Haralambos is of course quite correct - we're all products of socialisation and enculturation, which we do tend to experience without being conscious of it. S/he is also correct to assert that we can "re-manufacture ourselves", although the extent to which we can do this is constrained by various factors.

One of these is education, which can serve to reinforce early sociocultural conditioning, or more usefully, to develop skills in rational inquiry so that individuals can transcend their childhood indoctrination. Alternatively, some unfortunates who are educationally or intellectually deprived may be indoctrinated in irrational beliefs, such as those espoused by religions or other totalitarian ideologies.

As Boazy points out, we experience numerous examples of the latter form of indoctrination in this forum. Whether these emanate from educational or intellectual deprivation I shall leave for others to decide.

Yes. lets us decide.

All the best.

EVO

Haralambos,

You have obviously been indoctrinated into the belief that our society is " racist, sexist, and exploitative" and "just doesn't care."

You "...must somehow re-manufacture (yourself)" so that you can see that your belief is not true. :)

As a boy and young man, I was indoctrinated with left-wing Labor politics, and probably had similar attitudes to the ones you have now.

Fortunately, I was able to "re-manufacture" myself, and I have happily and successfully adopted conservative (NOT Liberal Party ) views.

I obviously don't know how old you are, but you seem very young in outlook, to me. Hopefully, you too will one day reaslise that nothng is set in stone, and attitudes and beliefs can change.

In the meantime, you should resist all indoctrination.

Hands up all those who also got a giggle about people being advised that the way to re-manufacture oneself after being indoctrinated was to "flood oneself" with Jesus?

Or do I just have a weird sense of humour?

Hi pelican,

I agree. Change mainly happens at the individual level. But, it doesn't have to take time. For example, we can choose to be influenced by mainstream views, or not. I do believe that most people are not aware of this choice. So instead, they just go with that flow.

Dear Haralambos,

Our behaviour is a product of an interaction between our basic biological heritage and the learning experiences of the particular culture in which we happen to live.

For example, we have the biological capacity to speak, but which language we use and how we use it depend on our environment. We have the biological capacity to laugh, to cry, to blush, to become angry, but the circumstances under which we might do any of these things are learned. Nature provides us with legs, but we are not obliged to use them only for walking. We can use them to kick a ball, or to ride a bicycle, or to sit cross-legged while contemplating.

We also have a few inborn, basic drives - organic urges that need satisfaction, such as our desires for self-preservation, for food and drink, for sex, and perhaps for the company of other people. But the way we actually satisfy these drives is learned through cultural experience. Most people, as you point out, learn to fulfill their drives in the way their culture tells them to.

But we are not programmed to satisfy them in a particular way. If we were, we would all fulfill our drives in a rigid, identical manner. In fact, unlike all other species, we can override our drives completely. We can ignore the drive for self-preservation by committing suicide or risking our lives for others. Protesters can ignore the drive for food and go on hunger strikes, even if it means starvation. Some clergy can suppress the sex drive and live out their lives in celibacy. Hermits can override the drive for human company and live in isolation.

Within very broad limits, "human nature" is what we make of it, and what we make of it depends largely on the culture in which we happen to live. The culture of every society is unique, containing combinations of norms and values that are found nowhere else