18 Laws (Conditions) of Human Nature

This selection of attributes describing common features and flaws present in general human psychology are based largely on Robert Greene’s book, The Laws of Human Nature. Since the term law designates an immutable condition, I take some issue with Greene’s use of the term in reference to the concepts he describes in his work. The concepts he explores are indeed common, corrupted qualities of the human psyche, but they are not immutable. Greene describes these common neuroses, which generally signify a misuse of psychic properties and attributes, and offers key strategies for transforming and/or mitigating their effects.

Tangentially, the approach reminds me a little of the theory behind Goetic practices, a Western spiritual technique for invoking and gaining mastery over/transforming demonic forces. The demons catalogued in the Goetia are 72 in number, which carries relational significance because in that system there are 72 letters in the name of God (the Shem HaMephorash); therefore indicating that the demons may really represent corruptions of the various aspects of the Divine Mind. Greene’s work on the subject is effectively a modernized, psychological equivalent to Goetic practices.

In keeping with this perspective on his work, I’d like to catalogue these conditions and the related concepts and strategies with a similar approach to restoring the human psyche. Likewise, these aberrant psychological tendencies can be likened to vices, misuses of the forces derived from human nature. Strategies for correcting the misuse and abuse of essential human powers will encourage the growth of real virtue, both for the individual and for society in the aggregate. In this sense by transforming these demonic, neurotic qualities can humans align more closely with the Natural Law.