The intersection of biology, psychology, evolution, and political science
Sometimes I think I'm overthinking things. And sometimes, I think I am able to connect dots in a real way that is interesting. I wonder if I am self-delusional; if I have visions of grandeur. If I'm not as brilliant as I think I am.
That said, I am currently watching a Nova programme on bonobos and I was smacked in the head from everything from psychology, evolution, biology, to political science (really a branch of psychology).
The programme deals with the differences between bonobo society and chimpanzee society. And I don't know if I put things into political lenses unnecessarily or not. But I notice parallels between what humans are doing and what apes do.
Chimpanzees, the gruff, patriarchal, warlike, Right wing (if you will) live in constant turmoil and competition. They compete with many other animals for food. They are territorial with their women. They use infanticide to maintain their lineage. Males meet other tribes with disdain, war, fighting, even killing.
Bonobos, on the other hand, are kind, matriarchal, peaceful, and Left wing (if you will) and live in a society of kindness and abundance. They share food, but women coordinate and dole out food because of their alliances. Infanticide is impossible because of their frequent sex. Territorialism is simply not possible because the males have no way of determining which offspring is theirs. That essentially disempowers the males. They are dependent upon the females late into their lives and their social status is dependent upon their mother's social status. Males do not coordinate or band together like chimps do, and that results in peace.
Chimps play a long-standing political game of intrigue and corruption. They ally themselves when it suits them, and then kill their allies when it is convenient. Bonobos greet each other often with sex (and they're bisexual: the greetings are male-male, male-female, and female-female sex!), and when they meet other tribes, the women get together and eat. They get to know one another.
My draw to bonobos' kindness shares a link with my political thought. It also shares a link with my upbringing. I lived in a female-dominated household; my mother had 3 husbands; I had all the food I needed; I was not starved for attention. Scarcity was not a part of my upbringing, and I think that has a lot to do with my political leanings, my psychology, my worldview.
Whereas other people I know who are more conservative grow up in the opposite situation. They're always at battle with their brothers and sisters over food or attention; they live in male-dominated households; scarcity and insecurity are issues to them.
I feel that the way of the bonobo, the way of the Left, the perception of abundance are all positive formats. I feel they are healthy psychologically. I also feel that they are the answer to the ills of the Right. I find that the war-like ways, the traditionalism, the faith-based (rather than science and enquiry-based) ways all bring more scarcity, more insecurity, more war. It is inherently based on domination, power, strategy. But the bonobos surrender... they give in. They have no way of owning their young. The tribe-the unit-is a holistic entity due to its sexual patterns. Materialism and territory are arrested.
Humans branched off from both of these competing mentalities years ago. Throughout our lifetimes, we have developed into both kinds of societies. I live in a patriarchal society, and therefore ownership of women, war... all these things are the default condition.
I feel more evolved than that, more enlightened. Maybe it is my own ego, my own superiority complex. But I feel that I'm always swimming upstream. I look for change; I look for enlightenment; I look for like-minded people. I look for progress because I do not fear the perceived insecurity it may bring. That insecurity is due to fear and anxiety, two emotions that I've tried to rule out. And that anxiety feeds jealousy, turf, territory. Patriarchy.
Can we apply biological science to policy and political thought? Can we learn from our brethren in the animal kingdom-in the forests of Africa? Can we be loving, kind, and beautiful to one another?
In the spirit of Christmas, I am analysing my capacity for giving, for being Christ-like, for seeing wisdom from all angles and places.
So, Merry Christmas, people. Be good to one another. Fuck often (or as the hippies said, 'make love, not war'. Release yourself from fear, territorialism, scarcity. By doing so, you can change the world. Your world. Your well-being. Your heartrate. Your peace. And when you express peace, it spills over to me. As we are a part of the same tribe. The boundaries are only set by those who wish to separate our lineage, to create enemies, to create black-and-white. Unity is peace. Judgement is war.
Thanks PBS! You rocked my world in an unexpected way today!
That said, I am currently watching a Nova programme on bonobos and I was smacked in the head from everything from psychology, evolution, biology, to political science (really a branch of psychology).
The programme deals with the differences between bonobo society and chimpanzee society. And I don't know if I put things into political lenses unnecessarily or not. But I notice parallels between what humans are doing and what apes do.
Chimpanzees, the gruff, patriarchal, warlike, Right wing (if you will) live in constant turmoil and competition. They compete with many other animals for food. They are territorial with their women. They use infanticide to maintain their lineage. Males meet other tribes with disdain, war, fighting, even killing.
Bonobos, on the other hand, are kind, matriarchal, peaceful, and Left wing (if you will) and live in a society of kindness and abundance. They share food, but women coordinate and dole out food because of their alliances. Infanticide is impossible because of their frequent sex. Territorialism is simply not possible because the males have no way of determining which offspring is theirs. That essentially disempowers the males. They are dependent upon the females late into their lives and their social status is dependent upon their mother's social status. Males do not coordinate or band together like chimps do, and that results in peace.
Chimps play a long-standing political game of intrigue and corruption. They ally themselves when it suits them, and then kill their allies when it is convenient. Bonobos greet each other often with sex (and they're bisexual: the greetings are male-male, male-female, and female-female sex!), and when they meet other tribes, the women get together and eat. They get to know one another.
My draw to bonobos' kindness shares a link with my political thought. It also shares a link with my upbringing. I lived in a female-dominated household; my mother had 3 husbands; I had all the food I needed; I was not starved for attention. Scarcity was not a part of my upbringing, and I think that has a lot to do with my political leanings, my psychology, my worldview.
Whereas other people I know who are more conservative grow up in the opposite situation. They're always at battle with their brothers and sisters over food or attention; they live in male-dominated households; scarcity and insecurity are issues to them.
I feel that the way of the bonobo, the way of the Left, the perception of abundance are all positive formats. I feel they are healthy psychologically. I also feel that they are the answer to the ills of the Right. I find that the war-like ways, the traditionalism, the faith-based (rather than science and enquiry-based) ways all bring more scarcity, more insecurity, more war. It is inherently based on domination, power, strategy. But the bonobos surrender... they give in. They have no way of owning their young. The tribe-the unit-is a holistic entity due to its sexual patterns. Materialism and territory are arrested.
Humans branched off from both of these competing mentalities years ago. Throughout our lifetimes, we have developed into both kinds of societies. I live in a patriarchal society, and therefore ownership of women, war... all these things are the default condition.
I feel more evolved than that, more enlightened. Maybe it is my own ego, my own superiority complex. But I feel that I'm always swimming upstream. I look for change; I look for enlightenment; I look for like-minded people. I look for progress because I do not fear the perceived insecurity it may bring. That insecurity is due to fear and anxiety, two emotions that I've tried to rule out. And that anxiety feeds jealousy, turf, territory. Patriarchy.
Can we apply biological science to policy and political thought? Can we learn from our brethren in the animal kingdom-in the forests of Africa? Can we be loving, kind, and beautiful to one another?
In the spirit of Christmas, I am analysing my capacity for giving, for being Christ-like, for seeing wisdom from all angles and places.
So, Merry Christmas, people. Be good to one another. Fuck often (or as the hippies said, 'make love, not war'. Release yourself from fear, territorialism, scarcity. By doing so, you can change the world. Your world. Your well-being. Your heartrate. Your peace. And when you express peace, it spills over to me. As we are a part of the same tribe. The boundaries are only set by those who wish to separate our lineage, to create enemies, to create black-and-white. Unity is peace. Judgement is war.
Thanks PBS! You rocked my world in an unexpected way today!