Headline, December 30 2024/ ''' HUMAN NATURE HUMMS '''

 

''' HUMAN NATURE

 HUMMS '''

ONE DAY IN THE SUMMER OF 1924 - AN ANTHROPOLOGIST named Raymond Dart made an incredible discovery - and drew a conclusion from it about human nature that would mislead us for a century.

Dart was examining a set of fossils that had been unearthed by miners near the town of Taung in South Africa when he found the skull of a  ''missing link'' between ancient apes and humans. 

It belonged to a juvenile member of the species Australopithecus Africanus who was later  nicknamed the Taung Child.

The skull conclusively demonstrated that Africa was the birthplace of humankind. It also seemed to reveal something sinister about human nature : There was a series of grooves etched in the bone, which Dart believed could be produced by only human made tools.

These marks convinced him that this young hominid had been butchered and eaten by another member of its tribe [ perhaps a hungry uncle ].

OUR ANCESTORS Dart concluded were cannibalistic killers. He argued that Australopithecus africanus represented a '' predatory transition '' in which our ancestors evolved from eating plants and fruits to devouring meat - and one another.

Dart's thesis quickly became scientific consensus and other anthropologists found facts to support the theory that humans evolved as ruthless hunters. For instance, we can run long distances  [ presumably to exhaust prey], throw spears and work well together [ to coordinate killing prey ].

The idea that humans are natural-born predators was not just a scientific claim ; it also found expression in the broader culture. In the 1954 novel '' Lord of the Flies,'' a group of school-age boys stranded on an island described into savage violence, revealing their true nature.

The 1968 movie '' 2001 : A Space Odyssey '' begins with a tribe of prehistoric apes - our ancestors - discovering how to use a leg bone, as a weapon to assault one another. Today, self-help gurus argue that we should reconnect with our '' ancestral lifestyle '' of eating raw meat and organs.

The assumption that our nature is predatory colors our everyday life. We might generally believe that other people mean well, but as soon as someone causes harm - like cutting us off in traffic - we assume that they intended it [ it's why we get so angry ].

The predatory assumption also shapes our perception of politics : '' The other side '' often seems ruthless, callaous and happy to inflict harm.

In a 2022 study led by the moral psychologists  Daniela Goya-Tocchetto, researchers found that  Democrats and Republicans perceived their opponents' policies - on issues such as taxation, gun control and environmental regulation - as driven by malicious intent.

While people acknowledged the unintended, regrettable trade-offs in their own sides as policies, they believed the other side's policies were deliberately harmful.

When it came to debates about curtailing industry to protect the environment, Democrats saw Republicans as intentionally damaging the environment, while Republicans believed  Democrats were actively trying to destroy blue-collar jobs.

There is a glaring problem, however, with the widespread assumption that humans are predators by nature : It's wrong.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Human Nature, widespread assumptions and the world, continues. The World Students Society thanks Professor Kurt Gray, who teaches psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders of the World, the Global Founder Framers of !WOW! - and then Students, Professors and Teachers of the world.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society :

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