prasad1
Active member
It’s a question that’s reverberated through the ages – are humans, though imperfect, essentially kind, sensible, good-natured creatures? Or are we, deep down, wired to be bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish? There are no easy answers, and there’s clearly a lot of variation between individuals, but here we shine some evidence-based light on the matter through 10 dispiriting findings that reveal the darker and less impressive aspects of human nature:
1. We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human.
2. We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four.
3. We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate.
4. We are blinkered and dogmatic.
5. We would rather electrocute ourselves than spend time in our own thoughts.
6. We are vain and overconfident.
7. We are moral hypocrites.
8. We are all potential trolls.
9. We favour ineffective leaders with psychopathic traits.
10. We are sexually attracted to people with dark personality traits.
Don’t get too down – these findings say nothing of the success that some of us have had in overcoming our baser instincts. In fact, it is arguably by acknowledging and understanding our shortcomings that we can more successfully overcome them, and so cultivate the better angels of our nature.
https://scroll.in/article/904891/are-humans-good-or-bad-heres-the-prognosis-according-to-psychology
1. We view minorities and the vulnerable as less than human.
2. We experience Schadenfreude (pleasure at another person’s distress) by the age of four.
3. We believe in karma – assuming that the downtrodden of the world deserve their fate.
4. We are blinkered and dogmatic.
5. We would rather electrocute ourselves than spend time in our own thoughts.
6. We are vain and overconfident.
7. We are moral hypocrites.
8. We are all potential trolls.
9. We favour ineffective leaders with psychopathic traits.
10. We are sexually attracted to people with dark personality traits.
Don’t get too down – these findings say nothing of the success that some of us have had in overcoming our baser instincts. In fact, it is arguably by acknowledging and understanding our shortcomings that we can more successfully overcome them, and so cultivate the better angels of our nature.
https://scroll.in/article/904891/are-humans-good-or-bad-heres-the-prognosis-according-to-psychology