The Dual Potential Of Human Nature

I came across a fascinating concept that I heard from Dr. Samuel Wilkinson, who’s an author and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale. He takes an evolutionary approach to understanding human nature and discovered how our species is uniquely caught in between two identities.

It primarily relates back to an idea called sexual dimorphism, which relates to how body types are different between males and females in a species. Sexual dimorphism is high in animals like lions and moose, where males are much larger and have prominent features like manes or antlers. Reflecting on humans, we have some sexual dimorphism where men are generally bigger and grow more facial hair, but not as convincingly as other species.

The reason this is important is because more sexual dimorphism is closely correlated with promiscuous mating activities and aggression, where the most dominant males have multiple mates. This of course contrasts against species who are monogamous and mate for life where less sexual dimorphism usually exists.

Again, humans are right on the cusp of being different but not too different, placing us in this odd tension. And this is just one example of how we’re caught between two identities. Dr. Wilkinson calls this “the dual potential of human nature”. It’s the same root that causes us to be capable of being both violent and cooperative, selfish and altruistic, good and evil. It also explains the conflict where men generally have the desire for multiple sexual partners but find more groundedness in one. Not to mention the cultural influence that overlays the biology.  

It’s this tension that is the great pursuit of humanity. It’s a test of our character. Consciously we know that healthy interdependent behavior is safer and better for all, but there’s still the temptation of greed, power, and position. It’s a battle we all face, our character is on the line. And in my opinion, our personal development is one of the tools we have to win this fight and become an unstoppable force for good in the world.