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Does Behavior Define Us??
General Psychology Thread, Does Behavior Define Us?? in Topics of Interest; Are we our actions?
Are we our thoughts?
Are we who we see ourselves to be. or how others perceive ...
Are we who we see ourselves to be. or how others perceive us?
If someone says.. "I am not normally like this", Which definition is true.. who they used to be.. or who they are being right now?
If someone says "in my head I don't want to hurt people" But their actions hurt people.. which definition is correct??
I would say.. We are who we are.. right now..
no matter who I was yesterday.. no matter what my feelings were yesterday.. today I am not who I was yesterday.. and never will be again.. I am now.. it's all I can be..
This is not to say I can't get back to being who I was or get to who I am going to be.. But that brings the behavior aspect back into it..
and that the brings back My original question..
Does behavior define us? are we who we think we are.. or are we who others percieve us to be..
As "we" are evolutionary-crafted biological machines driven by selfish self-replicating genes, there is no "person". "I" think it is a faulty assumption that people, in the conventional sense, exist at all. "We" are psychobiological units in a sociological whole. Are "we" our actions? No. "We" have no control over our actions, the nervous system our decisions for "us". Are "we" our thoughts? No, again, our thoughts are out of "our" control. We are "we"? Is there there such thing as "us" to be begin with? No. I think not. "We" are the laws of nature, the universe, trying to understand itself. Nothing more. Nothing less. Our species is biased towards the sentient, the conscious, the aware. I think that is a grave error.
As "we" are evolutionary-crafted biological machines driven by selfish self-replicating genes, there is no "person". "I" think it is a faulty assumption that people, in the conventional sense, exist at all. "We" are psychobiological units in a sociological whole. Are "we" our actions? No. "We" have no control over our actions, the nervous system our decisions for "us". Are "we" our thoughts? No, again, our thoughts are out of "our" control. We are "we"? Is there there such thing as "us" to be begin with? No. I think not. "We" are the laws of nature, the universe, trying to understand itself. Nothing more. Nothing less. Our species is biased towards the sentient, the conscious, the aware. I think that is a grave error.
But that is a philosophical approach to a very Psychological question, no? (probably not)
I am not saying I disagree with you as it's quite thought provoking..
Are you saying we can't control either? and we are just going along predisposed to what we are..??
What about free will? what about choice?.. and what about actions??
Marino's response also has its basis in psychology, as well. Since psychology is, essentially, is a study of the mind, the chemicals in the brain are also a psychological component. Since the chemicals of our brain judge how we act or how our bodies react, his answer fits: we are not we, and there is no us. We are not the sum of our actions, but the sum of our brains: how it determines we act, and no more.
Marino's response also has its basis in psychology, as well. Since psychology is, essentially, is a study of the mind, the chemicals in the brain are also a psychological component. Since the chemicals of our brain judge how we act or how our bodies react, his answer fits: we are not we, and there is no us. We are not the sum of our actions, but the sum of our brains: how it determines we act, and no more.
That's one approach.
So it goes back to the Biological argument.. Our emotions are just a chemical reaction.. which I agree..
I cannot control my thoughts.. I cannot control my feelings.. they are just there.. BUT what I can control is my behavior..
Or is even that just a biological function beyond my control? Do I only believe I am making a choice??
Free will is what I like to call "The Grand Illusion". It is, in fact, impossible to FEEL like there is no us. It is evolutionary useful for the mind to create the illusion of free will for our species. To share my perspective for a second, imagine a tiny ant colony full of busy working ants, each carrying out their duties for their civilization. Each ant is an individual organism, but think about how ridiculous it would be if an ant believed that it had free will and believed it was free from the emergent property of the society, when reality, it is just a part of a system: a cog in a gear. Now replace the ant with a human and the colony with a city. The complexity increases exponentially, but the principle still remains.
Free will is what I like to call "The Grand Illusion". It is, in fact, impossible to FEEL like there is no us. It is evolutionary useful for the mind to create the illusion of free will for our species. To share my perspective for a second, imagine a tiny ant colony full of busy working ants, each carrying out their duties for their civilization. Each ant is an individual organism, but think about how ridiculous it would be if an ant believed that it had free will and believed it was free from the emergent property of the society, when reality, it is just a part of a system: a cog in a gear. Now replace the ant with a human and the colony with a city. The complexity increases exponentially, but the principle still remains.
If I agree with that.. I would have to tear my entire belief system down to do so..
I am not unwilling to do that.. But it would leave me very vulnerable.. and what would the benefit be??..
If I am simply existing beyond my control.. what is the point then?
I am not defined by my actions. I am defined by the will that decides my values. My actions are merely an expression of that will, but can express the self imperfectly, just as I can have an idea that I communicate ineffectively. Even if I use the wrong words and say the opposite of what I really intend, the idea still exists at the core of the communication and comes from conscious choice. Actions merely reflect choice, hint at what is going on underneath, and offer clues about what the underlying self is probably like. Words hint as what the underlying thought is probably like in another person's head, but are merely symbols for something else. Posted via Mobile Device
And then going deeper that ANT analogy.. Isn't my body just a collection of cells each acting a duty towards the greater of its civilization??...
My cells and ants don't have brain like mine.. neither are capable of abstract or concrete forward thinking.. I am..
And ANT doesn't ask What if? and then make it happen..
A human does.. We are conscious ,aware and able to act against our biology..
To plan out action and then choose to either do it or not..
Does Behavior Define Us?? 
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