Jonathan, I think you are on to something with your last comment: "This, I assume, was a trait that helped our nomadic ancestors to survive—but I’m not sure it does much for us today, except increasing our unhappiness."We are a product of our genes. And they don't care if we are happy. The only thing important to them is that they are passed on to the next generation. If the price for survival is that the individual is unhappy but procreative, our genes would declare us a winner.I think we can achieve some contentment in accepting this reality and thereby being more stoic -- and more self aware. More on the topic in Richard Dawkins book The Selfish Gene.
Comments:
Jonathan, I think you are on to something with your last comment: "This, I assume, was a trait that helped our nomadic ancestors to survive —but I’m not sure it does much for us today, except increasing our unhappiness." We are a product of our genes. And they don't care if we are happy. The only thing important to them is that they are passed on to the next generation. If the price for survival is that the individual is unhappy but procreative, our genes would declare us a winner. I think we can achieve some contentment in accepting this reality and thereby being more stoic -- and more self aware. More on the topic in Richard Dawkins book The Selfish Gene.
Post: Why We Struggle
Link to comment from January 4, 2025