Kwame Anthony Appiah on Human Nature Video

Kwame Anthony Appiah on Human Nature

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Kwame Anthony Appiah on Human Nature -

Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at the Princeton University and president of the PEN American...

Kwame Anthony Appiah on Human Nature -

Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at the Princeton University and president of the PEN American Center, discusses the facts of human nature from a sociological point of view.

Added: 6/26/08

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Kwame Anthony Appiah on Human Nature

Well unlike many other humanist, I do believe in something like human nature and I think that our sort of psychological natures, especially our social psychological natures, are constantly being drawn upon in the life of societies in institutions to shape what the possibilities are. So, for example the salience of identities is deeply rooted in the face of human beings and I think in the society, and our need for this kind of identity and the solidarity that goes with it and the meaning that comes from it, which if we want it in our natures, these things would matter. Identity would matter. It matters only because it matters to us as humans and it matter to us humans because of the kind of creatures that we are. So, I think that is one of the places that I saw. But I think I also want to say that because of how I think about our psychologist, is I think that is crucial to recognize that the institutional context in which people live makes a huge difference, again as to what their possibilities are. I have never committed a serious crime. I am pretty certain that if I do live and have been raised in certain kind of environments, I would have committed a serious crime by now. So, I’ve been lucky to live in an environment which has not made committing serious crimes and attractive option for me the one that I could sort of live with psychologically. Now, it follows from that, that you want to make a world, in which nobody is in the situation, which would tempt anybody to commit a crime. There are, I think, people that we do psych about, the social paths, people who maybe more easily tempted to those things in normal circumstances and so we need to keep an eye out for them. But most people weren’t commit crimes if they have reasonable amounts of resources and a family that loves them and a community that make sense to them and you know, these are least of course. So, I think looking back on history, it reinforces for me both the persistence of human nature and the importance of institutions, the importance of organizing the world in ways respect on natures that allow us to do, given all natures, to lead a good lives and to behave well towards one another.

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Well unlike many other humanist, I do believe in something like human nature and I think that our sort of psychological natures, especially our social psychological natures, are constantly being drawn upon in the life of societies in institutions to shape what the possibilities are.

So, for example the salience of identities is deeply rooted in the face of human beings and I think in the society, and our need for this kind of identity and the solidarity that goes with it and the meaning that comes from it, which if we want it in our natures, these things would matter. Identity would matter. It matters only because it matters to us as humans and it matter to us humans because of the kind of creatures that we are.

So, I think that is one of the places that I saw. But I think I also want to say that because of how I think about our psychologist, is I think that is crucial to recognize that the institutional context in which people live makes a huge difference, again as to what their possibilities are.

I have never committed a serious crime. I am pretty certain that if I do live and have been raised in certain kind of environments, I would have committed a serious crime by now. So, I’ve been lucky to live in an environment which has not made committing serious crimes and attractive option for me the one that I could sort of live with psychologically.

Now, it follows from that, that you want to make a world, in which nobody is in the situation, which would tempt anybody to commit a crime. There are, I think, people that we do psych about, the social paths, people who maybe more easily tempted to those things in normal circumstances and so we need to keep an eye out for them. But most people weren’t commit crimes if they have reasonable amounts of resources and a family that loves them and a community that make sense to them and you know, these are least of course.

So, I think looking back on history, it reinforces for me both the persistence of human nature and the importance of institutions, the importance of organizing the world in ways respect on natures that allow us to do, given all natures, to lead a good lives and to behave well towards one another.

Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services