Why does the natural world look and function as it does? What force created the animals, the plants, and the infinitely complex web of interactions between them? Why do beavers feel compelled to construct dams; how do birds navigate using the Earth’s magnetic fields; why do anteaters know to eat ants? It’s in their nature. The history of their species has steered them down this path. Their ancestors were able to identify and exploit an ecological niche which ultimately defined their evolution. And now here they are. Of course this particular moment has no more finality than any other, given that this is just another snapshot in the aeons of their progression. But we don’t see that. Our lifespan is too short. A beaver for my grandfather is still a beaver for me. There of course are evolutionary differences, but over such a tiny period of time they are too subtle to be significant. The beaver that we recognize as a beaver would however have looked very different a couple million years ago.

The same is true of us. We too are a product of the natural world. We too have been nurtured by the academia of evolution. We are defined by our environments. For hundreds of thousands of years, we progressed similarly to the creatures around us. Evolution, it it’s methodical push forward, experimented with our species just as it did with all others. In tandem with the great filter that is natural selection, it iterated and refined throughout the ages. But somehow we’ve gotten onto a different path; one that no known species before us has traveled. We are clearly different. We are anti-nature.

Think about it. Every defining characteristic of our world, from robotic automation, to modern medicine and even the most primitive of agricultural implements is literally an affront to the natural order. Our function is to dismantle nature, and to rebuild it as we see fit. We are not a product of nature, not anymore at least. We are it’s equal now.

“Human Nature” is always defined as a product of nature itself. That is, in that we define it as the naturalistic qualities that we all share. Traits that are naturally inherent to our species. Traits that would have been imbued by the similarities across our various environments. Greed, for example, is often defined as an element of human nature. It absolutely makes sense. A fundamental aspect of being a living being is procuring the resources required for survival. Food. Water. Shelter. The more of this, the better. As such, being greedy directly translates into more resources and thus, better odds of surviving. So it would make sense that greed just be in our nature.

But it is not. Greed is an element of nature itself, not our nature. Every wild animal alive is a perpetrator of greed. It is instinctual. Just like the will to live. Wild animals will until their dying breath fight with every last ounce of effort for just another second of life. It is within their nature. Not us tho. Humans have a habit of giving up. We have even gone so far as to create a framework to ensure those who really wish to end their lives are able to do so legally. What of that natural will to live? Was it not part of our human nature? Greed also. Many humans simply do not possess this trait, despite it being regarded as a central element of what makes a human a human, at least according to the common definition of human nature, anyway.

When we say it is within the nature of a predator to attack, we do so knowing that in the natural world, that predator would literally starve and die if it did not possess the instinct to hunt. We know that it will attack because that is it’s function. It’s evolution has steered it towards being an optimal participant of it’s niche; towards being an effective predator.

When we say it is within the nature of a human to be greedy, we do so knowing that in the natural world… But… Wait… What do humans look like ‘in the natural world’. Campers? Hikers? Fishermen? But then… the wild is no longer our natural environment is it? Cities! Towns! Roads and malls and movie theaters. These are our environments now. These things are not natural. They would not have come to be in the absence of human intervention. They were never a part of the natural world, and would never have been were it not for us.

We are a force on par with nature itself. To rely on human nature as an excuse to justify business as usual is a fallacy. We’ve chosen to pitch evolution and natural selection in favor of creating our own path. We will take command of our evolution through the use of technology. We’ve done away with the notion that the weak must die. We must unshackle ourselves from the misguided convictions of these concepts if we are to realize our true potential.

Nature was our nursery. Now we have work to do. It’s time to grow up.