Answer is in the question.
Hey folks,
This is interesting. In the Health and Science segment this week, we have a question posed by Meredith Small. That question is “Why Doesn't Evolution Discourage Suicide?” Well, the answer is really in the question. The answer is the THEORY of evolution does NOT discourage suicide because we did not EVOLVE. We were created complete with free will. It is that very free will that separates us from any other animal.
But here is her take. According to Live Science - Why Doesn't Evolution Discourage Suicide?
Suicide is ubiquitous.
Around the world, in just about every culture, some people decide to take their own lives. It happens far more often than most people realize, making news only in prominent cases, as with Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the “D.C. Madam,” who apparently chose to kill herself last week rather than face up to 55 years in prison.
There it is. People DECIDE.
More interesting, just about everyone can imagine the urge to end it all, although most of us never get remotely close to acting on that thought.
And yet, suicide, even thoughts of suicide, makes no sense, at least from an evolutionary point of view.
That is because we didn’t evolve. But then again, there are a lot of things that do not make sense as far as the THEORY of evolution goes. Something came from nothing. {Scientifically impossible} EVERYTHING came from one signal cell organism that came from nothing. Warm blooded, cold blooded, people, trees, flowers, mosquitos, cats, dogs, lizards, fish, ETC. EVERYTHING from one single cell organism. {Again, scientifically impossible. DNA tells us that.} But sticking with this story.
Humans, like all animals, are designed to pass along genes to the next generation. But ending your own life means, in stark evolutionary terms, cutting off, or harming your future reproductive success.
Wait? We are designed? Well that IS true. I thought we were nothing but an accident.
When young people kill themselves, their genes are eliminated from the gene pool; when adults kill themselves they can no longer care for dependent children; when elderly people kill themselves, they, too, abdicate the role of caring parent for the next generations.
Why would such a negative behavior be part of human nature?
Because we have been told that it is OK. That there is nothing out there. Nothing after. When you die you simply cease to exist. Therefore, if you do not exist, you do not care.
The answer is complicated by the fact that any number of emotions and experiences can push a person toward suicide. It might be loss, or loss of hope, or a change in life that makes life not worth living. Or it might be a lifetime of hardship topped by some final misery that makes suicide look more appealing than carrying on.
How does understanding why suicide happens help us to answer the question posed? I think we can all agree that it does happen. I think we can all agree that happy people do not off themselves. But how does that answer why “Evolution” allows it.
The answer is also complicated by the fact that the human mind is notoriously fickle. What is overwhelming to one person might be a seen as a temporary glitch to another, and our attitude about life changes over a lifetime. For example, we might be easily despondent in our teens, resilient at 20, and then unable to cope at 40.
Negative emotions also have deep evolutionary roots. Primatologist Frans de Waal of Emory University has shown that chimpanzees and other primates lead complex emotional lives, ones full of happiness as well as negativity. Chimps not only love and care for others, they also hate and become depressed. Although chimps can't talk about their feelings, researcher say these emotions are easily spotted by body language and behavior that mirrors the same emotions in people. Researchers have even watched as chimps die from what looks like a broken heart.
Let’s leave the speculation of the broken heart thing aside. Sorry, but if you do now, or EVER owned a pet, you tell me this. THEY ALL HAVE EMOTIONS. Sorry, but they do. Chimps, Cats, Dogs, Whatever. I truly believe that. You know when your cat is happy and playful. You know when to leave it alone. It will tell you. Same with a Dog. So this is not hard to accept. But when is the last time you saw a Chimp off himself? When is the last time you saw any animal commit suicide? Is there any documented cases of this?
Obviously, sadness is part of life for animals with big brains. The capacity to feel presumably helps us solve problems and survive, and is essential for group living, and perhaps inconsolable depression is simply emotional baggage that tags along with the good stuff. Or maybe unhappiness and a tendency towards suicide is the product of the uncontrolled nature of our quicksilver minds. We think a lot, and our wondering minds are just as likely to think sad as happy.
It's also possible that deep sadness has, in some way, been selected for. Attempted suicide is much more frequent than “successful” suicide. Commonly called a cry for help, these acts do indeed change the life of a survivor as well as the people around them. In the best case scenario, the attempt is seen as a red flag that all is not well, and loved ones step in and make things right.
In an unexpected twist, the most negative of humans acts can become a life saver, and a way to keep genes where they belong - in the gene pool.
Is it just me or is she saying that attempting suicide is a GOOD thing? As long as you do not actually go through with it? Sure does sound like that, doesn’t it? But regardless if she is promoting attempting suicide or not, she never answered her own question. But that’s OK, I will. We didn’t evolve. That makes us unique. Of course, not always in a good way.
Now I knew I knew this name. Meredith F. Small. This is the author of this piece and she also wrote The Evolution of Anxiety, and, What we know and Hate about Consciousness that I have used in previous Health and Science Segments. I will give her credit, she has got me to use her delusions three times. She must be doing something right. {Smile}
Peter
Sources:
Live Science - Why Doesn't Evolution Discourage Suicide?
