Read more: Human nature: Six things we all do
The question of whether every human society has formal laws is far from settled, but they do all have rules. This is a peculiarly human trait. Our closest relatives, the chimps, may stick to simple behavioural rules governing things like territories and dominance hierarchies, but we humans, with our language skills and greater brainpower, have developed much more elaborate systems of rules, taboos and etiquette to codify behaviour. Though every society has different rules, they always involve regulating activity in three key areas 鈥� a sure sign that these are fundamental to human nature.
For a start, we are all obsessed with kinship, which brings rights, in particular to inheritance of goods and status. 鈥淭here are always rules about who counts as kin, and what obligations you have to kinfolk,鈥� says Robin Fox at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The rules may favour maternal or paternal links, or treat both equally. Every society recognises the uniquely human concept of kinship by marriage, as well as believing that kinship entails duties to family members 鈥� for which there are rules. And all have incest taboos, usually prohibiting sexual intercourse between immediate family (though royalty are sometimes exempted).
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After who鈥檚 who, everyone worries about safety, so every culture also has rules about when one person can kill another. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know of any society that doesn鈥檛 condemn murder,鈥� says Sally Engle Merry at New York University. 鈥淗owever, what constitutes an illegitimate killing is complicated.鈥� In some societies, any stranger is fair game. Others allow killing to avenge the murder of kin, and many allow the group to kill someone who violates its norms. But every group draws the line somewhere.
Every society also has rules governing the use of objects. The notion of private property is by no means universal but people everywhere do have rules that stipulate who is entitled to use certain things at particular times. These vary widely from a simple first come, first served, to the elaborate system of private ownership in industrialised societies.
Kinship, safety, stuff. Across the whole range of human cultures this is what our rules say we care about. But perhaps there is a deeper part of human nature that underlies all these concerns: a desire for rules themselves. Rules help us navigate the hazardous waters of interpersonal relationships and provide a framework for knowing how to act, says Justin Richland at the University of Chicago, Illinois. That makes them an essential part of us.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most basic feature of human nature,鈥� agrees Fox. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the rule-making animal.鈥�
