Wonder

Why are human beings are so often at war with themselves? We must still be unsure of who we are and I mean who in a figurative sense. If we knew what kind of people we were, would we not respond as robots do to each stimulus?

Instead, we are aware that as human beings we are fallible. A squirrel does not leap from one branch to the next considering, "What happens if I make a mistake?" A turtle does not leave his eggs on the shore thinking,"What if my babies don't make it to the sea?" It may be true that animals are not impacted by time, they do not consider what may happen in the future and yet bears eat enough food to sleep a whole winter. It must come down to the fact that our fellow living organisms are impacted too much by nature where as we are impacted too much by society. One can argue that society is shaped by nature and thus, human beings are in fact impacted by nature as well, yet the same person would have to argue then, that a child is born to his or her grandmother rather than to his or her mother who was born to his or her grandmother. You can see, it is not the same.

Instead, we are aware that as human beings we can change. Experience begets wisdom, so many say. You may react to something one way, experience something that makes you reconsider, and next time when presented with the same stimulus, act in another, completely contrasting way. It is even true that sometimes, these decisions are spurious, without "careful" consideration. What makes it hard to predict what humans will do is the fact that we are spontaneous. Take this simple example, it is well know that a person, A's favorite color is blue. A's friends decide to buy him a car, being the rich friends they are, they decide to bring A with them to pick it out. He chooses a red car in the end. What made A decide to choose a red car instead of a blue car, his friends wonder? They try to rationalize it, they believe, as most human beings do, that everything has a reason. The red cars were cheaper. The red cards were more aesthetically pleasing. But could it be because A suddenly had a change of heart and would like to drive a red car? If you asked him what his favorite color is, he would still reply that it is blue. If you asked him later if he regretted his decision, he may even say he did.

Is the reason then that as human beings impacted strongly by society, we are constantly at war with ourselves, simply because we are the only species to be conscious of the theory of a future and to be aware of the process of change? Are we TOO comfortable in how we live, so that what we do is in fact opposite of what we should or what we are "programmed" to do?