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OuchThatHurts
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Since we hijacked LittleMack’s thread, I though I’d start one just to discuss all the things we touched on in that thread. I’ll give you some observations and we can all discuss them and have a little fun doing it. Okay, I’ll start.
Let’s look at survival and reproduction. These are part of a human's most basic operating system. Sort of like a computer's BIOS. The BIOS of a computer is the computer’s basic software program. More software, called an operating system, operates on top of that. Still even more software called applications run on the operating system. The brain is not much different. It starts out with a few basic laws, then reasoning and emotion run on top of that, and so forth until finally, you have behavior. In a computer, an application cannot exist without the operating system and the operating system cannot exist without the BIOS. It's a very crude analogy since behaviors can float around relatively independent of their possible underlying reasons and sometimes it's very difficult to understand where a particular behavior stems from at all. I could go off on a tangent describing our lack of understanding but that intro should be sufficient for now.
Now you might be able to see where some extremely irrational behaviors and complex rituals appear and begin to evolve here. It's not so irrational when you look into the basic driving mechanisms in humans. Marriage, courtship (engagement), girlfriends, boyfriends, dating, etc. are all emotions, behaviors, and complex rituals that exist, at the root, to accomplish one simple thing. That thing is to pass on DNA. If you already saw and read what I posted earlier about jealousy you’ll see what I mean. So far, we’ve only looked at the male’s side of things. What shall we say about women then? If a female should encounter a male that would likely produce healthier offspring than her current mate, why wouldn’t she consider mating with the healthier, stronger male? Not only should she consider it, but she will consider it (sorry gentlemen). She may not even think it consciously but she will perceive it. Try to imagine a woman looking through a portfolio of sperm donors. What sort of donor do you think she's going to decide on? Let me tell you who. She’s going to pick a man who is successful and possibly wealthy, intelligent, well proportioned, and attractive. He may have been, or might be, a complete asshole but if it doesn’t mention it, I doubt she’ll ask.
Fortunately for the male, what evolved was a complex and concrete set of rules as to how a woman should carry out her desire to reproduce and through the power of society, force her to behave in a manner that allows her continuous access to the tribe’s resources rather than being deprived of affection or abandoned as being a person that nobody will have anything to do with. Did you ever wonder why women who have several mates are looked at very unfavorably and ostracized (called names, etc.)? Certainly men don’t have to obey the same criteria. Look at the words "slut", "whore", etc. - all derogatory terms describing a woman who has not followed the rules. Are men called these derogatory terms with the same disgust when carrying out their reproductive duties? No. Why? Because these same rules don’t exist for males. Why? Because a females DNA will be passed on no matter how many males she mates with. A male’s DNA will be much less likely to be passed on if she takes many mates during a given cycle. In fact, the ability to service many females is a good indication as to his desirability, virility, and adequacy as a mate - completely the opposite of what is considered proper for women. Women may show contempt for these males, these “players”, but it’s not uncommon for her to date him anyway. Often I’ve heard a female say “I knew he was a player when I met him but I just thought”. It reminds me of a funny line I once read that says:
“Women marry men expecting they will change but they don’t. Men marry women expecting they will never change but they do.”
Both sexes carry a different workload. For the female, she has to attract the most desirable male possible and hopefully become fertilized. A male has to do a little more work as he has to find a female with the trademarks of fertility and then try to mate often with her so that fertilization occurs and at the same time, ensure that his DNA reaches her first by fending off other males. Is it possible that men visually inspect the female for signs of fertility? For example - full breasts, shapely hips, smooth skin and hair, etc.? Oh it’s possible. In fact, it’s a reality (sorry ladies). The female is well aware of it as well. Take a look at the make-up and cosmetics industries and even cosmetic surgery and you see it clear enough. She will go under the knife and risk her life (after all, it’s a small risk right?) to obtain attributes that will attract the most suitable male. Throughout history, women have worn clothing and other items that accentuate all these features. Cinching their wastes to make hips appear more shapely, push-up bras, skin creams, make-up, you get the idea. Men have similarly used clothing to broaden the shoulders to appear larger (among other things).
I'm just scratching the surface here and I want to stress above all that even those most basic desires can be overridden by the power of the will as this is where I’m really going with all of this. A person can choose to not eat. A person can even choose to die. A person can will to be celibate. The most important thing I want to stress is the power you have to choose what you will and will not do. That power is one of the many things that separate us from other animals. A human can choose to lie on a bed of nails but no other animal can choose that. If a man or woman wants to walk across hot coals they can. Any other animal is prevented from doing such a thing because their behavior is entirely instinctual and not willful. Though don’t forget how easy it is to lose control. All animals (humans included) will also kill to reproduce and to survive. With enough mastery though, humans can even will to contradict these basic needs, although it’s very difficult since the needs are obviously so deeply rooted - difficult yes, but not impossible.
This is where I think we are having problems today. There was a time when the art of self-mastery was looked highly upon. People were trained in the arts, and history, and etiquette as a requirement. They took pride in their work. Bad manners and vulgar behavior were considered an indication of ignorance and completely unbecoming to a lady or a gentleman. Much of that self-mastery has disappeared today and maybe some for good reasons but nonetheless, what disappeared with it was the desire to master oneself. To overcome your instinctual urges and strengthen and hone your power of will so that in all things you can be free. Free to do the things that you choose and to not governed by your instincts and become slave to them like other animals.
Even though we have instincts, we also have the ability to master them - to be free and not be slave to them. All the virtues that people look to have: integrity, honesty, respectfulness, humility, and on and on, are all attainable. You can be free yet mindful of others at the same time. The ultimate application of your operating system is self-mastery.
