Psychology

Humans are inherently evil.

No man nor woman has ever done anything outside of their own self interest. All motivations derive from the inherent biological need to survive and maintain organism homeostasis, and reproductive goals. Reproductive goals correspond to the continuation and propagation of the species. The collective sum of all human individuals form and maintain the biological organism of the species which relies on the sum of its parts.

Each individual bases every action or thought on the only goal which matters; self preservation. In contrast to individual based species, herd animals have learned through evolution that there is invaluable strength in numbers. Humans are at the pinnacle of this understanding. Our species has refined and perfected the art of the herd to levels not seen among any other creature. Humans have become so good at maintaining and strengthening social cohesion that the individual is unaware of the true intentions of all their thoughts and actions, or that they live their whole their whole life seeking to fit into the larger group so not to be cast out into the environment left to fend for themselves against the elements. This deeply rooted instinct which all people have never goes away and cannot be turned off. There is a new push in the modern western world to extinguish the “ego” and selfish tendencies, often citing the primitive and savage manifestations that the ego shows. This goal however, is futile and inherently egotistical itself. The Buddhist monk may disagree and argue that the attainment of nirvana is a goal all people should try to accomplish. Yet when one examines the journey to conquer the ego one sees that it is a journey of going from a place of suffering to a place of “happiness” and although this is a gross oversimplification of the process it maintains the clear message of what all people desire, going from a bad place (a place not as suitable for individual survival) to a place of better or good place (one which is more suitable for the individuals survival) happiness and survival and closely connected and cannot be separated. In order to truly understand how the mind works one must start from the axiom that all actions or even thoughts which you think or do are inherently beneficial to you even if they may seem detrimental on the surface. Your brain is hardwired to keep you alive. No matter what environmental pressures may come. This argument does face one critical rebuttal, which is the subject of suicide, and the mental state associated with it. The answer to this counter is simple yet complex. Firstly one must consider averages in a given population of a species, (statistics play a vital role in understanding how animals maintain social bonds.) every species has a majority group which represents the average beneficial traits of a species. This average population is the most fit for the job of continuing the species and has been through the rigors of the process of evolution. The average population’s mental, social and physical functions all work well with slight variation. Then there are the outliers within a given species which represent non beneficial/untested traits. These populations usually have a ratio of being 70:30 or 80:20 of occurring within a species. When discussing suicidal thoughts which and individual is having one must first distinguish were these thoughts and mental states are coming from: are they environmental? Is the individual trapped in a hopeless and desperate situation?have they lost one or more loved ones or in serious financial debt? Are they homeless or in physical or mental danger for a given amount of time? If any of these questions can be answered yes, and no prior mental condition has been diagnosed or identified than we can assume with limited certainty that the individuals brain is in such a tough,limited and hopeless situation that an emergency switch is flipped which commands the brain to go into fight or flight mode in response to the environment at hand. First the individual analyzes and calculates his/her chances of being able to change/escape the situation. If the analysis of the environment comes back as seemingly hopeless the brain chooses flight. Once this choice is made it is hard to stop, and the mental state of the individual becomes progressively worse ultimately culminating in suicide. This choice of flight in response to environmental conditions starts a cycle which tricks the brain into thinking that death is preferable to life. Although this conclusion may seem like a contradiction to the argument of this paper, in reality it actually supports, and bolsters the argument. If all your thoughts and actions seek to preserve you as an organism, Than happiness, and your own personal concept of good and bad derive from your will to survive. When we apply this understanding of human behavior to the mental state of suicide one can see that suicide as an option is yet another manifestation of the brain trying to get from a worse place to a better place. This journey is however one of obvious extremes, and it is the riskiest decision the brain will ever have to make considering it knows not what awaits it after death. On the deepest level of the human psyche the human brain perceives suicide as a beneficial alternative to the current harmful situation which they are in. This analysis on the mental state of suicide only applies to individuals not having a genetic pre-disposition to suicidal thoughts. To sum up the solution to the counter argument of suicide, an individual going through a mental state of suicide is ultimately weighing the pros and cons between the unknown and a known hopeless and harmful situation. If suicide is selected than the individual has made the judgment that the current situation they are in is so hopeless that the unknown of what comes after death becomes a grim prospect for a “better” alternative to the hostile environment they are currently in. It is worth understanding that the unknown of death in this situation, which is constant throughout life, enters the forefront of the individual and they are left to choose the option which they believe has the highest chance of bringing them peace away from their suffering.When discussing the mental state of suicide it is important to note that every individual has different conscious motivations for their actions but that the root cause for such an extreme action derive from the instinctual flight or fight response in the brain. The likelihood and variability of an individual coming out of this place of hopelessness depends on the duration and severity of the environment they are in. If the hostile situation becomes more bearable and easier to manage, and given the individual has no pre-existing mental condition than in most cases the thought process behind suicide gradually disapates. This varies from individual to individual and some may never be able to get rid of suicidal thoughts even after the hostile environment has been neutralized. Once we know how suicidal tendencies and mental states occur in the average population we start to see that the mindset and act of suicide in almost all cases is paradoxically rewarding to the brain. There has been a simple calculation made by the brain and it has chosen the option which best suits its environment. As for those individuals who are outside of the average population, and are neurodivergent with clinically diagnosed mental disorders such as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive disorder, their suicidal thoughts arise from more complex origins, with many parts which we will not discuss in this paper. When considering that both of these scenarios are natural and explainable through the lense of science and logic, it is hard to refute that even the most seemingly contradictory and paradoxical action one can take to stay alive is ultimately not so paradoxical and is a mechanism of survival just as all other actions, thoughts, and behaviors are. Now that we have come to the conclusion that suicide and the consequences it has on the biological axiom of self preservation do not contradict the axiom we can move on to the implications of such a profound and all encompassing understanding of human nature.