Humanity- not so benevolent?

Hello  and welcoming back to Cerebending!!!  I deeply apologise for being MIA for so long but I'm back with a lot of exhilarating new updates! 

Today's blog stems from an extremely elementary place- a place that most of us long to explore; a phenomenon that scientists relentlessly work to define; something that has continued to befuddle all of us- a place that some of you might think is deep inside our hearts, while others might think is present in the deep dark chambers of our cranium. The question has innumerable answers: philosophical, spiritual, scientific and is something that I have been continually pondering upon for a very long time. 

It is: the essence of humanity. What makes us human? 

We have often heard the term "humanity" and we know that it is synonymous to compassion, brotherly love, altruism and benevolence. It also means "the human race."  I have found this to be the most perplexing thing in the world!! In today's day and age both the meanings of this word seem to be the perfect example of a contrast.  The insidious wars between Russia and Ukraine; Israel and Palestine; the Afghan, Sudanese, Haitian, Syrian, Somalian, Nigerian crises are the epitome of nefarious human acts.  Grotesque practices such as female genital mutilations are still prevalent. Rape cases are sky-rocketing. Mass shootings are pervasive. Why talk of humanitarian crises? The politics between school students, the jealousy and hatred that colleagues have for each other, the treacherous acts of a best friend are the new characteristics of "humanity."  The amount of times we've broken down at home after school, rage and a feeling of injustice rushing though our blood vessels, waiting to erupt in the form of the words "I hate them!! I loathe them!! This is not fair!!"  always brings up the question,"HOW IS HUMANITY SYNONYMOUS TO BENEVOLENCE?" 

What happens in the minds of serial killers? What do sex traffickers and kidnappers think? Why did the soldiers who were ordered to execute a million Jews do so? Why don't the Russian soldiers forget about patriotism and go and party in Ukraine? These questions have often crossed my mind and since I am a total neuro freak, I had to explore!!

So let's dive straight into it and start by understanding what empathy is. Empathy in the simplest form is the "ability to understand and share the feelings of one another."  In my first article, I spoke about "mirror touch synesthesia" in which a synesthete can literally feel the other person's pain. Our body has a mechanism called "facial mirroring" that plays an integral part in expressing empathy. You might have noticed how you subconsciously imitate your friend's gestures, way of speaking or actions at some point in time. When a person close to you smiles, you smile; when they laugh, you laugh; and all of this happens subconsciously. Mirroring literally puts us in "someone else's shoes" and we understand them.. we empathise with them. This is how "humanity" is born.. putting yourself in someone else's shoes, asking yourself what you would do if you were in their position.  You can say that empathy maybe "selfish" to some extent  as you may not understand the other person until you envisage yourself in their position. 

Now that we've got this covered, let's move on to the next bit:

 How do we bring ourselves to loathe others?? 

Simple answer: You will never be able to envisage yourself in the place of the person you loathe. You de-humanise them. Your brain dehumanises the other person. Why do you think people use curse words such as: "You swine!! Pig! Dog! Monkey! Pest." You don't associate that person as a human being. You don't think that the person can think/feel like you do. Thus, you dehumanise a person of the outgroup.   An article on the neuroscience of hate states that: "A potential brain mechanism for hate appears to involve an “animalistic” infrahumanization that results in withholding empathy from the devalued targets."

  A second article states that, " Dehumanization can be both an attack on the target's dignity and a justification for harmful actions."

The inferior frontal cortex(IFC) gets activated when a person dehumanises another human being. The anterior cingulate (ACC) cortex  and the anterior insula are known as the pain matrix.  The ACC and the AI respond to experiences of your pain as well as somebody else's pain. However, when you think about a person you have dehumanised, the amygdala and the insula(areas associated with disgust in the brain), show higher activation. Hence, it becomes neurologically difficult for you to empathise with the person you have dehumansied. 

So remember, next time a person comes up to you and asks you, "Why do you hate me so much?" You can reply by simply saying," It's not me bro. It's the amygdala and the insula- IFC. I'm sorry" 

A man in the US went rogue and murdered his family members before shooting a dozen people in the

local mall. He then shot himself. On performing an autopsy, it was revealed that the man had a tumour pressing against his amygdala causing him to have an overflow of "disgusting" thoughts. He was unable to control any of these malevolent thoughts. "Oh insula! You

indubitably deserve insults!"

This brings us to the next question. Why do people obey orders of genocide that they receive from higher authorities??

In an experiment performed in Yale university, volunteers were called to participate in a research project. They were told that the aim was to

find out the extent to which punishments work(Spoiler alert: That was not the real aim). They were paid only to show up and not complete the entire experiment. The volunteers were made to pick chits and they were deliberately given the role of the teacher(Spoiler alert again:the student was someone from the university who was trained to act. All the chits had "teacher" written on it). 

The volunteers were told that they had to give electric shocks to the student, if he/she didn't respond correctly and with each incorrect answer, the intensity of the shock would increase. The final level would be "Severe shock" at 450 volts. They were also informed that the shocks hurt but don't cause permanent muscle/nerve damage. (SPOILER ALERT AGAIN: The shocks were fake, just that the volunteers weren't told so).

When the experiment started, the students (as rehearsed) gave wrong answers and cried out aloud/banged their feet and hands, pretending to

be in pain.

 The volunteers grew nervous. They were under no compulsion to continue the experiment except for an experiment controller who

simply said, "You must continue." They had already been paid and had nothing to lose. However, SURPRISINGLY 65% CONTINUED TO GIVE "SHOCKS" TILL THE 450 V MARK WAS REACHED!!!!!! Some of those who continued it till the end showed

symptoms of complete anxiety attacks, nausea and shivering!! 

Those volunteers from New Haven, who I reiterate once again, had nothing to lose, continued to give shocks just because they were at Yale University and admired the scientists who were "helping humanity progress". Now imagine a Nazi given orders to execute Jews simply to "help humanity progress." Crazy right!!! I know!! 

We are taught obedience from a young age. However, ignorance and obedience together..... 

Listening to a political leader give hate speeches or dehumanize an outgroup activates your insula and amygdala. Empathy decreases. Mirroring decreases. Heinous, abhorrent feelings grow. However, to you, those feelings are not abominable. You simply execute them because, "You want to make the world a better place." 

If you ever want to sound profound or obscure i.e. flex to your friends about the neurobiology of hate, you can say that it is due to "Strenberg's duplex theory" and "Haslam's dual model."

I hope this article deactivated your insula and activated the part of your brain associated with awe:)) Whenever you loathe a person, no matter how "virtuous it seems", always remember that neural mechanisms are at play. All humans are the same. None of us are swines, pigs, insects, feline creatures, etc, etc. We all feel and think the same way. I just wrote about one brain- the Homo sapien brain, that all of us have. 

Homework for next time:  Eat. Empathise with others. Condemn war. Promote pacifism. Keep your insula and amygdala under control. Buy Cerebending and Pinkstockings merch. Wake up. Repeat!!! 

Thank you so much!! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this!!

Don't forget to order your Cerebending t-shirts!!!

Until next time, 

Tanisha Chadha.