To What Extend Should We Use Our Own Humanity to Study Human Behavior?

Vivian Rebrin

TOK- Amy Hunt

Block 1

To What Extend Should We Use Our Own Humanity to Study Human Behavior?

            The human sciences are a far more complex area of knowledge to study than for example the natural sciences. In human sciences we are faces with several more implications and assumptions rather than being precise and verified in the natural sciences. The natural sciences can deal with specific experiments with controlled variables that can be tested several times in order to check it’s validity. The human sciences however is far more complicated because we do not have control of human behavior and we can never be 100% sure if the data is authentic or not. The human sciences do not involve constants that are true throughout the world. This is why it is important to have some kind of human input when testing anything related to the human sciences because us as humans are able to identify things that we would do for example if we were being observed or asked questions to. It is in our human nature to want to put the best first impression of ourselves forward especially when it comes to being seen by total strangers who are evaluating you. However, it is also important to not include our personal bias as well when looking at other human behaviors because we are also inclined to assume things especially when there isn’t concrete data to look at.

            In the field of economics, human behavior is closely associated to the way a certain group was brought up and to the area in which they’re working in. Scarcity is a crucial factor in the field of economics and therefore how each person deals with it especially in the different cultural areas that they are dealt with can vary enormously. This field of human sciences is particularly harder to look at because for instance objective knowledge, objectivity and unbiased, as well as subjective, one’s impression and opinion, is valued equally in this field. Therefore, it is harder to measure or predict one’s actions in this particular field. Economics is an ever-changing area in which future actions might not necessarily reflect past actions and vice versa. Another factor that creates implications in studying this area is the language. This can be seen in the concept of linguistic relativity in which it states that the structure of a language will affect the way in which an individual perceives the world around him as well as influencing their cognitive process.

            This is why a difference of language or culture can sometimes be beneficial in the area of human sciences because confirmation bias is less likely to interfere with the reflections based on the observations. One example of this idea can be seen in the alien reports we did in class. Although we might not necessarily process the reasoning behind why we do certain things, such as eating an egg or placing a dog on a leash that to us seems perfectly natural, an outsider can think upon these actions with a different point of view that we either are biased upon or don’t want to think about at all. One example I thought was interesting was that a person described eating an egg as eating an unborn child from a chicken. A vegan might think that way but a person who is used to eating animals will stick to their beliefs and argue that it is perfectly rational until the disagreement between both parties becomes a polarized attitude. However, since we still don’t have an alien’s point of view it’s essential to look outside the framework of our beliefs and look at all possibilities when studying human behaviors.

            As can be seen in the Ted Talk by Brene Brown, the definition of research is to control and predict. However, she shows us that in the study of human behavior this is sometimes impossible and that it is essential to use our own humanity in order to understand human behaviors. She mentions how humans who are more vulnerable tend to live happier lives and those who aren’t tend to numb their emotions through dangerous cycles such as addiction, over eating, drinking, or taking medication. These are actions that as humans we can understand and need to use our humanity in order to help one another. She also mentions how the people who weren’t happy with their lives weren’t vulnerable and pretended that their actions did not affect those around them. This involves companies that are trashing our ecosystem and not trying to resolve the problem or even not considering animal rights such as in the egg example. In order to survive and reproduce it is essential to use our humanity in order to help one another as well as understand one another. For someone like Brene Brown who is a sociologist it is harder to make a concrete decision based on observations due to cultural relativism because it’s not specific enough. Although the example she gives of vulnerability could be generalized to all she can never know for sure since everyone is different especially in different cultures in which people were brought up with different paradigms than others.

            Overall, using our own humanity in order to study human behaviors might be essential but it also has its shortfalls. This can be seen in the examples of confirmation bias that is understandable since we all have our different paradigms and it is how we view our own world but it is also why we must keep an open mind and especially in experiments relating to human behaviors must test with a variety of different people and perceptions in order to gain full understanding. Keeping an open mind and stepping out of our own frameworks is important in order to understand new discoveries. This is why it is harder to categorize in the area of human studies as opposed to for example the natural sciences. There can never be a right or wrong in human studies because we have no control over the experiments and prediction in human behavior is almost impossible since it is never certain that an individual will always react in the same manner during a set of circumstances.  Therefore, it is important to use our own humanity when observing human behavior but to also keep an open mind when analyzing and reflecting upon our findings.

Word Count: 1,063