Is it human nature to have the desire to be better than others?

Question

Do you think this is in correlation to: racism, sexism, and prejudices in general.

Answer 1

No..maybe yes.....not any of those you've mentioned but i think its individual nature of us humans...you see...there are these extremely competitive people type they would do good in politics.......then there's the quitters......then there is a guy i know doesnt even try!!!

The desire to be better than others is very much there in every human....but many have other desires which are stronger than this one........
So this desire depends on its strenght in the person
It comes up when a person is treated inferior and underestimated....so yes it is related to prejudice .....and even racism.....
Spiritual gurus here in India says this......we have a vast amount of feelings hidden inside us...it just takes time for them to come out.....thats why we have LIFE it takes time......
the desire to be better than others is a human nature yes...but its not equally strong in all...
I hope you have your answer..

Answer 2

Human nature is the fundamental nature and substance of humans, as well as the range of human behavior that is believed to be invariant over long periods of time and across very different cultural contexts.

To covet it human nature. This is a desire to ascend materially compared to others. So I think Yes it is.

However, there is no correlation with this nature of ours to racism, sexism and prejudices. These are the result of a distinctly separate nature of ours. We fear that which we don't understand. White kid in a black neighborhood understands their culture. Boy growing up with 5 sisters understands (only a little better) the differences and value of women. You get the idea.

Answer 3

Nature itself instills into every beast the desire to be better than the next beast, whether it be human or animal.
If humans reach the top of their profession, they're allocated breeding rights to the choicest females.
Just as the stronger lion, wolf, bear, tiger, dog, cat, camel, or any other species you want to mention, will gain breeding rights if they can prove that they are the strongest.
The reason Nature has instilled this desire in all its species is this:
Females need to find the strongest mate to breed with, so the offspring will have a better chance to survive.
It's all so beautifully simple.

Answer 4

I think the answer to this is rooted in the beginnings of human civilization.

Before apes evolved into humans, they used to live at the edge of the prairies, where the open fields ended and the forest started. The apes naturally chose to live on the trees, not in open land, because the vintage point of the trees gave them a natural advantage in survival against the animals roaming the open lands. This natural instrinct was present to satisfy the basic urge for survivial.

This instinct is what naturally drives us to be better than others, since being better than others satisfies our basic needs of survival, food and shelter.

Answer 5

I think it's just the nature of certain societies to instill that desire in members of that society. In a collectivist society, people are looking out for the whole instead of their individual selves. In individualist societies, people think everyone is responsible for only themselves and their own success so they try to be better than others. I guess since the individualism seems to work better for people (developed nations are individualistic and many developing could be called collectivist), and selfish people survive better, that way of thinking is more dominant.
I don't think it has much to do with prejudices themselves (like the creation of them), but more in the way in which those prejudices are used (like for someone's personal benefit).

Answer 6

I'm guessing that it is natural to have the desire to be better than anyone else. I'm sure that no matter what people say that it's wrong and we shouldn't do it, a little competition never hurt. Of course there's limits. We shouldn't automatically think ' oh, I'm totally better than her!'. There's a difference between healthy competition and prejudice.

Answer 7

It is the essence of fallen human nature to seek undue prominence or self-exaltation. There is nothing wrong with wanting people to notice us. But the desire to be better than others perverts our natural human desire for attention.

Answer 8

I think this is perfectly natural but it depends on ur personality, if ur a born fighter then you'll always want 2 be better which is something gr8 when u want to achieve something but dnt let it take over you coz it can have very negative effects...trust me on this one

Answer 9

I think it is human nature to want to survive. So to survive you want to have financial security. So basiclly a human being would just want to be able to live in confidence and that comes from wanting to strive ahead.

I dont think it is corelated

Answer 10

Just like these other traits, the desire is learned behavior.