I tried to relax a little this morning by surfing the ‘Net, a habit that I have not developed, thank goodness, as it is a fairly unproductive frittering away of my most precious commodity: Time. However, I happened on an interesting archived website, Edge.com, and within this website, I came upon an article excerpt from the New York Times (2006) that discusses the Edge and its ‘dangerous ideas’ contributors. A sidebar response to the question ‘What is your dangerous idea?” came from a psychologist from the University of Texas who chose ‘The Evolution of Evil’ as his topic. He stated:
The dangerous idea is that all of us contain within our large brains adaptations whose functions are to commit despicable atrocities against our fellow humans — atrocities most would label evil.
The unfortunate fact is that killing has proved to be an effective solution to an array of adaptive problems in the ruthless evolutionary games of survival and reproductive competition: Preventing injury, rape, or death; protecting one’s children; eliminating a crucial antagonist; acquiring a rival’s resources; securing sexual access to a competitor’s mate; preventing an interloper from appropriating one’s own mate; and protecting vital resources needed for reproduction….
The danger comes from people who refuse to recognize that there are dark sides of human nature that cannot be wished away by attributing them to the modern ills of culture, poverty, pathology, or exposure to media violence. We are seeing the worst of these traits being expressed right now by the likes of ISIL (Sham) in Syria and now, Iraq. It is like jumping in a time machine dialed in for the 5th Century, A.D.
These events are an example of what I would call linear thinking that ignores one of the main tenants of General Semantics: Awareness of the mechanism of ‘Abstraction’. Examples: You cannot know ‘all’ there is to know about anything. Whatever something ‘is’ it most definitely ‘is not’. The map is not the territory it describes, and the word is not the object it represents. How does this apply to his ‘dangerous idea’?
Well, first of all, I’d argue that human beings can no longer be defined in terms that were formerly appropriate to ‘Man as an animal’. The behaviors described by the U. of T. researcher can be observed every day in most animals, including domesticated dogs and cats. It’s interesting to note that in the animal kingdom, killing is the last resort of conflict resolution. Posturing and aggressive displays usually serve the purpose nicely. In most cases, it works the same way for humans also, although it must be admitted that humans are one of the few creatures that can kill simply for the pleasure derived from the act. But in general, a modern description of a ‘Human Being’ must include a large amount of content that exists outside of the human body. The time-binding effect of language, literature, art and science allow the deepest thoughts and feelings of people to live beyond their brief lifespan and through the sharing of accumulated knowledge and experience to become much more that they ‘are’. It also gives us the power to not act out our aggressions, and provides a reality check for our fears and paranoia. We all recognize the ‘dark side of human nature’, have seen its effects over time, and have developed civilization and science as a means of combating it. I agree with the scientist that we cannot attribute the darker aspects of human nature to culture. It is part & parcel of our animal beginnings. But I believe that we have evolved beyond the attributes of our simple animal selves, expanding our consciousness far beyond the confines of our bodies and limited sensory apparatus.
An example of this point is the very exciting work done a few years ago at Princeton University’s Engineering Anomalies Research Program (PEAR). They proved conclusively that the human mind can cause action-at-a-distance, and action at a distance at a specific time in the future. Participants in the program directly influenced the output of random number generators, and did other amazing things, simply by thinking about them.
So, with our culture, and the continuing evolution of the human brain, I don’t think we need to concern ourselves too much about our ingrained animal past. Hopefully, the control systems we have developed will keep these tendencies in check. The litmus test of this idea will be the demise (or not) of international terrorism.
There is no rational for terroristic responses to social problems. An act of terrorism is either an admission of one’s inability to persuade civilized society with ideas, logic and reason, or is simply a cover from which to engage in more mundane criminal activities. Skeptic that I am, I have noted that the terrorist’s ‘reason’ for his terrorist activity is amorphous; a moving target. Different reasons for different situations. Conclusion: Con men and criminals with AK47s, spouting religious drivel. Disruption of society for personal aggrandizement and gain. No high moral ground can be found in any of this. But does this mean we can’t control it? Of course not. It means we need to get tougher. Kick ass and keep doing it as long as necessary. Punish the ‘dark side’ relentlessly until it only manifests itself inside mental institutions. And finally, educate and inform the population as a whole about the nature of our dark side, and our personal responsibility for containing it.
Musing again?
Rants and raves, thanks for sharing………………….good post
Thanks for your interest, Dave; and Happy 4th of July!!
