A natural man vs a Modern Man: A cursory look at the dynamics of Behavior
John Locke and Thomas Hobbes wrote about man in his state of nature. Although each of their principles about a man in his state of nature diverges, the point to derive from their writings is that the behavior of a man in the state of nature is different from a man in a well-developed nature.
The behavior of a man in a state of nature depicts a primitive and savage lifestyle occasioned by violence, lack of empathy, killing, constant war, and other animalistic behaviors that are not identical to the behavior of human beings.
A savage man does not want to live at peace with his fellow man. Such a man is in a constant war for survival hence his domain becomes a jungle for survival of the fittest. These are lifestyles found among animals. In this state, life is short, brutish, and unprecedented. It is so unfortunate that some people are currently living in this state even after civilization has taken place and there are certain behaviors that people are expected to put away.
Human behaviors and characters must pass through a series of refining to meet the criteria for an acceptable lifestyle worthy of living among fellow humans.
Civility and modernity have affected human behaviors as well as relationships. Plato in one of his philosophical sayings said that no man can exist alone, if such happens, he's either a god or an animal. As humans we need each other to survive, hence civility and modern systems of lifestyle pay more attention to building good relationships and harmonious living, which is a hallmark of human existence.
From an African traditional historical perspective, the society began with the conglomeration of different families. Each of these families plays a cardinal role in bringing up their members in a well-mannered and acceptable societal behavior. These characters are what build up acceptable societal values. Every family took it upon themselves to ensure that they raised a good moral family member because every bad character exhibited by a member of the family is usually traced to the family where he comes from and it was usually a shame to have a bad family name. As a result of this, good lifestyle as well as behaviors were molded and society became a good place to be.
Individualism and egoistic lifestyles were alien to African tradition. Communal lifestyle situated well in the fabric of society. Besides Africa, other cultures of the world preach and promote communal living because it is a recipe for harmonious and successful living. The world wants peace and without peace coexistence among cultures then such cannot be achieved.
Society has grown beyond a natural, traditional, and savage lifestyle to a modern lifestyle that promotes unity, peaceful coexistence, and value for a fellow human being. This can only happen with a change in character. We must put the old lifestyle behind us and put on a modern lifestyle. Without this, we can never have a better society.
