(I hope the video imbeds.)
Ted Talk: Cooperation, Fairness, and Empathy in Animals
(I hope the video imbeds.)
IEE 649 sx/sp cp
Ieeeee. Can't wait to watch this.
"[Scapegrace,] I don't know how anyone can stand such a sinister and mean individual as you." - Maritsa Darmandzhyan
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I read a book on apes by him. Well worth it. Good find.
Reason is a whore.
Good stuff, thought provoking.
this is supposed to make me feel better but to be honest it just reminded me of all the cruel people i know in life, like the sociopath who molested me doesn't yawn when other people do, that's interesting- but just shows that some people actually don't have empathy and only feel sorry for themselves.
im such a debbie downer sorry. =D
as far as human beings goes, it depends on the individual. For whatever reason, some can do whatever they want w/o no guilt at all, others feel incredibly bad if they steal the last cookie from the cookie jar. Maybe people aren't as bad as we think but sorry - i still remember high school and fake american business sociopathy. =( Humans suck, i'd rather live with the chimps!
yeah seen this one before a few times. the monkey at 13:49 is adorable and incredibly funny.
I think its more complex, but looking at evolution, that from stardust life can spring forth and then from simple organisms you can get complex lifeforms that eventually evolve into something complex like humans with varying levels of empathy, the direction forward is paved with growing empathy and connection for others. To go to the past and back again to the future is to loose all empathy and divulge into some pre-empathy primeval state and recover it again. I get excited by this because at one point yes I realize some people are sociopaths and other empathic, but exploring this issue in the context of evolution feels like discovering the cure for sociopathy or at least the capacity to forgive less evolved organisms that can't partake in empathic connection.Originally Posted by truck
What I find interesting as well as the human brain has varying parts of it that evolved at different times, certain parts of the brain are older and have very little empathic capacity, certain parts are newer and factor in empathy and compassion. The entire neural network of one's mind is a mixture of these different parts of the network talking to each other. I think everyone has a primeval aspect to them that is unempathic and cold and which talks to their more empathic nature, and there is an interplay, conflict, or resolution between them. The resolution of such parts of the mind and these types of people being able to reproduce and work with society will determine the future of mankind. It's a resolution between heaven and hell, angels and demon, the lowest and basest most primeval parts of our minds against the best and most angelic parts and then every mind against every mind in society.
Sorry to sound all overly grandiose on a shakespearian scale about the entire thing, but I find it pretty thought provoking myself, and hopefully sharing this may offer some consolation.
no ur fine, i should be thankful its trying to change the world for the better instead of the 'PEOPLE ARE JUST CRUEL AND THAT'S JUST THE WAY THEY ARE' cynical nature of a lot of ppl. ideally we'd target the gene for narcissism and sociopathy and use drugs to fix people of those things instead of the so-called 'cures' for people that are depressed (it's victim blaming imo)... it's like we make excuses for the evil and punish the good. Ideally there should be no punishing at all, revenge doesn't feel good after awhile anyway. so yeah I'm all for new solutions etc.
you're not being grandiose.
however people would argue that sociopath and narcissism have benefits for society or something but i really don't see that, the sociopaths i know use people, have trouble holding down jobs, nothing is ever good enough for them, they just kinda travel from abusive relationship to abusive relationship. and it's amazing when you talk to them, they always without question see themselves as the victim. well maybe they are. it's gotta be a sad life being that cold and cruel and just never feeling the happy mcdonalds magick in the air.
Makes sense, they are unable to see how someone else is a victim, because they can't feel for another. I think this is the difference between someone who is emotionally burnt out or schizoid and a sociopath. The sociopath is capable of emotion its just self focused and no mirror neurons or social symmetry, while the schizoid is one who merely doesn't feel so they won't feel like a victim or understand a victim.
It's also interesting how antisocial and sociopathy relates -- antisocial is a sense of me versus society and when you have that concept its also creating a sense of you being a victim of society that can easily spiral into the sociopathic mindset (I'm always the victim). At the same time society isn't perfect and sometimes people really are victims of society, but someone who is still reachable understands this and can be changed by a nice person, where as the sociopath isn't able to be changed so easily. Neurologically the sociopath is incapable, its like teaching a blind person to see.
Although evolutionarily sight at one point had to evolve as a perception, so its still possible, but unlikely for a sociopath to develop in a lifetime, that and the fact that they create so much harm when introduced into human society where the standards for empathy are a bit higher.
I think overly empathic people also struggle, as to them the rest of society seems very sociopathic. The best adjusted unfortunately are probably those closest to the mean level of empathy evolutionarily in human society.
Nah, without those elements in our society, there would be no appreciation of those without them... i.e. they'd just be like "everyone else" and therefore it would become nothing special, nothing noteworthy, etc.
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