Comment on same as it ever was
LillyPip@lemmy.ca 2 days agoMillions of years, likely. The whole reason we’re successful is because our pre-human ancestors were empathetic and cooperative enough to build societies.
We see those same traits in many other primates, and they’re not something it makes sense to evolve, lose, and evolve again. Those traits predate us.
Language almost certainly predates us, since we see it not only in other primates, but in non-primate species, too. And based on the humour we see in many animals, you can bet we were making dick jokes nearly out of the gate.
P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Societies weren’t built on empathy, they were built on security. Not just physical security but food as well. No society in history was built on empathy, ever.
ReCursing@lemmings.world 2 days ago
What the hell do you think sharing food is all about?
P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Sharing food is keeping alliances, is security.
LillyPip@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
What about caring for the elderly and disabled? We see anthropological evidence of many behaviours that can only be explained by compassion and empathy, some of which would have actually detracted from security.
The notion that the early formation of societies was based on security rather than empathy is outdated. Compassion has clear evolutionary advantages, especially in primate species where offspring are born vulnerable. It’s clearly evident in other primates who live in groups (or ‘societies’), as a driving force of cooperation and cohesion.
Here’s a recent paper (2022) by Penny Spikins, PhD at the University of York, Department of Archaeology, that explores how compassion shaped early human evolution and the formation of societies: The Evolutionary Basis for Human Empathy, Compassion and Generosity.
And here’s another from 2011 by Goetz et al that explores in detail the evolutionary advantages of compassion: Compassion: An Evolutionary Analysis and Empirical Review.
Those papers are both fascinating reads, and I highly recommend them both for a deeper understanding of why and how empathy is crucial to our success as a species.