Historian explains human nature | Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman
Anthony Kaldellis argues that despite significant cultural variations across history, fundamental aspects of human nature persist across time periods. He positions himself against postmodern relativism, asserting that while culture modifies human behavior, the basic parameters of human psychology—including love, hate, ambition, and competence—remain constant across societies and eras.
Summary
Kaldellis discusses the tension between historical specificity and universal human nature. He explains that during his time as a graduate student, postmodernism was influential among scholars who rejected the concept of human nature entirely, viewing history as disconnected, incommensurate slices that couldn't be compared. Kaldellis criticizes this view as problematic, citing Thucydides' observation that humans fundamentally remain the same across time—they love, hate, have ambitions, and display competence or incompetence. He argues that within any group of 20-30 people, you find the same spectrum of human types and personalities. Culture then enters as a modifying force that 'sets the dials' of human behavior, rather than creating entirely new human types. Kaldellis emphasizes that occasionally exceptional individuals—citing Steve Jobs, Jaron Lanier, or historical figures with distinctive characteristics—can emerge and significantly alter the course of history through their skills and circumstances. He further argues against viewing cultural systems as totally totalitarian forces that completely determine individual thought, noting that people retain agency to think for themselves and sometimes think outside prescribed cultural boundaries. As a historian, he maintains openness to recognizing individual agency and unconventional thinking when examining historical actors.
Key Insights
- Kaldellis rejects the postmodern view that history consists entirely of incommensurate cultural slices with no common human baseline, arguing instead that fundamental human psychology persists across time periods.
- Kaldellis invokes Thucydides to argue that humans remain fundamentally the same—they love, hate, have ambitions, and display the full range of competence and incompetence—with the same basic personality types appearing in any group of 20-30 people.
- Kaldellis conceptualizes culture as something that modifies human behavior by 'setting the dials' of basic human nature rather than creating entirely new human types or possibilities.
- Kaldellis argues that exceptional individuals with particular skills, appearing at the right historical moment, can occasionally turn the tides of history despite the constraints of their cultural systems.
- Kaldellis asserts that cultural systems are not so totalitarian that they completely determine individual thought, and that people retain the capacity to think for themselves and outside cultural prescriptions.
Topics
Transcript
[0:02] So you you said that, you know, the Roman Empire, maybe ancient Greece, maybe the um societies before that, and now societies after that, the society we live in, are very different. And so applying the lessons of history, you have to be careful doing so. But are there things that are the same with us humans? So of everything you've studied across hundreds of years and centuries, are there aspects of human nature that kind [0:33] of persists? >> So look, intellectually, I have gone through um periods when like when I was a grad student, um it was uh you know, this was kind of when postmodernism, what we might call loosely, was kind of alive and…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from Lex Clips
Why the Arabs attacked the Roman Empire | Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman
The transcript discusses why Arab Muslim forces successfully attacked both the Roman and Persian Empires in the 7th century. Kaldellis explains that both empires were severely weakened after a devastating war with each other, lacked defensive preparations against Arabian threats, and were depleted of manpower and resources, making conquest almost inevitable.
Wars of conquest that weakened the Roman Empire | Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman
Anthony Kaldellis discusses Justinian's conquests, building projects, and legacy, arguing that while he achieved territorial expansion and architectural feats, he overextended the empire militarily and economically, leaving his successors vulnerable. Kaldellis also challenges the maximalist interpretation of the Plague of Justinian's impact, suggesting it had less devastating effect than commonly claimed.
Why the Roman Empire collapsed (in the West) | Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman
Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman discuss why the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 AD while the Eastern Roman Empire survived. The collapse resulted from a vicious cycle triggered by barbarian invasions: military defeats led to loss of provinces, reduced tax revenue, inability to pay armies, and vulnerability to subsequent waves of invaders. Geography, Constantinople's strategic location, and local communities' loyalty to the Roman state were key factors in the East's survival.
Is religion good or bad for human civilization? | Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman
Anthony Kaldellis discusses the role of religion in the East Roman Empire's success, arguing that while Orthodox Christianity was deeply intertwined with Roman identity, they were not identical and remained analytically distinct. He presents the empire as a unique historical laboratory where Roman, Christian, and Greek identities coexisted in various combinations, allowing individuals to emphasize different aspects according to their choices.
How Christianity took over the Roman Empire | Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman
Anthony Kaldellis discusses how Constantine's conversion to Christianity was likely a personal religious belief rather than political calculation, and how Rome's adoption of Christianity was a gradual 500-year process involving both incentives and legal restrictions. The Eastern Roman Empire synthesized Roman, Christian, and Greek identities in unique combinations that contributed to its exceptional longevity.