01:920:240 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Human Nature, Self-Control, Incest Taboo
11 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Evolutionary view continued: human nature difficult to change. Environments are changing, but human nature is pretty much remaining the same. Environment of evolutionary adaptedness: eea (about 1. 5-2. 5 million years ago until about 12,000 years ago) Genes were designed to solve the problems of our hunter-gatherer ancestors not of those we face now: we were designed to be stone-aged creatures, but we"re stone-aged creatures living in the modern world. Small bands of 150-200 people; all intimates: strangers were very rare. All of life took place within a small circle of familiar people. Strangers rarely encountered and posed dangers if they were: strangers were considered to be enemies. They thought that they would steal their property: social environment. Much danger, hunger, early deaths: physical environment, life was short and there were no medicines. Humans were disadvantaged; they were smaller and slower than animals. Human nature developed to adapt to ancient, not modern, circumstances.
