Zeitgeist: Moving Forward Part 1 - Human Nature

Be prepared to take breaks here people. The film is about 20 min shy of 3 hrs, but it's all good stuff, so it's worth the effort to make it through. Here we go!



According the the Q&A session at the Denver premier, the  3rd film is the attempt to answer the critics of Addendum that said human nature would always get in the way of a peaceful, resource based society. There will always be violent and mentally ill people, is the argument.

They start of wonderfully by opening with the wearer of the Holy Beard of Credibility making the point that "it's virtually impossible understand how biology works outside of the context of environment". So, the nature vs nurture arguments that are used to explain our short comings as humans are moot. 

The misconception is that behavior is genetic and genetics cannot be changed. In fact, nothing is genetically programmed. You may be genetically predisposed but that is worlds away from genetically predetermined. 

Genes give us different ways of responding to our environment. There is evidence that child rearing techniques can turn genes on and off to put a child on different developmental tracks. 

One study showed that when you took persons who were genetically predisposed to violence and persons who weren't, only the predisposed persons who experienced extreme childhood abuse were violent. In fact, the persons with the gene were less violent, even than those without the gene, if they were raised in a normal/nurturing environment.

Our development is shaped by psychological and social environment. You begin learning about your environment in utero beginning as early as the 2nd trimester. Our biology is even effected by experiences in utero. Mothers who are stressed during pregnancy will have children who have traits that predispose them to addiction.  Mother's who were abused during their pregnancy may have children who will have addiction problems by 7 or 8 years old.

I could go on and on, but you should watch the film instead.

The main point is that we "cannot separate the neurological function of a human being from the environment that he or she grew up in and continues to exist in". Sick people from a sick society...Stay tuned for Part 2 - Social Pathology.