Universal Humane Needs Assessment:

The following is a partial list of key questions that must be resolved as the project progresses:

1 ) How do individuals define the elements of what a humane lifestyle is and can these elements be categorized into general groups?

2 ) What are the most commonly shared elements of a humane life style and to what degree are any statistically universal?

3 ) Is it possible to develop shared compassion based on common needs?

4 ) Is it possible that these ’self defined’ elements of a humane lifestyle correlate to elements of our human nature?

5 ) Can an intuitively understandable framework be developed to put these humane elements in context to human nature and nurture?

6 ) Is it possible to breed more compassionate, balanced and sustainable human behavior if we understand how to balance our basic humane needs?

7 ) Is it possible to integrate research and applied knowledge from various fields of study such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, human needs studies, neuroscience and physiology etc. into a single cohesive science which can be utilized by the common person?

8 ) How can such an endeavor verify and disseminate its findings to the masses?

9 ) If there is a verifiable set of universal humane elements, how will that effect our legal systems, our economic systems, our ecological outlook or our sense of global responsibility?

10 ) How can the UHNA project address its core issues in such a way that its findings are acceptable to various religious groups, political ideologies and cultures?

On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 11:02 PM, David Weiner wrote:
Glad if I can be useful.

I read the methodology page again, and can’t wondering how people now being tortured and oppressed might fit into this project. Or people committed to exploiting others. I feel a bit like being asked while observing a house ablaze with people locked inside to comment upon the colors of the flames, and the pitches of the screams emerging. I guess what I’m trying to say, is that theory is great when it’s part of praxis. Otherwise, I’m afraid it’s just distractive. Praxis always envisions a humanity serving goal. If the goal of UHNA is only to achieve a kind of Hegelian grasp of human nature, then I guess I’m not really much interested. If it’s to try to contribute to social change consistent with achieving wholesale social decency, then I am.

David

March 20th 2008, Scott Bolden responded:

David, if I understand your concern correctly, you are wondering what practical impact this project will have on those who are currently most affected by the injustices and inequities existing in the world. Is this project going to be just another academic study with well wishing intent to be added to the warehouse of speculative optimism with little or no actual actionable results? The short answer is no; allow me to elaborate.

This project is very much about creating real seed change and practical impact from the perspective of catalyzing a shift in global consciousness based on revealing the inherent truths of universal experiences.

I’m not asking people to merely comment on the grotesque nature of a bad situation with subjective observation from afar, as in your house fire scenario. I am asking people to recognize that in order to prevent that fire, we must learn to build the house with the proper materials and safety precautions as well as preparing the people who may be caught in that fire with the knowledge and tools to escape the fire alive; and inspiring the compassionate incentive for the neighbors to assist in that rescue operation should that fire occur.

It has been my objective observation that people are motivated to change and act when they are confronted with a personal experience that resonates with their deepest senses of survival, self awareness and security (physical, psychological, intellectual, emotional and spiritual). Therefore, the efforts of this project are being directed towards addressing these basic inescapable tenants of human behavior rooted in our human nature and nurture. This is a first and necessary step in any endeavor which seeks to bring about change on a micro or macro scale.

I’m sure by now you have heard Obama’s recent speech on race and politics and have read or experienced how well it resonates with people from all walks of life. This is true because he is able to illustrate some commonly shared experiences thus allowing us to gain a more compassionate perspective of the other. This, in turn, opens the door for us to recognize some common or dare I say, inherent truths, regarding the racial discourse prevalent in our society. When we realize that these truths are common for others outside ourselves then we are more open to self examination and change based on shared compassion. This is a similar principal methodology that I am working with regarding the UHNA project.

There are many truths relating to our human nature and nurture, that when exposed, can contribute in very real ways to our re-examination of self and, in turn, impact the future path of human civilization. The following excerpt is one example of a brief analysis I made in response to an op-ed piece regarding one of the most influential ‘human needs’….in fact, I used part of this piece in the Project Methodology section of the UHNA blog:

my march 19 response to why hillary’s economic plan is better than obama’s – posted on alternet: http://www.alternet.org/election08/77319/

The Economy is Just a Symptom of a Much Larger Issue
Posted by: skizum on Feb 19, 2008 4:17 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

While I applaud the candidates efforts to address the economy, this does little to address a much more fundamental issue at the root of the problem; Human Nature. This is the topic that we urgently need to understand and learn to effective deal with.

Human nature is inescapable and fundamentally at the root of solving so many of the world’s problems. We find ourselves at an important crossroad of having longer life spans, better ways to control disease, more leisure time, instantaneous global communication and a wealth of recorded history of human experiment… VS …the ability to destroy ourselves very quickly or a bit slower, a path that we are currently and predictably on.

Allow me to broadly de-construct this issue a bit…Why do we have an aggressively growing gap between haves and have-nots nationally and globally? Why do we fight wars over resources? Why do the elite power brokers manipulate and deceive to consolidate more power? Why do employers cut benefits to raise their own profits? Why is the one economic scam or bubble bursting after another in increasing frequency?

I could go on asking 100 more similar questions and there will be a common answer to them all. These practices stem from one of most primal motivations integral to not only to human nature but animal nature as well…The need to dominate.

Think about it. Most mammals establish social order through dominance. Let’s use the example of gorillas for the moment. The dominant alpha male establishes dominance through brute force so that he can have controlling access to territory, food, water, mating preference and so on. You can substitute many specific mammals into this model including humans.

In the case of humans, we have a much more developed sense of intellect, communication and technology to create many layers of complexity to camouflage our primal drive to dominate. Not only do we gain power through the enhanced brute force of armaments but we have developed languages which can be grossly malleable in meaning and rationale, susceptible to manipulation and control.

It is important for me to note that the need to dominate is not the only part of human nature we need to pay attention to but it certainly is a good place to start. There are many other specific behavioral elements of the human condition that are common to us all.

I propose that we put a greater effort into identifying, verifying, disseminating an understanding of, assessing our individual and societal balance of the understanding of the elements of our own human nature. Let’s create a humanely sustainable solution based on reality.

The Universal Humane Heeds Assessment Project:
My efforts in this regard go toward developing an intuitively understandable and comprehensively verifiable map or a periodic table describing the elements human behavior.

The theory goes something like this: Perhaps IF we can identify and verify a common set of needs/desires/experiences of the human condition AND realize a shared compassion for living humanely THEN we may be able to use these inherent truths as a basis from which to reevaluate our economic systems, social systems, governmental systems, environmental regulations and legal systems. The project is in it’s infancy but growing steadily. While I understand that there is some research out there that correlates to mine, there is no doubt that the topic needs to be pushed to the forefront of our attention and should play a daily role in our conscious lives.

In effect, we need to come clean with reality and utilize our intellect and survival instinct to overcome our need to dominate as individuals.