I have never mentioned evolution or DNA. So it should be hard prove that you argue with preconcoived notion based of your own belief of what you think I am saying and not based on the factual idea and what is actually said.
“Wrong again...thats because of different customs, and the environment in which people live, it's taught. An asian kid growing up in Oz for example would find it horrid to cook a dog for dinner.”
Of course it is taught and that is what I have been saying all along and if you have read what I have written then you would have come to that conclusion.
What is learning? What is having learned something? It is a structural physical change that occurs in our brain to accomodate repetitive exposure to certain prolonged stimuli. The general aim is so that we can process/deal with whatever stimuli it is better in a way that, theoretically, should help to improve our chances for survival. Unfortunately, in practice, when it comes to what kind of stimuli to accomodate our neurons are inept at making distinctions between them. This is why that as long as the stimulus is repetitively present then your brain would change to accomodate it. It could be smoking, cocaine, practice in martial arts, learning mathematics, being in an abusive relationship, living in an adversive environment, temperature and the list goes on. That is generally how we “learn”, get addicted to activities and substances, feel certain things under certain circumstances, etc. How to feel, how to act in certain situation or even something simple like flicking a page in a book is something that is taught. A human infant has no idea how to dispose of bodily waste appropriately, how to react to circumstances and situations let alone morality and ethics. All is taught by the environment that you are born in, which include people such as teachers, family and friends and other elements that exclude them. What is culture and customs then? It is the result of behavioural manifestation of the aforementioned brain change that is perpetuated and propagated to posterity.
So precisely then,
An Oz kid is taught, absolutely right, directly and indirectly, that volunteering and helping others is a very rewarding thing to do. It originates from its clear mutual benefit for security and thus contributes greatly to survivability in Australian society. Realizing that it is paramount then Australian society implement policies, including those in tacit form, to nurture it, which include rewarding such deeds. You don’t have to go to far to see an example of them at work in our society. Children getting merit certificate for simply wearing their uniform correctly or being obedient or assisting in activities or displaying certain behaviour. Other examples include, but not limited to, behaving, acting and responding in a certain way culminating in favourable social standing. Over a period of time then our brain become wired to subliminally feel as if there is a reward when undertaking certain actions or task and it often become an impetus for action undertaken despite the fact there may not be any reward in real terms. Our brain changed, structurally to accomodate whatever it is that is favourable or advantageous to have in australian society. A change that define our rooted value system, something that we understood as empathy, the standard of which varies from one group of population to the next. Having mentioned all that, it needs to be reiterated that everything is the result of conditioning, the result of being taught like you said. In other parts of the world where things are taught differently or inhabited by population who has never undergone the same level of conditioning then everything would be different as simple as that. This is precisely why certain groups of migrants with remarkably different culture and thus brain structure is more likely to fail to integrate into Australian society as defined by the population that precedes them.
In the context of the divers,
Australia historically always celebrates people who assists others and has inclination to glorify “heroes” whether it is sports stars, performers or operatives who are deemed to have done deeds that is favourable to perpetuate and propagate. Why? To quote myself: “Realizing that it is paramount then Australian society implement policies, including those in tacit form, to nurture it, which include rewarding such deeds.” Helping others in certain ways, as defined by Australian society, then become an “enjoyable” endeavour that activates the reward pathways in our brain due to the prospect that it is almost always guaranteed to be rewarded and thus anticipated. The same anticipation that leads to people doing “good” deeds more frequently, comparative to other population in other societies, even if they are ultimately not altruistic.
I am curious though,
What makes you think that you are the correct one and the only correct one? What basis do you use to form such belief? How do you know, in absolute term, that you are correct?
Why do you show such disrespect towards people who doesn’t share your mindset and ideal?
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