Human nature is the idea that all individuals share common features from birth. There are many theories circulating social sciences nowadays regarding human nature. The debate revolves around the question as to whether or not humans are born with a ‘blank slate’ or not. The idea of the blank slate means everyone is equal in understanding and that human nature is developed over time depending on your parental and environmental upbringing. This theory has been supported by many influential people in the 20th Century such as philosopher Ortega y Gasset, (1961) who claims, ‘Man has no nature.’ Also, scientist Jay Gould, (1978) says that ‘a brain [is] capable of the full range of human behaviours and predisposed to none.’ It can, however, be argued that there is such a thing as human nature due to the idea that without it there wouldn’t be things such as common sense and human universals amongst different cultures. In this essay it will be argued from the perspective that human nature is developed overtime and learnt rather than being a natural tool that everyone is born with, agreeing with the blank slate theory.
A reason as to why the blank slate theory is one that should be recognised and adopted is due to the fact that there are views on human nature which perceive individuals in negative concepts. These include Markovic (no date) who writes ‘evil is a permanent, constitutive feature of human life. There is constantly in man: anxiety, fear, hatred, envy, egoism, feeling of guilt, lust for self-affirmation and power.’ It would be problematic to assume that all humans are inherently bad, as this could be used to justify some crimes. This can be seen by Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) who explain that ‘the fact that crime is universal may suggest that man’s nature is not infinitely malleable.’ However, despite the fact there are crimes in every community, not everyone is a criminal. Due to this we should not perceive every human being in a negative light but instead, adopt the blank slate approach and realise that there is the potential for people to inhabit crime into their lives. This could be due to the environment around them and the upbringing they have had. An example of this can be seen as according to ukcrimestats.com (2018), you are much more likely to commit a crime if you live in Newcastle upon Tyne Central (2,721 crimes in August 2018) than you are if you live in the Brighton Pavilion area (1,612 crimes in August 2018). This, therefore, shows that, we should adopt the blank slate theory when looking at human nature rather than regarding all individuals and human nature itself as negative. This is because it could potentially give ground for criminals to justify their crimes on their ‘human nature’ that they can’t control which could then lead to an issue with law and order as it raises the question; can you punish someone for something that is natural to them? If society were to adopt the blank slate approach then this issue is removed as there isn’t the assumption that people aren’t instinctively going to be greedy, selfish and likely to commit a crime.
The blank slate theory indicates that everyone is equal when born in understanding of the world and that characteristics and behaviours are learnt overtime through upbringing and environment. Some people disagree with this idea believing that some humans come into the world having a different level or idea of human nature than others. An example of this is political scientist Murray (2000) who believes that ‘it will turn out the population below the poverty line in the United States has a configuration of the relevant genetic makeup that is significantly different from the configuration of the population above the poverty line. This is not unimaginable. It is almost certainly true.’ What Murray is suggesting here is that people of a lower class are likely to have a different understanding and a different perception of the world when they are born to those that are of the middle and upper class. This can be interpreted to mean that they aren’t equal as individuals when born. This is a dangerous concept of humans to have as if interpreted by governments and societies can lead to discrimination against a certain group due to the fact they have less understanding of the world when born due to their financial status. If, however, the blank slate theory were to be adopted by societies this opportunity for discrimination would be eradicated due to the fact that everyone would be seen as having an equal understanding and no-one would have a potential edge over others. The view that everyone is equal can be shown from Locke (1689) who claims that all humans have ‘perfect freedom’ and that ‘no-one has more than another…creatures of the same species and rank, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature’ showing that Locke believes all people come into this world with equal understanding and that no-one has an advantage over another, disagreeing with Murray. This, therefore, shows why we should adopt the blank slate theory because if we don’t and follow Murray’s view that some people are born into the world greater than others it can lead to discrimination of a certain group, which in this case, is the lower class.
One more reason as to why we should adopt the blank slate approach when thinking about human nature is because it gives us an opportunity to further perfect mankind, whereas if we were to believe it is inherited, we wouldn’t have that chance. We can do this through social engineering. This is due to the fact that if we believe individuals are blank slates and are solely reliant on their surroundings rather than what they are just born with. It means we can perfect this nurturing of people to maximise human potentials and eradicate evils in the world. An example of this is in Studebaker, B. (2013) where he writes ‘When Marx explicitly discusses human nature, he typically argues that our nature is determined by the nature of the economic system.’ What this means is that in order to control what our human nature is, we first must develop an economic state that gives everyone the opportunity to grow as people. One way this could be executed would be by increasing the scope of the welfare state. An increase in funding to areas such as child benefits would mean that parents have the extra funding to look after themselves as well as their children making them more fit to care for them. An increase in child benefits would allow these individuals to be nurtured better and develop into having a better human nature and have a better understanding of everything. Due to this increase in equal opportunity; it will be less likely that people will be subjected to crime from the poorest backgrounds. Another example of a way in which the welfare state can help to improve people’s development and human nature is by refurbishing run-down areas. If these areas were to be regenerated it would attract tourism and big companies. This would then create jobs in the area and encourage the local economy to boom meaning that there will be more money circulating in the city. An increase in the capital inflow of a run-down city alongside job creation tends to decrease crime rates as people aren’t financially struggling as much as they were. Due to this, people’s human nature will have a better chance to grow and develop. This, therefore, shows that social engineering through a strong welfare state that is looking after its people can help improve human nature as when people are born, the environment surrounding them and the nurture they receive is the largest factor into how they develop and what their level of human nature is.
In conclusion, I have demonstrated how the blank slate theory, is the best approach to take when defining what human nature is and how it can be improved in society today. This is because, if adopted worldwide, there would be a redistribution of resources to make those who are below the poverty line equal to those who are above it. It also means that no culture or society can be discriminatory against another due to the fact they may be ‘less developed’ as it is of the belief that everyone is equal when born. Another reason we should adopt the blank slate theory when looking at human nature is because it means that we can have an idealistic view of mankind that we can shape and mould through social engineering to prevent things such as murder and rape to be eradicated from our society.