My good friend, T. Dawson had some remarks on this post which I have transcribed here:
“Well Said in your blog posting “Heart of Darkness”!
Was it Camus who wrote (to paraphrase) “the challenge for us is to build a healthy society from within the society that is currently dying.”? Well, whomever it was that wrote that, it is an interesting thought.
One wonders about human cruelty, schadenfreude, and the behavior of chimpanzees who will taunt, torture, and beat-to-death others of their species. Are we and the apes really related? Or perhaps it is humans and rats who are related.
I’ve read that “normal” human DNA is a closer match to chimpanzees than it is to Down Syndrome humans. Could that be true? And if it is, are there some humans who aren’t “human” in the biological sense? There are definitely some humans who aren’t Humane…
Seeking Order and Meaning, humans have turned to superstition to quantify their existence. Chaos is just, well… Too Chaotic. Yet Chaos does seem to be the way “things” work. It is the human mind that seeks to alter chaos, yet at the same time is part of the on-going process of creating the chaos…the ripples within ripples of endless variations and aberrations endlessly mixing together (like that cosmic kaleidoscope you sent me a few years ago)?
It’s an interesting struggle to develop, to learn, to grow, to evolve. And some of that must take place violently, both physically and emotionally as well. Waking up to personal behavior (mental, physical) that is destructive can be agonizing …or, being born into repressive cultures that (like Soviet Russia did) have removed certain letters from the alphabet, certain words from the language, or cultures that stamp out any kind of original thinking, and then, somehow, a person suddenly realizes what IS happening. Living in the USA and suddenly deciding in the 1960’s to “Tune In” was traumatic for some elements of society. How about that? “Love and Peace” were dangerous (thoughts), and mainly because they weren’t coming from the control of Authority.
I suppose at the end of the day, it’s all about Control. “The finest control is a delicate grip on Chaos” wrote Donald McCaig in his book, Nop’s Hope.
Meanwhile we are all “prisoners” of the times we live in, influenced by the thoughts, the zeitgeist, the multiple layers of cascading events in the ever-changing kaleidoscope of life. A character in a book I read a couple of years back said that “Free Will is an illusion. Fate is Inevitable.”
The Buddhists argue that while Fate cannot be changed, Karma can be changed. Ahhh, is it all part of a Buddhist cultural illusion? Win or Lose, Live and Die, change-of-Karma, or not, it’s all Fate…..not necessarily pre-destination, but chaos….
Do you remember, or have you seen, the 3-D Stereograms? (google search, “3-d stereograms images”)It seems analogous (to the 3-D stereograms) that the human world view has been evolving from a relatively formless flat blur to be (currently in some spheres) more of an interesting 3-dimensonal view….x-ray, infra-red, the end of heliocentricity, dark matter, evolution, geological history, quantum mechanics: the closer we look the bigger “it” gets. The more we learn, the more we can see that we don’t know. (I love some of the writings and dialogues of Richard Fenyman).
When it happens, I love to see the celebration of human expression, the interchange of ideas, without fear and hopelessness. I’ve read that 85 individuals currently control as much combined wealth as do 3.5 billion other people here on Planet Earth. (that’s just an aside, but it really does “blow my mind”) We (all of life here on Earth) are an “experiment in life”…..spinning along with the stars. (I liked the book, “Mr. g” by Alan Lightman because he described the various physical causalities of the creation of matter, and reminded me that Joni Mitchell was right when she wrote the lyric, “We are Stardust”.)
Here we are: a tiny, tiny speck of life, as precarious as a soap bubble, and in the observable universe, this planetary speck is IT for any kind of life as we humans know it. So, “kill those fucking infidels!”
It’s interesting to see the history of the collapse of civilization, from the enlightened Golden Age of the “Arab world” during what was the “Dark Ages” in Europe, to the awful mess the “Arab world” is in today. Have you read or heard of a book titled “The Swerve” by Stephen Greenblatt. It really brings into focus what was lost when the Roman Empire fell apart, and how miraculous it was that a few copies of one book by Lucretius should have survived to influence the thinking of times thousands of years beyond the time in which he lived. Only one original “book” (scroll) out of all the thousands and thousands that were written during the time of the Roman Empire actually survived through the ages, and that is because that particular one was buried in the ashes of Vesuvius.
Ahhhhhh, chaos…..and loss. Rise and Fall…..In and Out…..
In the book “The Eerie Silence” by Paul Davies, the author suggests that the random chance of classical Greek interest in learning about the world (Gnosis) , that later became coupled with monotheism, led to Natural Philosophy and Scientific Inquiry.
