"Emotional amoral egoism"
Subtitle: a neurophilosophical theory of human nature and its universal security implications
By: Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan
Publisher: Lit
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Wien
Language: eng
Number of pages: 237
ISBN-13: 9783037352236
Subjects: Human beings; Philosophical anthropology
Other titles: Neurophilosophical theory of human nature and its universal security implications
Description: The enduring assumption that human behaviour is governed by innate morality and reason is at odds with the persistence of human deprivation, injustice, brutality, inequality and conflict. This book offers a fresh look at human nature and universal security by proposing a new general theory of human nature, "emotional amoral egoism", and a specific theory of human motivation that draw on a wide range of philosophical, psychological and evolutionary approaches as well as neuroscientific research. It argues that human behaviour is governed primarily by emotional self-interest and that the human mind is a predisposed tabula rasa. The author argues that most human beings are innately neither moral nor immoral but rather amoral. Circumstances will determine the survival value of humankind's moral compass. This insight has profound implications for the re-ordering of governance mechanisms at all levels with a strong emphasis on the role of society and the global system. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the substrates of human nature and its universal security implications in relation to identity, conflict, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, morality and global governance.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [209]-226) and index.