When I hear our problems explained away by claims of “human nature” I have to take a deep breath and count to 10 or 20. I’m with Elizabeth Anker on this. In the interest of transparency, I am trained as a sociologist so I am not exactly unbiased in this matter. However, that training is supplemented by some exposure to different cultures that have left me questioning the depth of our “nature”. While I don’t believe that we are blank slates, I am pretty sure that we are very pliable. For example, while all humans may share certain basic emotions, what triggers them, how we interpret them, and how we respond to them (and most importantly) respond to them in others, all  vary by our cultural socialization.