มารู้จักความเป็นมนุษย์ของเรา Human Universals
บทความนี้มาจาก Leland R. Beaumont
Humans are linguists. Our skill in speaking and listening allow us to communicate a wide range of both concrete and abstract thoughts about ourselves and the world around us. People around the world communicate using narratives, metaphors, gestures, synonyms, antonyms, and figures of speech. Proficiency in speaking is universally prestigious.
Language is complex. People tell jokes, insult each other, gossip, and tell lies to mislead and manipulate others. Even people who do not use language to manipulate are wary of others who can and do. Nouns, verbs, pronouns, and proper names exist in all languages. Many words have several meaning. Words are used to describe size, location, motion, body parts, giving, colors and numbers. Special forms of speech are used for special occasions. Baby talk, poetry, proverbs, and sayings all have their special roles. A variety of recurring sounds, call phonemes, make up speech. Shift in tone and timing indicate when it is time to take turns in speaking. More frequently used words are typically shorter. Onomatopoeic words, whose sound suggests their meaning, exist in all languages.
Smiles express joy. A genuine smile is recognized around the world as an expression of happiness and a friendly greeting. Humans are very good at detecting the authentic expression and dismissing the false imitation.
Humans study faces. We recognize individuals from their faces. Studies carried out by Paul Ekman show that specific facial expressions are recognized around the world as representing the emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise, and contempt, crying, coy flirtation, masking, and mimicking facial expressions.
Humans enjoy music. Melody, rhythm, and vocals, either alone or in combination form music enjoyed by children and adults. This music may be accompanied by dance or be related to religious activity. Music includes both variation and repeated sections and is one of several creative art forms. Others art forms we enjoy include body and non-body decorative art, hair care, and grooming.
Humans are sexy. We focus attention on sexuality, notice others we find sexually attractive, and experience sexual jealousy. We regulate access to sex, are sexually modest, copulate in private, and avoid incest. Languages distinguish the sexes by including gender terms that are primarily binary. We use magic to win love. Men have a clear preference for women of reproductive age.
Genders behave differently. Labor is often divided by gender, and men, women, and children are recognized as having different natures. Females do more direct child care, and males travel greater distances over their life time, on average. The husband is often older than the wife. Insemination is faster and easier than gestation or lactation. There are gender differences in spatial cognition and behavior. Men tend to dominate in the public and political realms. Men are more aggressive than women. They are more prone to theft and lethal violence than women are. They engage in more group violence, and rape plagues all cultures.
People are violent. We are willing to inflict harm on others to defend ourselves, our kin, community members, or to advance our own strong will.
Human are self- aware. We distinguish ourselves from others, use personal names, recognize personal property, and we are aware and concerned about what others think of us. We know what we like and dislike. We are aware of private inner life. We recognize what actions are under our control and which ones are not. We recognize what actions are under our control and which ones are not. We recognize, at least to some degree, our responsibility for our own actions, and exercise self-control.
Humans are self-centered. We overestimate the objectivity of our thoughts. We make distinctions between our in-group and the out-groups, and we are biased in favor of our in-groups. We are territorial and recognize personal property. We seek positive self-image, and manipulate that image. We employ psychological defense mechanisms to protect our self-image.
Humans are social. We live in groups and belong to groups outside the family. We identify with our in-groups and make decisions as a group. We gossip, visit, show hospitality, observes etiquette, share food, and sometimes feast. We return favor and engage in the reciprocal exchange of good and services. We judge others. We feel empathy. We recognize social structures, recognize status based on kinship, sex and age, make promises, and divide our work and trade with others.
Humans wield power. We recognize leaders, form coalitions, lie to misinform or mislead, insult others, and manipulate social relations. We fill both dominant and submissive roles. We recognize status when it is ascribed or achieved, and can distinguish status ascribed to a role (positional power) from individual filling the role. We recognize differences in prestige and material wealth and attribute status by age. Theft, murder, and rape occur in all cultures.
Humans are compassionate. We are empathetic, grow attached to others, and express the affection we feel. We admire generously and give gifts. We distinguish between good and bad, and have a concept of fairness and equity. We resist abuses of power and deplore rape and murder.
Humans avenge injustice. We disapprove of stinginess, and redress perceived wrongs. We impose penalties for committing crimes against individual or the collected group. These sanctions often include removing offenders from the group by expulsion, incarceration, ostracism, or even execution. Responses to injustices are based on reciprocity and often include revenge and retaliation.
Humans are rational. We understand the logical concepts of equivalence, same, and, not, opposite, whole, and part. We understand precedence, explain phenomenon, ascribe cause to effect, intent to action, and offer conjecture. We count and measure.
Humans tolerate conflict. We recognize discrepancies between speech, thought, and action. We develop means of dealing with internal conflict and social conflict. We meditate conflict and often consult others in solving conflict.
Mystery fascinates us. We practice magic, perform rituals, and create myths. We maintain false belief, dream, spread folklore, and attempt to control the weather. We believe in the supernatural and form superstitions about fortune and misfortune. Mood or conscious altering substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, opium, psychedelic mushrooms, and peyote are used in all cultures.
We are mortal. We attempt to heal the sick and we recognize a relationship between sickness and death. We use medicine and magic to sustain and increase life. We mourn the dead and honor them with rituals. Our language reflects life’s stages according to age groups. We prepare for childbirth and infant care.
Kin are special. We distinguish close kin from distant kin. Nepotism, showing favoritism to our own children and close kin, is widely practiced. Languages include separate terms for mothers and father and other kin terms that distinguish basic ancestry relationships. Marriage is publicly recognized as providing the right of sexual access to partners. Incest is prevented or avoided. Older kin contribute to the socialization of younger kin as they grow up. Incest between a mother and son is tabooed; however the Oedipus complex is universal.
We have fears. Children are afraid of strangers and loud noises. We fear death and wary of snakes. Certain food and utterance are taboo.
Classification aids thinking. We classify colors, kin, sex, age, body parts, behavior patterns, space, tools, flora and fauna. We group similar items into the corresponding taxonomy, and name each group.
We are emotional. In addition to making and recognizing facial expressions of several emotions, we cry and cope with envy, pride, and shame.
We use tools. We create and depend on fire, weapons, spears, containers, and levers. We make tools for cutting, pounding, and even for making other tools. We depend on a variety of tools for our daily life, and reuse many of these tools often. Tools may last longer than maker’s lifetime. We take shelter to protect us from the elements.
We enjoy food. We have specific preferences for meal times and food choices. We prefer sweets, cook food, and attend to personal hygiene.
We create governments. These consist of cooperative activities organized into institutions along with laws describing rules of membership, rights, obligations, and rules for succession of the leader. Neither pure democracies nor pure autocracies prevail. Governments become oligarchies in practice.
Dichotomies simplify judgment and classifications. We distinguish true and false, right and wrong, normal and abnormal, black from white and we think and speak in terms of many other binary distinctions.
Time moves on. We recognize the passage of time, organize time into the past, present, and future, names units of time, and recognize recurring cycles. We remember the past, plan for the future, hope for the best, and takes risks. We anticipate future events and attempt to predict the future.
People are playful. We use toys and other play things, use pretend as a form of play, and use play to perfect useful skills. Even tricking is ubiquitous.
We are willful. We are not prisoners of human nature. We have beliefs and intentions; we make choices and decisions. We are autonomous and motivated to fill our needs and act on our free will.
We are individuals. Humans have distinct personalities; we also learn many habits, think, and reason.
Quotation:
You cannot change the stripes on a tiger.
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