People’s behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making.

The cause and formation of human behaviour have always perplexed the academia, and aroused curiosity of the public mind. It’s been the core issue for law and sociology, which brings people reflect upon the whole society and thus shapes our identity. Some people argue that outside powers are superior to people’s deliberation, while others believe in universal liberty of humanity. Though it’s true that people are not in complete control of their actions, I subscribe to the libertarian view that their own making is undeniably indispensable.

Humans are defined and confined by their surroundings, or as Karl Marx pointed out, the summarization of social relationships. Nevertheless, external forces don’t effect on humans as if the wind blows down leaves, yet set stage where human lead their lives, and that’s where mankind determination comes into place. In fact, if we observe closely into the society, we would find forces tangle around people in a responsive manner particular to each person.  As Pascal wrote ”Humans are reeds that can think ”, humans transcend other creatures not because of feeble bodies, but because of self-awareness. Such breakthroughs from self-consciousness marked human’s distinction from other creatures and warranted inalienable rights of each individual. With language, human beings are capable of deducing, imaging and acquiring wisdom. With technologies, people has greatly insulated themselves from natural harm, gaining more freedom.

People’s determination in their activities is not only existent but also substantial, since it’s persistent human contrivance that lays an enduring foundation for civilizations. On one hand, rejecting behaviors as one’s making is dangerous, as one may thus escape accountability for all his wrongdoings and claim it’s devils outside that torment himself. Of course, there exist unfortunate circumstances, named ”force majeure”, where arbitrary factors and external power play a greater role. But this doesn’t override the nature of human effort, since it’s recognized by human awareness and responded with an array of conscious actions. On the other hand, it would be too weird to let some supernatural ‘Deity’ take the credit for all human achievements, as science has repeatedly confirmed to us. The enlightenment movement has revealed the importance of free will notion: before, farmers and merchants almost never dare to pursue advances, obeying the church and subjugated by overlords. When scholars lectured inherent dignity as individual beings, people gradually broke away from feudal restrictions and brought progress and faith in equality all over the world.

With full awareness on human’s making, people would be capable to become responsible.  Since people realize their actions are of notable importance, they feel compelled to reflect on themselves. They would assiduously find explanations for unexpected accidents. They would also become proactive in solving malfeasance and punish wrongdoings. Awareness and belief for the human workings helps build restraints for evil and rewards for the good.

In a nutshell, for behavioral analysis,  it’s more sensible to emphasize human behaviors than creation from complex lingering outside forces.