Our Nature

What is the nature of man? That continues to be a question of and for the ages, one that philosophers, scholars, scientists and, yes, even regular folks like me have been wrestling with for a long time. Recently, I came across a quote put forth by Immanuel Kant that speaks to that question. Kant said, "With men, the normal state of nature is not peace but war." Upon first glance, and perhaps additional glances as well, that perspective does not place humans in a very positive light. War not peace. Are we always butting heads or, if not, looking for ways to initiate some sort of head-butting contest? This is what Kant seems to suggest.

From where I sit, however, I view Kant's observation as addressing man's perpetual struggle with all aspects of life. This includes man's struggle with outside forces such as the drive to seek and obtain food and water and internal elements that speak to man's need to feel good about humor herself and achieve some sort of sense of fulfillment. There is a difference between this type of "nature" and one where man is viewed as preferring to do battle with others. Granted, man's struggles often seem to involve conflict or "war." But war only represents one way in which man's struggles are played out. To me, struggle is man's nature rather than war.

There is no better area where this is represented than communication. All of us constantly struggle with figuring how most effectively to make our thoughts, feelings and actions best known, understood and ultimately accepted. This struggle is not necessarily driven by a need to conquer others but, rather, gain acceptance or, more basically, get along. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, not communicating well or successfully can be quite frustrating and eventually lead to some type of head-butting. This is why we all need to work harder at becoming better communicators. It helps make our struggles all the more easy.