https://scienceblogs.com/ en https://scienceblogs.com/sb-admin/2025/12/19/spend-more-time-your-dog-christmas-151469 <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 18:10:53 +0000 sb admin 151469 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/sb-admin/2020/06/30/opportunity-costs-and-why-fireworks-complaints-are-year-151451 <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Tue, 30 Jun 2020 16:17:46 +0000 sb admin 151451 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/sb-admin/2020/03/30/virtual-communication-during-social-distancing-how-we-change-when-we-know-were <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Mon, 30 Mar 2020 21:25:13 +0000 sb admin 151445 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/sb-admin/2020/02/07/fhr4-age-related-macular-degeneration-breakthrough-151439 <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Fri, 07 Feb 2020 16:52:20 +0000 sb admin 151439 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/hankcampbell/2019/04/03/eppendorf-science-prize-neurobiology-entries-accepted-until-june-15-2019 <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Wed, 03 Apr 2019 14:38:26 +0000 hank_campbell 151416 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/sb-admin/2019/03/15/both-liberals-and-conservatives-beliefs-distort-ability-reason-151472 <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Fri, 15 Mar 2019 13:09:20 +0000 sb admin 151472 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/lifelines/2017/10/17/5-competition-horses-calmed-by-lavender <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Tue, 17 Oct 2017 10:26:39 +0000 dr. dolittle 150526 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2017/10/04/cheap-science-books <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Wed, 04 Oct 2017 12:02:43 +0000 gregladen 34556 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/lifelines/2017/09/29/pigeons-outperform-humans-when-it-comes-to-multitasking <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Thu, 28 Sep 2017 22:51:54 +0000 dr. dolittle 150523 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2017/09/27/torturing-more-mice-in-the-name-of-antivaccine-pseudoscience-was-it-fraud-or-incompetence <span>The Politics of Human Nature</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg"><img class="inset right" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa144/Primate_bucket/426px-Emma_Goldman_seated.jpg" width="215"></a>Human nature is one of those concepts that, like "common sense", everyone knows what you mean but no one knows how it's defined. Ironically, the most insistent proponents of human nature are often those who have benefited from the status quo in society and prefer people to remain just as they are. </p> <p>June 27 (the day before <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/06/a_primate_is_born.php">my son was born</a>) was the birthday of the famed feminist, author and political radical Emma Goldman. I had the opportunity to spend last summer at the Emma Goldman Papers in Berkeley, California to study her unpublished speeches and correspondence. As someone who was profoundly influenced by the works of Peter Kropotkin (and devoted an entire edition of her journal <em>Mother Nature</em> to his life and legacy as an obituary) I found the archives to be a terrific resource. As on many issues, Goldman had a strong opinion on authoritative claims concerning human nature.</p> <blockquote><p>Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! Every fool, from king to policeman, from the flatheaded parson to the visionless dabbler in science, presumes to speak authoritatively of human nature. The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet, how can any one speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?</p></blockquote> <p>Emma Goldman, <em><a href="http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anarchism/anarchism.html">Anarchism: What it Really Stands For</a></em>, 1917</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" lang about="https://scienceblogs.com/author/emjohnson" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>emjohnson</a></span> <span><time datetime="2009-07-03T08:51:17-04:00" title="Friday, July 3, 2009 - 08:51">Fri, 07/03/2009 - 08:51</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/human-nature" hreflang="en">Human Nature</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/anarchism" hreflang="en">Anarchism</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/tag/emma-goldman" hreflang="en">Emma Goldman</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="https://scienceblogs.com/channel/social-sciences" hreflang="en">Social Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"></li></ul> Wed, 27 Sep 2017 05:00:40 +0000 oracknows 22631 at https://scienceblogs.com