They may be happier, but they are fewer. What good is mean happiness versus sum happiness in the grand scheme of things?
Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
31–40 of 136 posts
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#32Of course, farming didn't overtake hunter-gathering because farmers are happier . It overtook because farming can feed massive armies capable of conquering hunter-gatherer land by force. Although I guess, in the end, not being conquered/enslaved/killed might make people happier.
Is it true or just extrapolated hint ? I like to criticize "modern" societies, but some times I think that having predictable source of food was an obvious goal for any human being.
> some times I think that having predictable source of food was an obvious goal for any human being.
I don't have the citation, but IIRC, monkeys get higher dopamine spikes when success at a task is probable but not guaranteed. Having something that is unpredictable but likely to yield a reward is what motivates effort. Having a predictable supply of food is less stressful, but possibly, not as motivating. Maybe not as satisfying as successfully hunting an animal.
Sidenote: it's also been theorized that browsing social media is addictive because of the unpredictable aspect. You can keep scrolling, there is always new content, and there is some chance that you might find something interesting, but it's not guaranteed.
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#33Maybe they are, humans have never been rational. It is much more important to have vaccines and antibiotics than to be happy. People reading this crap who then get the urge to strip down to a loincloth and run into the woods should be aware that these viewpoints always portray the best case scenario. Forget germs, starvation, or exposure (which are enough to make you miserable / kill you by themselves), what about other people? What if someone mugs you and takes your stuff. What if another tribe comes in and says (understandably) "look, food is scarce, we're claiming this herd of gazelle. If you hunt these gazelle, we'll kill you." If you're a woman, what if you get raped? If you're a man, what if your wife gets raped, are you gonna go kill the guy? You? What if you get killed trying to do that, what happens to your wife?
No, living under modern society is much better, happy or not.
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#34Of course they are. They’re living closer to what our species evolved for. Civilizational people are constantly having to check their preferred behavior for the greater good. Sure there are perks to having a civilization but there are costs, too.
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#35Maybe they are, humans have never been rational. It is much more important to have vaccines and antibiotics than to be happy. People reading this crap who then get the urge to strip down to a loincloth and run into the woods should be aware that these viewpoints always portray the best case scenario. Forget germs, starvation, or exposure (which are enough to make you miserable / kill you by themselves), what about ot…
I'm not sure you know enough to compare the two.
Disease, for example, is mostly a product of settled societies, not hunter-gatherers. Crime was a different issue as well, when tribes knew all the members. And sure, tribes had conflicts, but they were often not as violent as the total wars of the last couple centuries.
I'm surprised so many people who know nothing except modern society are so quick to make sweeping assumptions about a distant and unrecorded past.
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#36Look I hate Facebook, Google, the news, prefer physical books, like to exercise, whatever but I always hate seeing this stuff. In Western society there are always two lies operating at once. The first lie is that technology will save us and fix everything and is the ultimate path, the second lie is that throwing away all of our technology, being as close to nature as possible, blah blah will also save us and fix ever…
> In Western society there are always two lies operating at once. The first lie is that technology will save us and fix everything and is the ultimate path, the second lie is that throwing away all of our technology, being as close to nature as possible, blah blah will also save us and fix everything. I don't think it's unfair to say that I would benefit from one less day of using my computer per week and exchange it…
You might have picked M&M peanuts randomly, but sugar is a big part of the creeping force of civilization, and hard to fathom its impact on you until you take a break from it for several months.
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be clear, the only recommendations in the article are long hikes and maybe some arts and crafts. It's predominantly an anthropological case study.
These are great suggestions.
I work 50 hours a week and still found time for two hikes this week, in the morning before work.
Like the idea of spending more time playing sports, only have time for one jui jitsu class a week.
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#38I guess when you're acclimated to extremely high infant mortality rates, nothing else really bothers you too much.
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#39Of course, farming didn't overtake hunter-gathering because farmers are happier . It overtook because farming can feed massive armies capable of conquering hunter-gatherer land by force. Although I guess, in the end, not being conquered/enslaved/killed might make people happier.
Who says hunter gatherers didn’t conquer and enslave?
Re: Are Hunter-Gatherers The Happiest Humans To Inhabit Earth?
#40Maybe they are, humans have never been rational. It is much more important to have vaccines and antibiotics than to be happy. People reading this crap who then get the urge to strip down to a loincloth and run into the woods should be aware that these viewpoints always portray the best case scenario. Forget germs, starvation, or exposure (which are enough to make you miserable / kill you by themselves), what about ot…
While I definitely do not agree with your value judgement, people should in fact accept that the tradeoff was made for them.