TWO BASIC HUMAN MODES OF BEHAVIOUR

TWO BASICS HUMAN MODES OF BEHAVIOUR

Human behavior has two basic ideal modes of behavior:  the survival mode and the wellbeing mode, with infinite shades of gray in between.  The main characteristics

THE SURVIVAL MODE	THE WELLBEING MODE
Operating mode typical of societies or individuals subject to high levels of fear.	Operating mode typical of situations in which a society or individual are subject to low levels of fear.
It is a politically centralized modus operandi:  it favors concentration of power at the top of a social pyramid, blocks the free transmission of information and imposes upon its members a high degree of uniformity of conduct, abhorring individualism.;	It is a politically decentralized modus operandi: it distributes power throughout the whole social pyramid, favors the free transmission of information and allows its members a wide range of diversity of conduct, respecting individualism.
It is hostile and dominated by the male, whose inclination to fight and compete is highly appreciated, looking down on the weak and women, considered unfit for war .	It is amicable and impartially recognizing the specific values of men and women and it protects the weak
It values in principle the capacity to bear pain,scorning the quest for pleasure, but, on the other hand, simultaneously promoting compensatory escapism, be it behavioral, chemical or ideological.	In principle, it values pleasure, but it does not allow pleasure to be used as a means of escapism, being prepared to face functional pain whenever it necessary[1].[1].

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[1]  The following passage from a speech by Pericles, the illustrious Athenian leader, may illuminate the point:  “while in education, where our rivals [the Spartans, of course] from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness, at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger… And yet if with habits not of labour but of ease, and courage not of art but of nature, we are still willing to encounter danger, we have the double advantage of escaping the experience of hardships in anticipation and of facing them in the hour of need as fearlessly as those who are never free from them.”  In:  Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War, second volume, chapter VI, p 39-40. in: HUTCHINS, R. M. (Ed.).  The Great Books of the Western World. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1952, vol. VI, p. 396-7.