Ahhhh, chaos….
And so it goes, Thanks for sending me your most interesting Blog thoughts, Ravo.
Peace and Love, brother.
Awesome
Excellent post Mr. Cox. As I look around my little corner of the world, all I see is the thin veneer of civilization crumbling. The “War on Civilization” is well in progress inflicted upon us by the politicians and their Masters. I have expressed to my friends we are on a path to the Dark Ages as befell Rome when the empire collapsed. When the US finally collapses, the process will continue at an even faster pace. My neighbors are in a zombie like trance, lulled by the bread and circus of illusions and material things. They’re going to be shocked one fine day when they wake up as serfs. Human life is disrespected and material gain is all that is important. In the mean time, the divisions here in the US continue, polarizing us into sub-divided groups hastening us to go back to the culture in the Mid-East where tribes and tribal warfare is the norm. Such is our fate.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/FitzpatrickChe.jpg[/img]
Excellent! 🙂
Thanks for the visit and your cogent comments, Lionhead. Santayana was right on.
Hi MoonDawg; thanks for the visit.
Che was just another butthead terrorist, unable to effect change in society from within. Too bad for the people of Venezuela who are now enjoying the fruits of his (and Castro’s) labors.
Hi, Isabel; It’s great to see you here to share your thoughts once again! 🙂
Thanks. I wanted to put out one additional thought about tribalism and the return to it. Karl Popper a well known British philosopher and champion of liberal causes, put out the idea of having an “open society.” This might be his definition of it. One “in which individuals are confronted with personal decisions” as opposed to a “magical or tribal or collectivist society.” Now there seems to be an emotional pull to what Popper called “the lost group spirit of tribalism.” We see this in the attraction to political parties, ideologies, or consumer goods through the medium of advertising. This will eventually lead back to the totalitarianism of socialism, communism, or national socialism. The stage has been set for this emotional pull sold to manipulated souls to fall back into ideologies that require no critical thought. Once critical thought is destroyed, so goes knowledge, and down the slippery slope to the Dark Ages we go.
How true! Critical thinking is crucial.
Consider this:
http://www.mrctv.org/videos/heritage-foundation-panelist-radical-islam
I’m a real fan of Brigitte Gabriel. Thanks for the clip. The “silent majority” need to sober up quickly or the result will be same as her examples. Ms. Gabriel is a brilliant, plain spoken person. She made a great point on this issue and also underscored the need to take back the language that has now been PC’d into a pretzel.
So nice to see the Rants and Raves again!
History is a pendulum swing, leading from the open hand to the closed fist and back again. Each time, people remember a little more of what each side, and some long for the other (or, at least, a comfortable middle ground). Humanity is now capable of causing change on a planetary level, but we’re also now capable of learning faster than ever. Hopefully we’ll soon reach an equilibrium beneficial to the entire planet, though I have my doubts. Still, homo sapiens sapiens weren’t the first humans, and I suspect we won’t be the last.
Hi, David; thanks for the visit and your continuing friendship! I hope you are right about us not being the last. I would hate to turn the place over to the intelligent cockroaches that might evolve a million years from now……
[quote]They proved conclusively that the human mind can cause action-at-a-distance, [/quote]
Sorry, but no.
The sample was way too small to exclude coincidence and the test method was no real double blind test and as such highly questionable. Additionally there was no peer review and the experiment could not be reproduced at other places.
[quote] (…) have developed civilization and science as a means of combating it.[/quote]
And often as means to perfect it …
In my opinion it is all about neighborhood.
We foremost care about ourselves, [i]our[/i] family, [i]our[/i] neighbors, the people of [i]our[/i] quarter or group, our country and may be then about people we think we have nothing in common with apart from the fact, that we regard them as people. Since the invention of the press our neighborhood was enlarged and that process never stopped, before that our history was mainly a history about war against each other, but today we [i]can[/i] learn, that there are humans (in opposition to something anonymous we can look upon, which was absolutely common 200 years ago) outside of our flat, our city, our country.
Hi, QuHno, thanks for the visit and your comments.
I guess we will have to ‘agree to disagree’ about the results of the PEAR program. I was following it while it was taking place. Many repetitions of the experiments took place in different settings with many different participating subjects; and to my knowledge, no one or group of researchers tried to replicate the results. I agree that we evolved civilization from tribal societies (the neighborhood) and as a result, our peer/support groups have expanded accordingly.