The Problem

 

                  “It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.”

                                                                                    ~ G. K. Chesterton

 “We need more understanding of human nature, because the only real danger that exists is man himself. He is the great danger. And we are pitifully unaware of it. We know nothing of man ... far too little. His psyche should be studied — because we are the origin of all coming evil”

                                                                                                           ~ C.G. Jung

The problem…Human nature

To address the problem, (human nature) requires us to address the basic human needs. Maslow pointed this out in his “Hierarchy of Needs”. The basic needs are… air, food, water, sex, and safety. These are basic needs that have been deeply etched into the core of our neurology so that humanity can continue to grow and flourish.

So now you might ask…Why has the human brain evolved in a way that attracts us toward destructive behavior?

Maybe this is the wrong question to ask?

A helpful analogy in explaining this behavior is the popular idiom, “Like a Moth to a Flame”.

Sitting out, enjoying the night on your patio, it might be tempting to ask, “Why do nocturnal bugs commit suicide by flying into bug zappers? (I’ve actually had this question at Kim’s aunt and uncle’s house)

I thought….what could be the possible benefit for this destructive behavior by flying into a light?

So I looked it up…In the bug’s case, I was asking the wrong question.

Instead what I should have asked is, “What's the survival value of having the kind of brain, which when there are lights about, directs the bugs to fly into them?”

To understand this “behavior” requires us to go back millions of years.  In the wild state, when the moth’s brain was being naturally selected, there weren't any earthly lights, and if you saw a bright light in the middle of the night, it pretty well had to be a light from the cosmos.  It could be a firefly or something like that, but it was most likely to be the moon or a star, or, in a day-flying insect, the sun.

As it turns out, nocturnal bug’s brains were hardwired in a world that was navigated by using celestial lights…. It is only in modernity that lights are low enough for bugs to fly into.

So, now we have rephrased the question. The question is not, “What is the survival value of killing yourself if you're a moth?” the question now becomes, “What's the survival value of using light to guide your world?”  And now we've got a sensible answer.  In the case of the moth, flying into a flame is a hardwired trait imprinted into the bug’s brain that hasn’t evolved enough to overcome the challenges (lights) in the new world.

While reading about bugs I had an epiphany. I used to ask a similar question about humans and our struggles with relationships, finances, and overeating.

I wondered why we continue to do things that were not in our best interest. What is it that attracts us toward destructive behavior?

Like the moth, humans have evolved over the course of millions of years. The reason our drives often seem counterproductive is that they were built in a world of scarcity, and one that presented immediate threats to our family and tribe. During this time, the selection process preferred individuals that were neurologically hard wired for aggression, consumption, procreation, and safety. It should be easy to see how these traits were beneficial in a baron world for our early development.

Our instinctual brain (ancient) is in conflict with our rational brain (modern). Our animalistic instinct has shaped our direction….and our rational brain has created our world guided by these instinctual needs.

The need for air is fixed and water is plentiful… the demand for food has been met, and overly so…sex is on TV and at the touch of our key boards…and our safety has been somewhat met by local officials and a strong military.

So, now I had to rephrase my human behavioral question.

The question is not, “Why has the human brain evolved in a way that attracts us toward destructive behavior?”

The question is, “What is the biological advantage for the human brain to consume?”

And now we've got a sensible answer. In order for early humans to flourish, the desire for air, food, water, and sex, are dominate traits needed to perpetuate the species.

Just like the moth, we have neurological pathways deeply imprinted into the subconscious area of our brain that direct us toward those ancient desires that are extremely hard to resist.

Ironically, if the successful instinctual desires acquired in a dangerous world are not controlled in the new world of abundance…like a moth, we will fly into the flame. 

The Secret is our metabolism…the Facts are the facts…and the Problem is our hardwired instinctual drives that create conflict within the conscious creature.

 "If I change my mind, will I change my choices? If I change my choices will my life change? Why can’t I change what I’m addicted too? When I change my addiction, what will I lose that I am chemically attached to? Maybe I don’t want to lose what I’m chemically attached to because I may have to experience the withdrawal from that”….. Hence the human drama