OPNTalk- Meredith F. Small
Hey folks,
This is interesting. In the Health and Science segment this week, we have a question posed by Meredith Small. That question is “Why Doesn't Evolution Discourage Suicide?” Well, the answer is really in the question. The answer is the THEORY of evolution does NOT discourage suicide because we did not EVOLVE. We were created complete with free will. It is that very free will that separates us from any other animal.But here is her take. According to Live Science - Why Doesn't Evolution Discourage Suicide?
Suicide is ubiquitous.
Around the world, in just about every culture, some people decide to take their own lives. It happens far more often than most people realize, making news only in prominent cases, as with Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the “D.C. Madam,” who apparently chose to kill herself last week rather than face up to 55 years in prison.
There it is. People DECIDE.
More interesting, just about everyone can imagine the urge to end it all, although most of us never get remotely close to acting on that thought.
And yet, suicide, even thoughts of suicide, makes no sense, at least from an evolutionary point of view.
That is because we didn’t evolve. But then again, there are a lot of things that do not make sense as far as the THEORY of evolution goes. Something came from nothing. {Scientifically impossible} EVERYTHING came from one signal cell organism that came from nothing. Warm blooded, cold blooded, people, trees, flowers, mosquitos, cats, dogs, lizards, fish, ETC. EVERYTHING from one single cell organism. {Again, scientifically impossible. DNA tells us that.} But sticking with this story.Humans, like all animals, are designed to pass along genes to the next generation. But ending your own life means, in stark evolutionary terms, cutting off, or harming your future reproductive success.
Wait? We are designed? Well that IS true. I thought we were nothing but an accident.
When young people kill themselves, their genes are eliminated from the gene pool; when adults kill themselves they can no longer care for dependent children; when elderly people kill themselves, they, too, abdicate the role of caring parent for the next generations.
Why would such a negative behavior be part of human nature?
Because we have been told that it is OK. That there is nothing out there. Nothing after. When you die you simply cease to exist. Therefore, if you do not exist, you do not care.
The answer is complicated by the fact that any number of emotions and experiences can push a person toward suicide. It might be loss, or loss of hope, or a change in life that makes life not worth living. Or it might be a lifetime of hardship topped by some final misery that makes suicide look more appealing than carrying on.
How does understanding why suicide happens help us to answer the question posed? I think we can all agree that it does happen. I think we can all agree that happy people do not off themselves. But how does that answer why “Evolution” allows it.
The answer is also complicated by the fact that the human mind is notoriously fickle. What is overwhelming to one person might be a seen as a temporary glitch to another, and our attitude about life changes over a lifetime. For example, we might be easily despondent in our teens, resilient at 20, and then unable to cope at 40.
Negative emotions also have deep evolutionary roots. Primatologist Frans de Waal of Emory University has shown that chimpanzees and other primates lead complex emotional lives, ones full of happiness as well as negativity. Chimps not only love and care for others, they also hate and become depressed. Although chimps can't talk about their feelings, researcher say these emotions are easily spotted by body language and behavior that mirrors the same emotions in people. Researchers have even watched as chimps die from what looks like a broken heart.
Let’s leave the speculation of the broken heart thing aside. Sorry, but if you do now, or EVER owned a pet, you tell me this. THEY ALL HAVE EMOTIONS. Sorry, but they do. Chimps, Cats, Dogs, Whatever. I truly believe that. You know when your cat is happy and playful. You know when to leave it alone. It will tell you. Same with a Dog. So this is not hard to accept. But when is the last time you saw a Chimp off himself? When is the last time you saw any animal commit suicide? Is there any documented cases of this?
Obviously, sadness is part of life for animals with big brains. The capacity to feel presumably helps us solve problems and survive, and is essential for group living, and perhaps inconsolable depression is simply emotional baggage that tags along with the good stuff. Or maybe unhappiness and a tendency towards suicide is the product of the uncontrolled nature of our quicksilver minds. We think a lot, and our wondering minds are just as likely to think sad as happy.
It's also possible that deep sadness has, in some way, been selected for. Attempted suicide is much more frequent than “successful” suicide. Commonly called a cry for help, these acts do indeed change the life of a survivor as well as the people around them. In the best case scenario, the attempt is seen as a red flag that all is not well, and loved ones step in and make things right.
In an unexpected twist, the most negative of humans acts can become a life saver, and a way to keep genes where they belong - in the gene pool.
Is it just me or is she saying that attempting suicide is a GOOD thing? As long as you do not actually go through with it? Sure does sound like that, doesn’t it? But regardless if she is promoting attempting suicide or not, she never answered her own question. But that’s OK, I will. We didn’t evolve. That makes us unique. Of course, not always in a good way.Now I knew I knew this name. Meredith F. Small. This is the author of this piece and she also wrote The Evolution of Anxiety, and, What we know and Hate about Consciousness that I have used in previous Health and Science Segments. I will give her credit, she has got me to use her delusions three times. She must be doing something right. {Smile}
Peter
Sources:
Live Science - Why Doesn't Evolution Discourage Suicide?
OPNTalk- Meredith F. Small
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