![]() ![]() The Judeo-Christian tradition, for example, offers explanations for much of the subject matter now studied by biology and psychology. Rival theories of human nature are entwined in different ways of life and different political systems, and have been a source of much conflict over the course of history.įor millennia, the major theories of human nature have come from religion. And because it delineates what people can achieve easily, what they can achieve only with sacrifice or pain, and what they cannot achieve at all, it affects our values: what we believe we can reasonably strive for as individuals and as a society. Its assumptions about learning drive our educational policy its assumptions about motivation drive our policies on economics, law, and crime. It advises us on how to nurture our marriages, bring up our children, and control our own behavior. We consult it when we want to persuade or threaten, inform or deceive. Our theory of human nature is the wellspring of much in our lives. We absorb still other ideas from our intellectual climate: from the expertise of authorities and the conventional wisdom of the day. ![]() We fill out this theory by introspecting on our own minds and assuming that our fellows are like ourselves, and by watching people's behavior and filing away generalizations. A tacit theory of human nature-that behavior is caused by thoughts and feelings-is embedded in the very way we think about people. Everyone has to anticipate the behavior of others, and that means we all need theories about what makes people tick.
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