Human universals, human nature & human culture

TLDR

Human universals are features of culture, society, language, behavior, and mind that appear in all peoples known to ethnography and history. The paper examines how human universals relate to human nature and culture, focusing especially on universals that constitute human nature. Examples of universals are provided throughout the discussion to illustrate the concepts. These universals, which underlie all human activities, offer a promising path toward a more theoretically informed framework for their study.

Abstract

Human universals--of which hundreds have been identified--consist of those features of culture, society, language, behavior, and mind that, so far as the record has been examined, are found among all peoples known to ethnography and history. After presenting some of the basic conceptions and problems concerning such universals per se--their kinds and causes and the methodological and disciplinary considerations that have shaped their study, this paper explores some of the issues in how human universals relate to human nature and human culture. Particular attention will be given to those universals that are directly related to, or actually comprise, human nature. In addition to the intrinsic interest such universals invoke--because they underlie all human activities--they also promise to yield to a more theoretically informed framework for their study than has been the case for human universals in general. Examples of universals will be given along the way.