The Theory of Three Human Attributes

Author: Zhuang Zefeng

In Seeing Human Nature, I proposed that human nature consists of three core elements: the natural, the social, and the spiritual. I refer to this as the “Theory of Three Attributes.” Summarizing and elaborating on these three essential attributes of human nature helps us gradually analyze its complexity and variability from a scientific perspective. This theory is not my original invention. As early as 1999, Chinese psychologist Guo Nianfeng, within his framework of humanistic psychology, explicitly defined human nature as the dialectical unity of biological, spiritual, and social attributes. What I have done is to inherit and develop this academic lineage, while introducing innovations in integration and modern expression, thus forming a systematic framework with independent value. This framework provides individuals with a pathway for upgrading their self-understanding.

The natural attribute of humanity differs from Guo Nianfeng’s “biological attribute.” Here, “natural” encompasses both the biological nature of humans and their external environment for survival. As animals within nature, humans are inevitably deeply influenced by the natural environment. Emphasizing the natural attribute of humanity is in essence a direct recognition that human beings emerged through biological evolution within nature. Humans are but one category among countless animals. Therefore, the natural attribute of humanity refers to basic instincts and needs as living beings, such as survival and reproduction. It is expressed primarily in the instinctive pursuit of survival resources such as food, water, and safety, as well as in biological traits such as sexual drive and defensive reactions. These are innate to humans and drive our fundamental behaviors. From a psychological perspective, the natural attribute of humanity resembles what Freud called the “id”—the instinctual self inherent to humans as animals—and corresponds to the physiological and safety needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

The natural attribute of humanity is the most fundamental element. Without it, nothing else can be discussed. From the standpoint of natural science, human beings evolved step by step from unicellular to multicellular organisms, and then into vertebrates. The human brain developed out of the nervous systems of vertebrates. In all vertebrates, the central nervous system (including the brain and spinal cord) originates from the neural tube in early embryonic development. The anterior end of the neural tube expands to form the brain, while the posterior end elongates to form the spinal cord. The spinal cord, as the primary part of the central nervous system, controls many reflex activities (such as the well-known patellar reflex) and integrates basic sensory and motor information. Recent studies have even discovered that the spinal cord itself possesses certain independent learning and memory abilities, demonstrating its functional complexity.

The natural attribute of humanity is also manifested in adaptability to the external environment. All living beings that lose their adaptive environment eventually move toward extinction. For example, from an evolutionary perspective, allergies (such as hay fever) may have originated as a defense mechanism for expelling potentially harmful substances (such as insect toxins or harmful microbes). Yet in modern environments, this mechanism may overreact to harmless substances (such as pollen), thereby becoming a source of suffering. Furthermore, in modern society, especially through urbanization, humans have to some extent created an artificial environment far removed from the “primordial natural” one. This process compels us to suppress certain natural instincts while reinforcing social attributes, in order to adapt to a highly cooperative and rule-governed society. This gives rise to a profound contradiction: the more we adapt to modern urban civilization, the further—physiologically and psychologically—we drift from the natural environment that underpinned our evolution.

Thus, we must further recognize the social attribute of humanity. Clearly, the social attribute emphasizes human interaction and relationships within the social environment, including family, friends, and workplace. Through this attribute, humans form various social relations, are influenced by culture, customs, and morality, and thereby shape their values and behavioral patterns. From a psychological standpoint, the social attribute resembles what Freud termed the “ego,” and corresponds to the needs for safety, belonging, and esteem in Maslow’s hierarchy. As Marx observed, the essential attribute of humanity is its social nature.

