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To: TimF who wrote (6004)	3/14/2003 3:14:31 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7689

"I've said before I was not focusing on physical differences, esp. minor ones like body hair" I thought this was being offered as having pertinence to your position: "I think the most revolutionary changes in human culture and technology, in ideas and education and life style, happened in relatively recent times, but the most revolutionary changes in human's physical bodies and base mental ability happened a long time ago." __________________________ "You have heard of the "nature vs. nurture" arguments right?" No. I mainly read romance novels. "I would classify changes in culture and technology and ideas and education as changes in how humans are "nurtured", as changes in their environment rather then as genetic changes or changes in basic ability of specific humans" We are not talking about developmental issues. But if the question being asked is, "does nurture (the environment) change human nature over time", then my answer would have to be YES...regardless of how you might be defining human nature, or what you make think it is. "I think this is more a matter of different meanings attached to the term "human nature" then it is a disagreement about the changes that have happened." I think that human nature was always self interest, and was never "evil" or "wicked". I think it has increasingly grown to become RATIONAL self interest--especially over the last 500 years. I think, as Gould said, that there is also a natural compassion which defines us far more than the intermittent acts of atrociousness. Much of what distinguishes us from other animals is our unique ability to conceptualize. This ability, likewise, has transformed who we essentially are over the last 2000 years. I don't think the amount of body hair is an essential characteristic of what makes us distinctly human. I think our thinking and our culture reflect how our inner Nature differs from other creatures. And that the most unique differential relates to how we rationalize and conceptualize. There is very litle congruence between the thoughts and concepts of civilized man, and the thoughts and percepts of primitive man.