Stephen A. Robinson
English 121 1:00 PM
David S. Calonne
Fight or Flight: The Nature
Does nature determine the man, or does man determine his own nature? What lies beneath the façade that we, as humans, put on? If placed in a life threatening situation, how would we control ourselves? There have been many theories and assumptions on what we consider our nature to be, though none of these ideas adequately fit everyone. Perhaps, as many great scholars have come to believe, we are born “evil” and must be brought up or somehow exercised of our subtle propensity for that which is not “good”. Clearly certain faith groups that believe in “original sin” would be inclined towards this sort of philosophy. Maybe, as others propose, we are born “good” and inherently tend towards the “glass half full”side of things. Humanitarians and Optimists would be included in the ranks of those who follow such a thought process. However, the ideas of good and evil are just abstract thoughts, terms defined by those in charge. So if someone was raised outside of the civilized world, would they feel the same way about theft, murder, and adultery as those of us from society? Is it human nature to steal, kill, and lust for others? A not insignificant number of Freudians believe they are. In the end, our nature revolves around the same thing that every other creature in the world seeks: survival. Survival is the single most important thing to each and every one of us, and most of us do not even realize it. It is a hard thing to grasp, but subconsciously we tend to make decisions that will guarantee our survival for, at least,the near future.
Sohow does one survive in a world as seemingly peaceful, but secretly hostile, as ours? Instinct, intuition, survival reflexes; whatever you want to call it. A certain sense that reacts to things before cognition occurs, and guides action;fight or flight. These senses, these instincts, are present in nearly all living things. This includes...