Let’s look at survival and reproduction. These are part of a human's most basic operating system. Sort of like a computer's BIOS. The BIOS of a computer is the computer’s basic software program. More software, called an operating system, operates on top of that. Still even more software called applications run on the operating system. The brain is not much different. It starts out with a few basic laws, then reasoning and emotion run on top of that, and so forth until finally, you have behavior. In a computer, an application cannot exist without the operating system and the operating system cannot exist without the BIOS. It's a very crude analogy since behaviors can float around relatively independent of their possible underlying reasons and sometimes it's very difficult to understand where a particular behavior stems from at all. I could go off on a tangent describing our lack of understanding but that intro should be sufficient for now.
Now you might be able to see where some extremely irrational behaviors and complex rituals appear and begin to evolve here. It's not so irrational when you look into the basic driving mechanisms in humans. Marriage, courtship (engagement), girlfriends, boyfriends, dating, etc. are all emotions, behaviors, and complex rituals that exist, at the root, to accomplish one simple thing. That thing is to pass on DNA. If you already saw and read what I posted earlier about jealousy you’ll see what I mean. So far, we’ve only looked at the male’s side of things. What shall we say about women then? If a female should encounter a male that would likely produce healthier offspring than her current mate, why wouldn’t she consider mating with the healthier, stronger male? Not only should she consider it, but she will consider it (sorry gentlemen). She may not even think it consciously but she will perceive it. Try to imagine a woman looking through a portfolio of sperm donors. What sort of donor do you think she's going to decide on? Let me tell you who. She’s going to pick a man who is successful and possibly wealthy, intelligent, well proportioned, and attractive. He may have been, or might be, a complete asshole but if it doesn’t mention it, I doubt she’ll ask.
Fortunately for the male, what evolved was a complex and concrete set of rules as to how a woman should carry out her desire to reproduce and through the power of society, force her to behave in a manner that allows her continuous access to the tribe’s resources rather than being deprived of affection or abandoned as being a person that nobody will have anything to do with. Did you ever wonder why women who have several mates are looked at very unfavorably and ostracized (called names, etc.)? Certainly men don’t have to obey the same criteria. Look at the words "slut", "whore", etc. - all derogatory terms describing a woman who has not followed the rules. Are men called these derogatory terms with the same disgust when carrying out their reproductive duties? No. Why? Because these same rules don’t exist for males. Why? Because a females DNA will be passed on no matter how many males she mates with. A male’s DNA will be much less likely to be passed on if she takes many mates during a given cycle. In fact, the ability to service many females is a good indication as to his desirability, virility, and adequacy as a mate - completely the opposite of what is considered proper for women. Women may show contempt for these males, these “players”, but it’s not uncommon for her to date him anyway. Often I’ve heard a female say “I knew he was a player when I met him but I just thought”. It reminds me of a funny line I once read that says:
“Women marry men expecting they will change but they don’t. Men marry women expecting they will never change but they do.”
Both sexes carry a different workload. For the female, she has to attract the most desirable male possible and hopefully become fertilized. A male has to do a little more work as he has to find a female with the trademarks of fertility and then try to mate often with her so that fertilization occurs and at the same time, ensure that his DNA reaches her first by fending off other males. Is it possible that men visually inspect the female for signs of fertility? For example - full breasts, shapely hips, smooth skin and hair, etc.? Oh it’s possible. In fact, it’s a reality (sorry ladies). The female is well aware of it as well. Take a look at the make-up and cosmetics industries and even cosmetic surgery and you see it clear enough. She will go under the knife and risk her life (after all, it’s a small risk right?) to obtain attributes that will attract the most suitable male. Throughout history, women have worn clothing and other items that accentuate all these features. Cinching their wastes to make hips appear more shapely, push-up bras, skin creams, make-up, you get the idea. Men have similarly used clothing to broaden the shoulders to appear larger (among other things).
I'm just scratching the surface here and I want to stress above all that even those most basic desires can be overridden by the power of the will as this is where I’m really going with all of this. A person can choose to not eat. A person can even choose to die. A person can will to be celibate. The most important thing I want to stress is the power you have to choose what you will and will not do. That power is one of the many things that separate us from other animals. A human can choose to lie on a bed of nails but no other animal can choose that. If a man or woman wants to walk across hot coals they can. Any other animal is prevented from doing such a thing because their behavior is entirely instinctual and not willful. Though don’t forget how easy it is to lose control. All animals (humans included) will also kill to reproduce and to survive. With enough mastery though, humans can even will to contradict these basic needs, although it’s very difficult since the needs are obviously so deeply rooted - difficult yes, but not impossible.
This is where I think we are having problems today. There was a time when the art of self-mastery was looked highly upon. People were trained in the arts, and history, and etiquette as a requirement. They took pride in their work. Bad manners and vulgar behavior were considered an indication of ignorance and completely unbecoming to a lady or a gentleman. Much of that self-mastery has disappeared today and maybe some for good reasons but nonetheless, what disappeared with it was the desire to master oneself. To overcome your instinctual urges and strengthen and hone your power of will so that in all things you can be free. Free to do the things that you choose and to not governed by your instincts and become slave to them like other animals.
Even though we have instincts, we also have the ability to master them - to be free and not be slave to them. All the virtues that people look to have: integrity, honesty, respectfulness, humility, and on and on, are all attainable. You can be free yet mindful of others at the same time. The ultimate application of your operating system is self-mastery.
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