@atheist human nature seems to imply a universal behaviour of all humans, whereas I see such diverse behaviours within the population. So I guess if we looked at some sort of average human behaviour, it would be fluid.

@atheist yep, I agree with what you say, just in my head as you said, I use different words.

@atheist I don't think we are born selfish. Babies cry but it's a matter of survival not selfishness. There's a book called How are we to Live by Peter Singer. He takes a look at evolutionary biology studies that show our focus as social animals is actually on the family and the group and not necessarily on the self. The group is the best way to ensure safety and the passing on of DNA. The modern Christian view stems from Martin Luther and later John Calvin suggesting that earthly wealth was a sign of God's grace and a righteous life. Puritans brought this viewpoint to America, claimed that wealth was a sign of salvation, and it's one of the ghosts of Puritanism that we still live with.

@atheist As instinctive as has been programmed into out genetic adaptations - in common with all life. A plant automatically seeks light, animals automatically seek their pre-programmed species preferences for mating, etc. Nurture might then intervene to give one a mating preference for a particular hair colour, body shape, etc.

@atheist
I think that there might be instinctive behaviors, but that culture (and circumstances) can override it.

For instance... I suspect that...
...take a child - having never seen a dog before, at seeing a puppy for the first time, will have a natural reaction - might find it cute and cuddly and want to play with it and consider it a friend, or pet, or develop some emotional connection with it.
(or maybe see it as a threat - don't know - might be different depending on the child.)

However, if that same child that would have found it cute and cuddly, but at an earlier age was bitten, now finds it as a threat.

Furthermore, if that same child that would have found it cute and cuddly was brought up in an environment (culture) where dogs are considered food; they might still find it cute, but have no (or fewer) issues with the idea of killing it.

(For the record, I like dogs well enough and have not, to the best of my knowledge, ever eaten one.)

Something else to consider - Peer Pressure/Mob Mentality - A normally gentle person that wouldn't normally hurt anyone, might be driven to kill/hurt/maim though pressure in a social or mob situation. Arguably this might be both situational and a natural reaction...

So - ya - fluid - a bit of both or everything, but I think culture (or situational ie - based on previous or current experiences - either real or learned though story) plays a major roll.

Just my thoughts.

@atheist stand back!!