Human societies vary widely, supporting a potentialist view of nature

Evidence

Cf. the sixth of Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach : “The human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of social relations… .” — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2517 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Having first shown that everyone is a philosopher, though in his own way and unconsciously, since even in the slightest manifestation of any intellectual activity whatever, in “language”, there is contained a .specific conception of the world, one then moves on to the second level, which is that of awareness and criticism. That is to say, one proceeds to the question-is it better to “think”, without having a critical awareness, in a disjointed and episodic way? In other words, is it better to take part in a conception of the world mechanically imposed by the external environment, i.e. by one of the many social groups in which everyone is automatically involved from the moment of his entry into the conscious world (and this can be one’s village or province; it can have its origins in the parish and the “intellectual activity” of the local priest or aging patriarch whose wisdom is law, or in the little old woman who has inherited the lore of the witches or the minor intellectual soured by his own stupidity and inability to act)? Or, on the other hand, is it better to work out consciously and critically one’s own conception of the world and thus, in connection with the labours of one’s own brain, choose one’s sphere of activity, take an active part in the creation, of the history of the world, be one’s own guide, refusing to accept passively and supinely from outside the moulding of one’s personality? — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1167 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Humans dominate diverse habitats despite physical weakness and sparse innate knowledge — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 37; Societies sharing identical technology and environment can diverge sharply in social organization. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 107; A set of individuals can be society to varying degrees. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 51 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Humans are constituted by their social relations rather than an intrinsic essence #complicates (0.76) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2517
• Uncritical worldviews are mechanically imposed by one’s social environment #complicates (0.70) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1167