Why do you think humans, in general, are so self-destructive?

Cool idea… Could be.

Humans didn’t used to seem so self-destructive a long time ago when a lot of people lived without things like TV, cars, etc… They were more independent and becoming “rich” really wasn’t an aspiration of many back then. They hunted and gathered their food, they made their clothes and such.

Now days, it seems like people are obsessed with materalistic and superficial things. Everyone wants to be rich, and if they can’t or it seems like it’s not going to happen, it makes them feel like a failure. Feeling like a failure often leads to addictions and many unhealthy habits.

We self-destruct because our only competition is other humans.

That is quite simply not true.
Humans in general are not self-destructive even though an extremely low number of humans may be.

The word general not only refers to humans, but self-destructive behaviors in general. A good example is eating or drinking things that we know are bad for us. If you look at all catagories of self-destructive behavior, all humans are guilty of it. My question is thus why we are like this, not if it is true or not.

Not all humans are self-destructive. Not all humans, in general, are self destructive. =)

Pn;y miserable humans are. =)

*only And besides, some stuffs that we consider “self-destructive” are considered self-constructive (by concept, the opposite of self-destructive. I don’t know if such word exists.) by those who do it. =)

Suzaan, do you mean to ask why individuals engage in behaviors that are harmful to themselves personally? Or why we as a species act in ways that are harmful to us all, collectively?

Both actually.

Because biology hasnt quite caught up with our standards of living. There’s a good biological reason that foods that taste good and we wants lots of are things that are high in carbs and fat. Because both give energy and are stored for later use. Our bodies still function as if food is not in abundance, and we have to preserve as much as possible in order to survive. It all boils down to genetics. Which hasnt caught up with human like in the past century where things have changed drastically.

Ok… What about drug and alchol abuse? What about polution and wars? These are all self-destructive behaviors. Can they be explained with biology? And I truly think that that which makes us “human” and distinguishes us a bit from other animals is our abillity to act beyond nor against our instincts and biology.

*or

You are only thinking of a self destructive behavior like drug abuse. What about polution or war? They are self-destrutive behaviors that can lead to our end as a race… If you look at ALL catagories of self destructive behaviors, then all humans are guilty od self-destructive behaviors.