Human actions

El Pirata · #1 (**permalink**) 04-11-2008, 01:12 AM

Today while I was dozing off at the bank waiting on a friend to be attended, I got to thinking a bit.

Why do people want to deceive others?
Why do people take advantage of others?
What motivates someone to go so far as to kill someone?
Why do people steal?
Why do people commit all these horrible crimes?

I just dont seem to understand all of that. It is sad that we as humans are the only living things capable of lying. Why are we so messed up?

Keena · 04-11-2008, 06:35 AM

People do those things because it is advantageous for them to do so. People think that they deserve a break just as much as anyone else, and so they create their own opportunities (or seize them when they arise).
People also lie and steal because, honestly, sometimes they feel backed into a corner and that they have few options.

Also, while depending on your definition, we may be the only living beings capable of lying, but we certainly arent the only ones capable of being decietful:
Some birds lay their egg in another birds nest, and when the invader chick hatches, it kills the other one.
Lots of animals steal other's food.
Some primates (chimps I know, and possibly orangutans) will try to hide things from their keepers.
Studies have shown that dogs recognize that we cant tell what theyre doing while our eyes are closed.

That's just a small list, but I'm sure there's more.

Estefanina · 04-13-2008, 04:53 AM

Yeah, Keena.. I was gonna say something about animals other than humans also being able to decieve, but you beat me to the punch. Good work.

Anyway, I think people lie, cheat, steal, kill, do mean things to other people because somehow they've been conditioned to think it's an acceptable thing to do.

Whether or not it benefits them, people do what they were taught to do. They could have learned from watching others, following media, turning inward, or for any other reason.

We do what we do because we're human and think we're too complicated to figure out. People just want to be happy, and some are misguided to think that attacks on their fellow humans will bring some form of joy.

MildlyAmused · 04-13-2008, 05:58 PM

I agree with Estefanina;

Because they know they can achieve and perform and get away with these actions. Plain and simple. Theres also a happiness factor invovled, a small pleasure from being deceitful or lying, but it comes down to the fact that they know that they can do it, so they do.

I don't agree with the conditioning. Everyone knows right from wrong, in my belief. Sometimes, though, the situation demands for a person to cross the line in order for things to be 'right' in their world again, screw whoever they step on in the process.

Chase_the_Bass · 04-13-2008, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Pirata

Today while I was dozing off at the bank waiting on a friend to be attended, I got to thinking a bit.

Why do people want to deceive others?
Why do people take advantage of others?
What motivates someone to go so far as to kill someone?
Why do people steal?
Why do people commit all these horrible crimes?

I just dont seem to understand all of that. It is sad that we as humans are the only living things capable of lying. Why are we so messed up?

Robots can lie.

**Brother of Yeshua** · 04-13-2008, 07:39 PM

People (and perhaps all living things) have five basic needs that we are all trying to meet daily:

Fun
Freedom
Power
Survival
Love/Belonging

We can meet these needs positively or negatively to get the results that we want. We can use pro-social or anti-social behaviors. When these needs are being negatively met, they become addictions which are never satisfied. Everything will always break down because the needs are not being met legitimately in a lasting way. When we seek to meet our needs negatively, we are only band-aiding a deeper issue, and causing ourselves more problems in the long run, as well as negatively affecting others.

When we positively meet these needs, it is in lasting, life-changing ways that become manifest throughout multiple facets of our lives. These types of successes build future success and train you to deal with the real world.

Psychologically, if you do something about 7-13 times, it becomes habit. The longer you do it, the more of a habit it becomes. This works positively and negatively. The longer you have a habit, the harder it is to break. However, anyone can change at any time, given they make the choice to change and seek out ways to support this change.

People trapped in negative spirals are suffering from behavioral patterns to meet the addiction to negatively fulfilling their needs.

That's my thoughts. Feel free to ask me to expand, expound, or clarify if anyone's unsure of what I meant.

El Pirata · 04-13-2008, 09:20 PM

when I originally posted this, I was going to put that humans are the only beings capable of deception, but I stopped myself because of many living things that camouflage themselves, or like the angler fish, which are both forms of deception. wow, I really like the answers so far!

SpicedSugar · 04-13-2008, 09:46 PM

i didn't see anything related to "What motivates someone to go so far as to kill someone? " maybe i didn't read carefully enough.

i assume it's our morals. how we judge what's right and wrong. if we can justify the action, then we will find it ok. also, how jaded (emotion-less, closest synonym i can come up with) someone is.

for instance, my parents don't want me to join the military for many reasons; one of which being that they are scared i will go on a killing spree b/c i wouldn't feel remorse at killing others.

MildlyAmused · 04-14-2008, 12:32 PM

SpicedSugar: Would that killing spree happen within or without being on active duty?? Or were they concerned that once you got back you'd snap because of something or other and go haywire on a small town???

Keena · 04-14-2008, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chase_the_Bass

Robots can lie.

yeah, I remembered that thread from a while back while I was typing my original post. I didn't use that though because it was stated living beings, and most people wouldn't consider robots to be living. I guess that just depends on your definition of life though..