• @cheese_greaterOP
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    26 hours ago

    Do you think (on the balance) its more nurture than nature to be shitty to other humans?

    • @randomdeadguy
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      24 hours ago

      This question has gone back and forth a lot, and the data says: both! The overall development of organisms depends the sum of the effect of the genes, the environment, and the gene-by-environment interaction. In conclusion, to predict human behaviors and personalities, we need a new zodiac system that accounts for multiple hemispheres, precipitation, elevation, socioeconomics, pandemics, popular movies, climate change, and the genome.

      “I was a Porky’s kid, born in the southern hemisphere, I ate well, was raised in good home, I had access to education, and it was back when climate change was still deniable. Most people did not know what a pandemic was. I’m genetically predisposed to hair loss.”

      “Ma’am, you are, what we call, a Jaguar-5-hypercrab-superbear, and I’m going to have to ask you to go with the nice officer now.”

    • moonlight
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      25 hours ago

      I definitely do. Those who act the worst towards others were usually raised that way, or encountered some kind of struggle that made them bitter.

      I strongly believe that if everyone was raised with compassion, and if everyone was supported and had their needs met, then we would see very little evil in the world.

      Our society seems structured to bring out the worst in us, and rewards those who behave unethically. A better world is possible though.

      • @JubilantJaguar
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        13 hours ago

        This is pretty harsh on people whose children turn out badly in spite of anything they did. And there are many such cases.

        On this subject it seems best to stick to the science rather than to cling to intuitions.

        • moonlight
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          12 hours ago

          Maybe I phrased this badly, but I definitely don’t think it’s 100% on parents, society and life experience play a huge role as well.

          There will always be a very small percentage of people who just turn out cruel, but I believe 99.9% of people are fundamentally good. It’s just fear or pain in their past or present that causes some to be bad to others.

          Also I think this is pretty firmly in the realm of philosophy, at least for now. I’m not aware of any research that can really answer this, although more broadly nurture seems to matter more than nature.

          • @JubilantJaguar
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            11 hour ago

            I’m not aware of any research that can really answer this, although more broadly nurture seems to matter more than nature.

            In my understanding, the research shows it’s rather the other way round. But these things are pretty hard to quantify so the debate is always going to be a bit sterile.

            I do however take objection when science is instrumentalized in the service of political ideology. As you surely know, a core tenet of Marxism is that human beings are socially constructed. Therefore, rather like religious fundamentalists on the subject of evolution, doctrinaire leftists have a strong incentive to deny science on this subject.

            • moonlight
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              160 minutes ago

              I do however take objection when science is instrumentalized in the service of political ideology.

              I didn’t bring up politics at all, and I don’t think that really applies here. It feels like you have an agenda to push…

              • @JubilantJaguar
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                115 minutes ago

                You agreed that nurture is “definitely” is more important than nature. That’s a scientific truth claim, it can be answered without philosophy, and the scientific jury is out on it. And yet the claim is often deployed in the service of Marxist political ideology as if it’s a proven fact. Which it’s not. Maybe you’re not aware of this context. It’s true you didn’t explicitly bring up politics.