The Potential Framework of Human Nature in The Life of Pi and Copenhagen

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As humans, we crave knowledge. We yearn for truth and understanding. The need exists to discover what exactly human beings are capable of doing—jumping high, running fast, acquiring hidden knowledge, or even perceiving potential distinctions within ourselves as individuals and as a race. The ambition to discover the last of these capabilities manifests itself in research completed in present day as well as in research completed over the past several centuries, beginning, most notably, at the time of Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin, the “Father of Evolution,” inadvertently laid the foundations not only for life and science as it is known today but also for the concept of human nature and questions of its potential framework.
After Darwin’s discoveries, many other researchers lay claim to the role of genes and heritability in nature. Some researchers assert this role of genetics in human nature, labeling it as a necessity in the development of a complete understanding, whereas other researchers deny genetics’ role in human nature entirely, claiming it to be a hindrance for scientific and social advancements. However, the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel and the play Copenhagen by Michael Frayn show that human nature may be based not only on genetics but also on external factors. But what are the true differences, if any, between the impact of genetics and the impact of culture on the human being? Although contemporary research indicates the primary source of human nature as genetics alone, the real source of our nature should be credited to both genetics and culture, which work together to shape human nature in such a complex way that one aspect cannot influence us without the other.
Many researchers divide the basis of human natu...

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...question of the source of human nature, the answer literally lies within us as well as all around us—the evolution of life. Those discoveries made by Darwin, by Williams, and by Mendel only sparked the imagination towards the thousands of hidden answers found within the strange sequence we call life. In the realm of science, new theories and change have never been easily introduced, but times call for a commitment to discover what really makes us so uniquely human. Understanding our complex nature will open the door to an entirely new field of scientific study and possibly alter everything as we know it. Advancements in genetics and behavioral biology may eventually converge, allowing us to see the true correspondence of human nature and its origins. Until these advancements become clear, we all face the same daunting task—discovering the apparently undiscoverable.

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