A Softwired Species
Human beings are remarkable organisms (says a human). When we study the traits of the vast array of different species on this planet it is clear that human beings have certain qualities distinct from the rest. Features that really separate us from all other species.
So when we take a look at the traits that cause us to stand out, one of the most incredible is that we are softwired. By softwired I mean our capacity to adapt to a wide range of different environments and not be ‘hardwired’ to stay within narrow boundaries of a niche. The term softwired indicates that our wiring doesn’t limit us to a narrow genetic destiny, but rather is a more malleable blueprint of possible adaptations. We can exist in a number of different circumstances compared to other species which can only survive in a much more limited set of environmental conditions. Humans have figured out how to survive in any ecosystem on the whole planet, and even in space. While other animals can only exist in their unique ecosystem. Try taking a penguin to Costa Rica, or a camel to Antarctica.
Looking at all animals besides humans, they are equipped to survive on their own much sooner after being born than humans are. A zebra can start walking within minutes of being born, doesn’t it seem strange that a human infant can’t even hold their head up for a few months? It is because we are designed to have more time to learn and adapt to our salient surroundings.
A human baby is born primed to be able to adapt to any culture and environment which would include things like language, skills relevant to the contemporary needs, the underlying myths, values, beliefs etc.. Along with the capacity to be caught up to speed on any given skill or trait, we also have the potential to advance it. Examples of this would be advancing fields such as music or science. We are able to pick up where the previous generation left off and evolve much faster than any other species. The evolution of culture is lightning speed compared to the evolution of biology. So there we have it, the human being has cracked the code to bypass the snail-like speed it takes for biology to evolve. We have created something external that can evolve much faster which significantly shapes our lives. Traits that emerged from the evolution of our biology created the capacity to transcend its own limitations.
A trait is hardwired when it is strongly programmed with little freedom to stray from it. Traits that are hardwired would include things such as basic reflexes, instincts, and abilities like walking or talking. So you can think of our capacity for language as hardwired, yet the capacity to learn any given language as our softwired nature. Same thing goes for walking(hardwired) vs. learning to skateboard(softwired). As a side note I do want to mention that if your parent is a skateboarder then you will have an epigenetic advantage to be a better skateboarder than the person whose parent did not skateboard. Same goes for any skill. Our wiring is malleable and plastic. Our ability to bend and mold and conform to whatever we need to in order to adapt is unmatched. We have the greatest capacity to stray from our gene agenda. Robert Sapolski posits,” the nature of our nature is to not be particularly constrained by our nature.”
We must understand just how influential culture is on the result of human activity. The quality of the culture will determine the average disposition of the individual. Our modern 1st world culture has produced isolated and narcissistic consumers as the norm. If you look at Buddhists, the norm for humans influenced by this culture is to be nonviolent and more peaceful. Same goes with Itallians being more outwardly expressive and intimate. And so on.
So while we have the capacity to successfully adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions, not all environments are healthy to be adapted to. Jiddu Krishnamurti tells us that, “it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
It is simultaneously advantageous and disadvantageous to be free from genetic restrictions. It all depends on the quality of the environment that we grow up in and are surrounded by at any point of life. It makes sense that such high rates of disease and conflict would result from growing up and living in a pathological society. As without so within. Striving for health and sanity is an uphill battle in American society. We are up against our hardwired trait to fit in. Our ability to fit in determined whether we survived in antiquity. Nowadays that trait works against us by making it difficult not to fit in to a sick society.
Though if there’s one hope from this trait it is that even after being exposed to unhealthy circumstances our capacity to heal and change is enormously promising.
So if we can use the wisdom of self knowledge to put more effort into intentionally designing a culture that produces wise, ethical, caring, and virtuous humans, what effect would this have on the average human’s quality of life, and the human impact of the rest of the world? How do we do it? I don’t know and I don’t think I can know on my own. This type of task requires collective intelligence and collective wisdom. A lot of the time it feels insurmountable, yet also the most meaningful thing to spend time attempting to accomplish.
Although the average person in some cultures may possess selfish qualities I know that there is always the potential for goodness. The seed of benevolence lives latent within us all awaiting to be awoken from contact with the truth of our inseparable interbeing.
Sometimes the most we can do as individuals is smile at a stranger. Make authentic eye contact with someone in what would’ve otherwise been a meaningless interaction. To snap out of the routine awareness we experience with our family members and actually try to meet them in the deep now~where our default perceptions of them have dissolved. Where we actually open up to the idea that we don’t fully know this human being before us and with authentic curiosity can explore this person as if we are meeting them for the first time. Idk just some thoughts.
If you stuck around till this point I applaud you and am so gracious that you chose to invest your time in what I think is important. May you be whole. May you break free.
