The Self-Preservation Society

[Rhisiart]

I had a conversation with 'Bob' two nights ago. His argument was that it is a basic human instinct to self-preserve one's species. I though he meant humanity as a whole, but I don't think this was what he meant. So I posted this message to him today:

Dear Bob

Thank you for a lovely evening on Friday. I hope I did not overstay my welcome. The bourbon was delicious!

I enjoyed our chat. It is great to have a really stimulating conversation. The pub is fun, but you don’t get much chance to discuss philosophy down there, unless you’re talking about the ethereal qualities of Thierry Henry.

I have thought about your concepts of the Id. I broadly agree with what you said, which if I understood correctly, suggests that our most basic instincts are food, sex and survival. The first two are taken as read, but I am interested in the idea of survival.

It seems the Id has a built-in instinct to protect the individual, i.e. pure self-preservation. Of course, it is not quite as simple as that, as once you’ve had children, this self-preservation instinct usually converts from oneself to your offspring, a natural biological mechanism to ensure they flourish and survive. I say usually, because it seems to me that part of the problem with British society today, is that many parents seemed to have lost this innate nurturing instinct.

However for me, self-preservation of the species is an emotion that lies largely in our higher brain, i.e. the Ego as opposed to the Id, albeit with a small element of selfish self-preservation (i.e. if the human species is eradicated, that must mean me too).

For me humans are one species, divided into four distinct races: Caucasian, Negroid, Mongoloid and Australoid, the latter I believe having nothing to do with Australia (Oz aborigines are apparently Caucasian).

I personally don’t feel that this division of humans into different races poses any threat to my own survival and that of my family. For the benefit of the species (i.e. all human beings, regardless of race), I’d like to see malaria eradicated and some clever plan to prevent an asteroid from hitting out planet.

What do pose a threat to my family’s survival are some human tribes, motivated by ultra-nationalist ethnicity, ideology, organised crime and religion. Some tribes are unique to one race, e.g. WWII Nazis, whilst others are multi-racial (fanatical Muslims).

In terms of the Id's instinct of self-preservation, some tribes present a clear and present danger to my offspring and myself.

However, self-preservation of the human species as a whole, even allowing that de facto that means my own preservation, is for me an altruistic concept rather than one based solely on self-preservation.

I would agree with you that not all humans are equal. In terms of race, yes we most definitely are. However, in terms of some tribal cultures, i.e. those that breed arrogance, intolerance and cruelty, we are not all equal.

So there you have it. My thoughts on paper (albeit the electronic type).

Rhisiart

 

[chevy]

Scientifically spoken, there are no different human races. All humans are part of the same race. We have different types, and lots of these different types, but no different races.

There are different religions, different belief systems, most of these push to violence and self destruction when pushed to the extreme (most obvious are Christians, Muslims and Jews, but other smaller and less known groups have the same issues when going to the extreme). Religions are not related to the type of the population, but to its history. A common history and a common set of beliefs form an ethnic groups. Quite often one type or a limited number of types of humans form the majority of this group. The border of the group is usually not very well identified (people can belong to several groups, and can change from one group to another during their life).

Men like religion, most group of human being have some kind of religion or belief, very rare are the groups of humans that only rely on their own intelligence to direct their life.