The Flaws of Human Nature

After contemplating much, I've found plenty of flaws in our human nature (nature being who we are intuitively; our natural selves). I have thus attempted to create a list covering the most I can remember, while briefly them, as expected. See this as some food for thought:

· Faith: We tend to be more drawn to beliefs than facts. We can easily believe in something without the means necessary to know it’s real, i.e., without doing research. And, thus, we easily fall into blind belief and live in complete illusions or half-truths.

Furthermore, some of us praise the concept of faith, when it is far better to know, than to believe. After all, why is there a need to believe, when one can try to know? Faith is no proper substitute for knowledge and shouldn't be treated as such. And for those who don't have time or power to research, we can at least keep an open mind.

· Passions: We can easily be the slaves of our own desires. Because of them we're able to be manipulated, deceived and lose our freedoms partially. It's all because of this inner burning inside of us, whose fulfillment its gratifies us.

Although it is a desire, it is also a variant of suffering, like wanting to drink something after hours of not doing so. It's not to say that it does not fulfill a certain functionality, like the one I mentioned earlier, but when we are passionate about things beyond our reach, our suffering is both long and intense, even if such torment can be easily avoided by avoiding the worship of fantasies.

· Egos: Let’s admit it, it can be hard not continuously have our egos be pat by others. The more we pat our egos, the more limited we become in our perception of the world around us. And when we see that someone or something is better than us, instead of learning from them to be better and improve, we can easily get jealous and become depressed because we realize that we are not the number one at something.

They can be the gates of delusion, of making us think we are bigger and more important, in the grand scheme of things, than we actually are. However, it is a necessary evil, for without a sense of self, there will not be a good sense of self-esteem as well, and this could lead to us underestimating ourselves and our potential.

· Emotional Dependence: Our need for attachment can exist as a double-edged sword. Because of this need we can easily trust and be attached to someone else, to the point they may have control over us in which we are not aware of, and so we are deceived by our illusions of safety and, sometimes, autonomy, while in the reality we are enslaved by a higher, yet hidden, authority.

The biggest strike it can bring to us is when the object of emotional dependence dies; something which is, you know, only natural in this finite existence. It is sad not because of the experience of death, but because you know, resurrection is impossible, and thus, they will never come back.

· Thirst For Power: While power is necessary for the general order of the social construct, it is easy to become addicted to a concept many of us see as success. As we climb the ladder, we are introduced to a new drug that may eventually defeat our conscience and make us addicted. This is called corruption, and sadly, it is not rare in our world to have people defying their sense of justice over the good feeling of having authority, wealth, and social luxury. Speaking of which:

· Addictions: Human nature is built in such a way that it can be easily addicted to certain substances. Habits and people, too. The more addicted we are, the less control we have over our lives, as we give way to the source of addiction to satisfy us, while in practice it can cause harm to ourselves and, at times, others. I just can’t understand the evolutionary role of addiction.

Why in the world may we be satisfied while we actually cause harm that is inflicted against us in the name of mere pleasure? Why "must" our internal systems desire something on such a regular basis, that they become weak without it? Why are candies so tasty when they, in fact, bring us harm?

Why do substances that are tasty and thus "good", harm our evolutionary imperative of having good health? After all, we have a natural need survive as long as possible. Good taste and good vibes, caused by harmful things, are truly a mystery to me.

· Suicidal Tendencies: Have you found it grim that the most powerful species on Earth, the human race, which dominates the planet, can easily suffer from high suicide rates? Look, I’m an atheist, and I think that if there was indeed a supernatural entity that created every single object in the universe, would it make humans capable of being suicidal? What role does suicide play in the grand scheme of things, religiously speaking?

What good does suicide bring? I'm not speaking exclusively about soldiers who hugged grenades to protect their comrades. If everything in existence is planned from the very beginning, why, then, would there be a plan for the voluntary end of life?

Of course, we have free will, and it is, in the end, our decision. The decision to continue. But the concious choice seems to be very counter-productive to the imperative of survival, just like being addicted to something that could reduce your overall lifespan.

· Lack of Awareness: Many of us can easily forget the general picture we are set in, and therefore we might cause problems and make mistakes that could easily be prevented if we just waited a little before taking action and thought the best we could about the various consequences our actions may lead to. It is even worse when we deliberately choose to remain ignorant when we have the opportunity to be more knowledgeable than we currently are.

· Emotional Drainage: If I, as a human, didn't suffer from emotional exhaustion, I could become a better writer than I am today. I could write pages after pages of books, articles, and poems every single day if only I had all the ideas I needed.

Also, the mental energy required to do so. I just wrote this article, and I’m already exhausted, to be honest. I’m not feeling sleepy at all. This is why, unfortunately, I am aware that I need to stop. Just think of all the productivity we humans could have if we didn’t suffer from such exhaustion! We would become better writers, industrialists, engineers, and so forth. Consider how much further we could have progressed as a civilization than we currently are!

These are the major flaws I have learned about so far while writing this article. We humans, therefore, by the power of these flaws, are very limited, easily-manipulated beings. We can easily become slaves to just about anything. This does not mean, however, that we cannot improve and be stronger and more capable. Improve in the fields that deserve our efforts, should we train our bodies and minds hard enough.

Develop your rationality! Develop your character! Discipline, too! Work on these traits and you might find life more bearable.