We would preface this writing with an apology for the exalted (Biblical) title and, notably, for the presumption implicit in its theoretically radical and unprovable context; however, we felt that our recently ruminative speculation relative to the advent of the human persona was at a minimum, worthy of expression and hopefully, at least a modicum of thought. We do not attribute to it any empirical or demonstrable verisimilitude, but present it merely as a conceivable possibility.
Writings like “Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” by Robert Louis Stevenson, and “Siddhartha,” by Herman Hesse, are thematic presentations of the arcane, unexplainable duality of Mankind’s persona. Like Cain and Abel in the Biblical chapter of Genesis, the human persona is empirically bifurcated between righteous individuals and those who are evil. In this waiting, we have bravely, and perhaps overly presumptuously, undertaken to express in our speculative and radical theory, attributing an early, in fact, neonatal dynamic as determinative of the advent of such universal deviation. The theory, if conceivably valid, would possibly reveal the etiology, for example, of the notable contrast in persona between “Mr.(Fred) Rogers” and Donald J. Trump.
We have read and been privy to the usual ubiquitous explanations for the origins of the empirical contrast universally observed among human personalities, evincing morally responsible inclinations, and those whose actions and sentiments are deemed pathologically, atavistic, and cruel. One such posited theory assigns causation to the beneficial presence or empirical lack of norm socialization by parental example or instruction; another would also consider the nature and quality of intimate social relationships. There are, in addition, arcane theories concerning physiology, notably mental or physical nuance (ex., glandular, hormonal, chemical), still another would maintain that character is experiential, i.e., learned from social experience; still others would facilely attribute such contrasting variations in persona to inherited inclination. Our speculation, as to the advent and perhaps the etiology of the universal “Cain and Abel” contrast between moral and pernicious human personality, is not pragmatically demonstrable; nevertheless, it may be empirically sound
Because our theory of the advent of the causation of personality nuance is radical, perhaps perceivable as rationally or dynamically bizarre, we would respectfully request the reader’s temporary suspension of understandable repulsion or remonstrance at its recitation and, at minimum, a scintilla of effort towards the possible validity of its theoretical conception.
As John Locke momentously declared, Man is born with a “tabula rasa” (a clean slate) and all of his knowledge is learned by his experience; we are inclined to reject any theory of inherited or naturally inclined traits. The earliest learning experiences by the newborn baby are primitively simple, as warmth, light, wet, dry, and the feeling of being firmly and safely held. These neonatal experiences are material to the newborn’s sense of self-discovery. Our (speculative) theory is that at this primeval stage, the newborn’s early perceived experience with maternal nurturance, particularly nursing and feeding, is the crucial time for the fundamental development of future personality, relative to lifelong selfish preoccupation or, by contrast, moral and empathic inclinations. We would suggest that the neonatal perception of a generous, warmly nurtured experience, or, contrastingly, the felt urge to personally and selfishly survive, are the incipient bases for the later, anecdotal development of persona.
In sum, under our purely ruminated theory, the infant, by its nuanced perception of the dynamics of early maternal-child interaction, acquires a lasting generalized inclination towards empathic humanism or its opposite; nevertheless, an unhealthy or unsocial outlook can be assuaged by significantly altering personal experience or professional therapy.
-p.
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