Nature of wo(Man) - Revisited
By far not the last time I will come back to this issue, but it seems that of all the entries in this nascent blog that titled Nature of (wo)Man has sparked the most interest. One reader did not understand the implications of the montage of magnetic resonance images of different human brains. Another criticized the quote by Confucius.
In the field of Neuroscience, experience dependent neural plasticity refers to the capacity of the central nervous system for reorganization in response to repeated input. By definition learning through practice amounts to learning through repeated experience; thus practice constitutes a major driving force behind the reorganization of the nervous system. In my interpretation of the sayingby nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart by Confucius I am just highlighting the effect of practice on human individuals with equal application to both sexes.
This interpretation I believe is in harmony with claims about the effects of habit on the central nervous system posed by the great American psychologist William James (1842-1910). Moreover, modern medical technology offers empirical evidence for the capacity of the human central nervous system to reorganize in response to practice. It is the implications of Confucius' observation that intrigue, observations that greatly preceded the advent of MRI.
I believe that even in midst of patriarchy Confucius states that humanity is one and the same, nearly. Man and woman are by no means equal in biochemistry, which translates into differing dispositions in attitudes and perspectives. Importantly, different biochemistry does not mean that man and woman are unequal in aptitude. For humanity the practice of creation i.e. an offspring demands a certain harmony or equality between the sexes. The required equilibrium is maintained by biological evolution. Diversity is a fundamental condition for biological evolution, as a consequence man and woman are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart. Wide apart along the lines of civilizations, races, communities, families, individuals, all garden paths open to your choice of discourse.