Psychology, as a discipline integrating both natural and social sciences, cannot discuss any human psychological issue apart from the unique social environment of humanity. When humans stepped out from being mere animals of nature and began constructing their own social systems, the social attribute emerged. In the processes of hunting and gathering, early humans gradually realized that cooperation enhanced survival opportunities and efficiency. Thus, they began forming basic social structures based on kinship (such as families, clans, and tribes). The emergence of human language played a foundational role in this process, enabling communication and cooperation. The Agricultural Revolution around 10,000 years ago marked an even greater turning point. Humans transitioned from hunting and gathering to agricultural production, achieving settled life and establishing permanent settlements. This laid the groundwork for more complex social structures. With the development of agriculture and population growth, larger settlements evolved into villages and cities. The emergence of cities with concentrated populations further promoted the specialization of labor; people began taking on different occupations and developing commerce. Meanwhile, political systems, legal systems, and religious institutions also emerged to organize and regulate increasingly complex social life.

The most fundamental change that enabled humanity to construct its own unique social environment was the development of the human brain to the stage of thought. Moreover, the evolution of the brain was not driven solely by adaptation to the natural environment; it was also propelled by the social environment humans themselves created. This implies a profound relationship of “co-evolution” between the brain and the social environment it generates. This brings us to recognize the third core attribute of humanity: the spiritual (or conscious) attribute. This attribute involves self-awareness, emotions, and consciousness. It embodies human reflection on the self, others, and the world, as well as the pursuit of meaning and value. It reflects our inner world and psychological state. From a psychological standpoint, the spiritual attribute resembles Freud’s “superego,” and corresponds to self-actualization in Maslow’s hierarchy. Yet the scope of the spiritual attribute is clearly far broader.

The emergence of the spiritual (conscious) attribute marks a qualitative distinction between humans and animals. Humanity thus created its own social environment and developed language for communication in cooperation. When the human brain advanced to the stage of thought, it acquired unique capacities for abstract reasoning and self-reflection. These capacities enabled humans to transcend a survival mode based solely on natural instincts, and instead construct civilizations characterized by complex rules, cultures, and values. Language, in particular, enabled humans to assign specific meanings to all things in nature. As Adler observed, “wood” and “stone” are wood and stone only because humans have ascribed meaning to them. Likewise, mountains, rivers, plants, stars, and oceans—all are imbued with meaning through language. As Wittgenstein argued in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, “the limits of language are the limits of thought.”

The spiritual attribute arose because, as the brain reached the stage of thought, human social living and cooperative activities brought forth the social attribute, within which the rudiments of social environments developed. Within this early social context, humans gradually formed languages for cooperation and communication, thereby enriching the human spiritual world. The physiological basis of the brain made the spiritual attribute possible; early social cooperation made it necessary; and language became its key formative tool. All of this emerged from early human social practice. Thus, these factors did not exist in isolation, but formed a mutually reinforcing, co-evolutionary cycle: early human cooperation (e.g., hunting, gathering) generated the need for communication, which promoted the development of language, which in turn stimulated the complexity of thought, thereby enriching the spiritual world. A richer spiritual world further advanced human thought, which in turn supported more complex cooperation. Within this positive feedback loop, the brain, sociality, language, and the spiritual world co-evolved, ultimately making the spiritual attribute extraordinarily rich and powerful. From this evolutionary process, it becomes clear that humanity created “God” within its own spiritual world—just as today we create “AI” within the world of computers.

“God” and “AI” are both externalized projections and creative expressions of human intelligence. When human thought became complex enough to question, “Where does the world come from?” people projected their own image and cognitive modes onto the unknown, personifying incomprehensible forces to create “God.” Essentially, this was the projection of internal spiritual activities (imagination, reasoning, emotion) onto the external world, forming explanatory systems (such as Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity) and cultural symbols. Similarly, when humans sought to understand and replicate their own intelligence (learning, reasoning, decision-making), they used mathematics, code, and silicon-based hardware to create simulated, functional intelligent agents within computers. This too is an externalization of human mental activity, but in the form of a technological product. The spiritual attribute of humanity is already immensely powerful, but it is only in practice that its positive significance can be realized.

The natural, social, and spiritual attributes together constitute the complexity of human nature. A deep understanding of the “Three Attributes of Humanity” enables us to grasp human behavior and psychology more comprehensively, thereby achieving an evolution in self-understanding.