Of course, we have to somehow make the masses the social engineers, self-determination and governance, and all that.
CB
>>> MikalacNS at NAVSEA.NAVY.MIL 09/08/00 10:51AM >>>
CB: Do all agree that humans have a bigger nurture component than other species ? That our culture is our distinguishing characteristic as a species ?
Do I go too far in suggesting that language or mathematics learning ability is an instinct in humans, unique to humans ?
----------------- i can't answer your 3 questions, but with your permission i'd like to propose three alternate ones instead that must be answered before we attempt any gross social engineering; otherwise, the social engineers are asking for lots of potential trouble, IMO:
1. what and how much human behavior can be changed by what and how much social engineering?
2. how do we get from what human behavior is now to what we want it to become?
3. specifically, what do we want human behavior to become?
if we can't answer those three Q's accurately, they i suggest the social engineers take a more cautious approach and chip away at the obvious undesirable behavior patterns and see the effects before proceeding further. that way, the masses won't suffer the way they have suffered throughout human existence by a series of well-meaning social engineers.
norm