H is for Humanity

H is for humanity. Humanity can be considered as the quality or condition of human beings as a collective. It is ultimately and simply “being human.” It is caring whether a total stranger is lost in there own grief or pain, not just caring for those that love you. It is to take the time and effort to help a person in distress, famine, cold or fear. It is to realise your own ability as a human and to utilise that power to difference our world. 

U is for understanding. The ability to understand is existent within all of mankind. Understanding  is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object of understanding. One may consider the process of understanding as a virtue of human nature as it represents a common characteristic discoverable in humans. 

M is for meaning. What is meant by something. What is the underlying meaning of human nature? What does it mean, as a collective race to share common psychological characteristics? What does it mean to be human? 

A is for attitudes. Mark Twain once claimed that he could, “read human character as well as he could read the Mississippi River,” and he “studied his fellow humans with the same devoted attention.” He was disposed to dramatize how the human creature acts in a given environment based on an individuals attitude. We all are convinced to believe our attitude is based on current situations, exiting news or waking up with a bad hair day. However, human nature is SHARED psychological characteristics and behaviours. Expressing attitude is among another quality of human nature. 

N is for nature vs N is for nurture. The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in psychology. The debate centers on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development. Some philosophers such as Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn, or that they simply occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. Other well-known thinkers believed in what is known as ‘tabula rasa’, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate. According to this notion, everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experience. A serial killer. Does he kill because it's in his genes? So no matter what his parents did to raise him, he would have been a violent, serial killer no matter what. Or did his environment shape him to become a serial killer? Like his parent's didn't pay him enough attention, or he was abused as a child. 

A is for attention. Humans thrive on attention. It is only natural for humans. A new born baby requires attention to learn and grow. Or on the other hand is this contradicting human nature? Whether the baby receives attention or not, it is human and has it’s own innate qualities. Unnecessary amounts of attention are disturbing. It is human nature to crave attention.

T is for traits. Traits are distinguishing qualities or characteristics of a person, while character is the sum total of these traits. The vices and virtues of human nature are traits directly related to human nature. Envy, honesty, greed, love, lust, wrath, sloth, generosity. A mixture of evil and good qualities, which relying on human nature are supposedly characteristics shared by all humans. In saying this can we really generalise our entire society as evil or even good? Is it innate for a certain person to convey evil? Is good ‘learned’ by those individual few?

U is for unconditional. We are unconditionally human. It is my nature to be human just as it is yours regardless of limitations.  

R is for relevance. Each and every characteristic, psychological thought, trait and behaviour has a relevance to human nature. Coincidentally that is why these ‘things’ are natural. 

E is for evil.  “What if evil doesn't really exist? What if evil is something dreamed up by man, and there is nothing to struggle against except out own limitations? The constant battle between our will, our desires, and our choices?” 

Human nature is defined as the psychological characteristics, feelings and traits thought to be shared by all humans. Human nature is you. Human nature is me. Human nature is natural.