and aggressive; only fear of punishment compels us to socialize. Hobbes: man is a wolf to man. Freud: Id / Ego / Superego; life impulses (eros) and death/aggressiveness impulses (thanatos). Culture, laws, and regulations protect us from our impulses.
Defense mechanisms: Isolation: separating emotions from thoughts. Compensation: being very good at something to compensate for something bad. Displacement: taking out anger on someone else. Fantasy: imagining things. Identification: appropriating others’ qualities. Reactive formations: expressing feelings contrary to true feelings. Denial: ignoring unpleasant realities. Projection: attributing one’s own feelings to others. Rationalization: finding reasons to justify actions. Regression: behaving like a child. Repression: preventing painful thoughts from entering consciousness. Sublimation: channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.