4d ago

Are we still primitive?

8 comments

Yes. People don't realize how much of our daily behavior is ape instincts and not conscious decision.
And over the last few years i came to realize that our territorial instincts and survival instincts/greed are still too strong for a long-time stable world community.
Edit: well, the article says basically the same. Mea culpa, i commented before reading again.
- Just like the primate you are, always jumping the gun!
  But, yes, so much in the world today can be understood as our technological ability outstripping evolution. Our brains will look at a picture and feel the same feeling as if it was actually there. It is actually kind of amazing there isn't more insanity around when you think about it.

We somehow value the things that make us primal more than anything else, love, strong emotions, conflict (can't have a good story without an antagonist), dominating, ownership of mates through marriage
Even if given a chance to eliminate the primal side, humans would collectively say "No! Thats What makes us human!" As if somehow the culmination of all that awful stuff somehow has innate worth? Existence somehow isn't worth living without conflict, lust, overcoming terrible odds, etc?
- We cannot eliminate it: we can only learn how to best live with it. Completely denying the primate part of ourselves only makes it more likely to lash out in ways we don't want it to, and it can be kind and loving and good if properly cared for. I completely get where you are coming from, and for a long time I tried to deny the primal part of myself, but I just got sick.
  I guess what I am trying to say is that if we want to live with conflict, lust, and overcoming terrible odds, trying to eliminate the primate within us isn't going to accomplish that.

I'd argue that as long as we spend over 20% or more of our waking time taking care of our "base animal needs" (eat, sleep, fight, flight, ...) we're primitive. And unless someone comes up with something radically transhumanist in the next few years, this won't change for centuries to come.

Primitive is a relative term. As long as we continue to progress, we won't be primitive for the current time. But, would be considered primitive in the future.

If you're an alien race looking to take over, wouldn't the smartest thing to do be to look at how things are going and wait until the human race has destroyed itself.

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