Human beings are divisive social animals

When I consider Aristotle's quote - "Man is by nature a social animal" - it occurs to me it is not completely true. We seem to have come a long way since we killed each other just because we occupied different turfs but the lines of differentiation are always present.

We slice and dice people based on various criteria -

  • South Indian ?
  • Indian ?
  • Language 
  • Caste ( but ofcourse ... )
  • Economic status
  • Lineage ( my father's cousin's-cousin's was royalty ! ;) )
  • History ( my folks came with the Mayflower ! :) )
  • Religion - More people have died from this cause than all epidemics put together !!! And all religions advocate non-violence ! :)
  • Geographical teritory 
  • Education
  • Humans need to be part of a faction and yet be unique
I think the list can go on .... So while we have travelled in the road to equality I cynically think that we will never be able to quell the need to be distinct.

While by nature humans are social animals - I think this bonhomie extends only to the point of feeling part of a group and at the same time being able to feel a cut above others ! :)

And this is not a new observation - Am sure this is a part of some human behavior course material ! :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

need to be part of a faction = social animal concept

yet need to feel unique = survival of the fittest concept

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