Is the pragmatic moulding of matter by humans a natural or artificial outcome?

Answer 1

The enlargement of this question can be, does culture equal nature ? Well, culture certainly forms nature through creativity. Now what is creativity ? This is an existing reality (be it matter or mental) that is transformed into a more or less pragmitic shape. Less pragmatic, could be 'Art' for example, more pragmatic, a cupboard. 'Art'ificial is a reference to everything that has no meaning in the cyclic process of nature, and just ends up, coming out of nature, into a useful shape for men as an object, and than burnt, littered or destroyed after its purpose. At least till recently. That is the reason why 'pro-economical', until recently, automotically meant 'anti-ecological'. This is where most of the Western doctrine since a few centuries is built on. Every pragmatic use of material ended out of nature's cycle, for the practical use of mankind. So it was considered 'artificial'. Some oil derivates, like plastics, are very widely spread, and are only recently transformed in degradational forms, so they can be consumed by nature again. So one could say that is a major step for mankind, being able to do that. This also means that in the future, artificial should not always be the antecedent of natural. The run for new fuels will provide similar outcomes in the future.

What can be psychologically considered as 'artificial', is called 'culture'. Every primate is susceptible for 'cultural influence'. This can be considered as a choice, outside instinct, that has other meaning than : 'to feed, to eat, to breed, to sleep,...', but still has everything to do with it, in which is considered to be a more indirect way. The absolute border between culture and instinct, cannot be defined by species that are submitted by culture or instinct by situation and time, only by species that have the conciousness beyond culture. So, I, as a human being, have not yet an awareness, or linguistical skill enough in my evolutionary stadium to actually define the difference. That is because both instinct and culture are forming my conciousness in this evolutionary stade. Perhaps, in a few hundred thousand years, it will come more clear to our offspring,...