Why do so many apparently believe that "biology is destiny"?

[Siri137]

It isn't. We can overcome, ignore, and otherwise bypass our basic instincts, for example. We don't have to have children, or eat when we're hungry. This is one of the many things that differentiate superior humans over the inferior animals; we can ignore instinct, but they cannot. The only natural things we can't avoid are old age and death, but everything else is optional.

In any case, there's no such thing as 'destiny', but that discussion is for a 'MyTake' perhaps. :)

[Anonymous]

I think it really depends in the context.

For example if you're FAT and UGLY. That has an big effect on your destiny. Now you can diet, exercise and maybe as go as far to get surgery and make huge dent in this. But that doesn't fix the ugliness in other people.

In other words you may fix everything but still find you're dealing with the same problem, just in another way.

I think the problems stems from living in a world that constantly reminds people they are not enough. That even if you win the game you still lose.

[Lionman95]

At some point biology is a destiny since one can bypass their instincts for a period of time but not for ever. There´s point where not eating food gets dangerous, but that shouldn´t be the case if I could bypass my instincts and overcome them.
Concerning kids sure humans can make the decisions to have them yes but i would argue with side effects. It´s not like humans get bypass their biology without using instruments like the pill to get what they want.

[Berethor]

Yea but it not easy to resist instincts, and children are needed because death.

https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Immortal_Procreation_Clause

[exitseven]

Humans have much more complex lives that animals do. An animals just want to eat, sleep and make little animals. They could be somebody's pet of live in the wild and it is pretty much the same.
People have much the same instincts but are also in volved with jobs, economics, wars and other external forces.

[ChicoFromThe305]

The real question is should we ignore instinct? Personally I believe the answer is No, I believe there's a reason we were born with them and ignoring them will eventually put people in a spot where they will create a new instinct to ignore their natural ones making it problematic when the time you gotta use them arrives, since when is replacing natural with artificial better.

[KostasKouvalis]

I mean, technically you aren't wrong, but in the case of not eating, you can only do that for so long before you die. The child thing is true though. We don't have a "mating season" like animals do, and there's technically no reason for us to breed. So if you mean in the sense that we can survive without these things, than YES!

[NathanDavis]

99% of our biology is not optional... nor a choice

do you remember that submarine in the news some time ago? they were destined to end up like they did... and most of that was because of our biology... lol

[Siri137]

Are you actually serious? Yes, I remember "that submarine" story, and their "fate" (i. e. deaths) could easily have been avoided. They didn't have to die.
You're just trolling, aren't you.

[strateguy632]

as you said we must eat when we are hungry but not for everything if i feel urge to eat not the same as feel urge to steal or other sins.

[genericname85]

we don't have to eat when we're hungry but if we decide not to eat, we'll die eventually. likely within 3-4 weeks. biology puts limits to our will. you can't ignore that.

[love_conquers_lust]

You’re talking about determinism. But a paradox presents itself when one becomes aware of one’s future.

[Siri137]

None of us know our futures though, so there are no paradoxes.

[love_conquers_lust]

Determinism predicts your future. Such as in constitutive equation modelling. But if you know your future, you can change it, and it’s no longer deterministic.

Although, when the deterministic equation becomes part of a model, it could become recursive.

[Siri137]

No one can actually predict the future, although there are many who think they can (and we call those people frauds, scammers and such). I don't believe that anything is determined beyond the basics (classical mechanics).

[love_conquers_lust]

Designers and modelers do it all the time in limited scope. You going to bring a raincoat if it’s predicted to rain? Chaos theory says we can’t predict the weather beyond a couple weeks. How is it that climatologists can dare predict climate change?

Patterns emerge and we can predict things. Especially when it comes to inanimate objects. It becomes fuzzy when concerning sentient beings.

Some theories say we CAN’T predict the future to a T.

[Pohjolan]

To a extent it is. If we stop having children then our society will eventually cease to exist and if we don't eventually eat while hungry then we are going to fucking die.

Sometimes things are the way they are for a good reason.

[blueonblack22]

@siri137 I just hope you aren’t applying this to gender.

[Tomisworthless]

Humans are the only ones that sin. Animals eat shit sleep and mate.