Human Behavior

by

Paul Beach

Human behavior is simple. By our behaviors we move toward pleasure, and we move away from pain. Every behavior in which we ever engage can be traced back to either one or a combination of these two motivations. What makes us all different is our individual perceptions of what brings us pleasure, and what gives us pain. Naturally, it is different for everyone, and these are preferences. However, there are some obvious commonalities among us. These, you might call morals.

Your behavior is the cause set in motion that brings about the effects that determine your condition; literally, the quality of your life. Here is a simple outline that shows the cycle of events that bring about condition:

Perception - You take in data through one or more of the senses. You can only hope that your senses can be trusted. It might be considered wise to maintain good health and sensible practices, when possible, that are conducive to acute sensory perception.

Conception - You integrate the data with all previously collected data and form a conclusion. Keep in mind that any of the data might be erroneous to some degree. All you can do is work with what you got, and make a concerted effort toward error correction whenever possible.

Decision - You weigh the possible options offered by the conclusion and pick a desired outcome. The fantastic computer in your head is capable of data analysis on many levels, including making certain predictions based on observations of previous events.

Execution - You carry out the verdict of the decision; the cause is set in motion. You are now attempting to either move toward pleasure, or move away from pain.

Resulting Condition - You have your outcome, whether it is your desired outcome or not, which takes you back to Perception.

Simple, right?

Absolutely!

And it can be broken down even deeper to address the question of preferences vs. morals. There are some people who would suggest that morals, like time and space, are relative. Do the ends justify the means? Perhaps... However, I would suggest that morals are rather like the speed of light - constant.

What is the Moral Constant? To find this answer, ask yourself two questions. How you answer these two questions in your heart of hearts may help to measure the Moral Constant, and it will determine your success with the Condition Cycle.

Question One: Do you believe that reality is perceivable in this lifetime?

This question is not asking if you actually see reality as it truly is. It is only asking if you think it is possible to do. Or do you believe that true reality will elude us until we die, or that each individual creates their own reality?

It is a simple question, and if you answered YES then congratulations. Regardless of whether or not you can perceive true reality correctly at this moment, you at least strive to. Imagine the futility of life for someone convinced that they will never see true reality in this lifetime! For them, what is the point of going on?

And for those poor souls that answered this question with "No, I create my own reality" please be careful. You're skirting a thin line that separates you from those committed to constant psychiatric care.

If yes or no is too extreme a position for you to take on this question, try to estimate a percentage, or perhaps a location on a spectrum. Do not try to make the issue complex, however. If you do, you're a NO by default.

How you answer this question determines how religious you might be. It helps you to ascertain the efficiency of your personal error-correction apparatus. It hints at the level of your gullibility.

It is important to keep in mind that there is no scientific evidence that supports a position either way on this question. The answer is truly up to you. But look at the results of your belief on your behavior and the resulting condition. With enough analysis, you will eventually come to answer this question YES. The only question now is, will you live long enough to complete the analysis?

Question Two: Should the individual have the right of private property?

This question is slightly more complex, but not prohibitively so. The fact that we don't have the right of private property is not an issue with regards to this question. Also, the term Private Property in this context is used to describe all of an individual's personal property, to wit: any claim to real property, recognized and given validity by society; their person, including the freedom to move about the universe; and their produce, including intellectual property and un-emancipated offspring. We could also use the term Individual Rights, but unfortunately that term is sometimes too abstract for certain people; it is too often confused with the term human rights, taken out of context, or just plain misused. So, I say again, should we have a right to private property?

Many people will reflexively answer yes, and that is great! But again, you can put your answer in the form of a percentage if necessary. What percent of your property should you have a right to - 90%? 75%? An even half and half?

And just to make sure that you frame the question in the proper context, let me give you a hypothetical situation. For the sake of easy math, let's say you have ten dollars that you use to purchase certain materials. You use your personal knowledge and expertise to assemble the raw materials into a widget. You then sell the widget for 100 dollars. Using your time and your personal talent, you have turned 10 dollars into 100 dollars. How much of that 100 dollars does someone other than you have a claim to?

As previously stated, we don't actually have a right of private property. The amount of private property you and I have a right to is not an arbitrary value, but is, rather, a distinct percentage that varies to the individual, depending on many factors; mainly, what country you live in. Citizens of the United States probably average about 65% right of private property; for those in other countries it could be as little as 25% or less. The sad truth is that there is a great number of people with their hands in your coin-purse. And it's important to note that every one of them has made their decision on Question Two, at least subconsciously. It is reflected in their behavior. What is reflected by your behavior?

 The answers to these two questions are the genesis of your core belief system. Your beliefs are all the data that you have to work with in the conception step of the Condition Cycle. Your behaviors are a reflection of your core beliefs. If your behaviors are in conflict with how you consciously answered these questions, then you might see it reflected by an acute dissatisfaction with your condition.

 It is academic to say that taking what is not yours is wrong. We all know that. With that said, if you answered Question Two with anything other than 'yes', then you have admitted your disregard to right and wrong; you believe that the ends justify the means; morals, to you, are relative.

However, imagine a world where all of its conscious occupants respect the rights of private property of everyone else. Can you see how such a condition would eradicate all of society's current ills? I would suggest that people who believe that morals are relative are the cause of problems.

 The Moral Constant is simply respecting every conscious individual's right of private property. In doing this one simple thing, everyone would be free; everyone would prosper to the full measure of their ability in a world devoid of crime and immorality.

 However! Everyone has to do it!

 And there is no way to FORCE anyone to be moral. That would be immoral. The only thing we can do is try to persuade everyone to respect the right of private property of everyone else. Many people might scoff at such an undertaking, but I suggest that it is not prohibitively difficult. What is mankind's alternative, anyway? Besides, there have been massive movements carried over throughout history. What better movement is there than world peace? You can start with your offspring.

 So, here is everything your need to know about human behavior, your behavior, and the behavior of every conscious individual in the world. We all have our individual preferences; you prefer to live in a warm climate, or you prefer to drive fast, or you prefer to watch TV rather than read, or you prefer to sacrifice large amounts of your time to earn money so you can buy nice things, or the opposite. You are entitled to any preference under the sun as long as it doesn't infringe on anyone's right of private property - that's the Moral Constant.

 Do the necessary self-assessment; find out where you stand on the two questions. And decide where you want to be. Adjust your personal error-correction apparatus so you can bring about your desired outcome - your preferred condition. Live in such a way, that if everyone in the world adopted your behaviors, there would be peace.

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