Chapter 36 Darwinism makes you happy

A few years ago, I saw a glimmer of hope in Amsterdam.I had packed my laptop and projector in my bag and was leaving the lobby.All the people who came to hear my lecture on Darwinism have left, except for a small old man who is still sitting in the corner of the hall.I didn't notice him at first, but he came up to me a little shyly and asked if I could wait a minute.Every speech has someone who is afraid to ask a question in a hall full of audiences, but who obviously has other things to say. "I just want to tell you," he said while looking at me quietly, "your book has given me...a kind of inner peace." When I heard that, I was speechless in amazement and didn't know what to say What's so good, stammered: "Well...you mean? But those books are about...evolution and behavior, not...faith or any philosophical views." "That's right," he said, "but Because I understood Darwin’s point of view and understood human behavior, I lived a happier life than before. Before that, I thought that human behavior was prescribed, and people had to follow certain standards, otherwise they would be punished. To the curse. Now I understand that human beings are the product of an evolutionary process, and no one came to monitor our behavior so that we could not be punished. It was Darwin who stopped my fear and gave me peace of mind." The man I gave many examples to prove his experience, but I didn't expect him to make my thoughts turn--of course, a good turn.

I never looked at my books in that light, nor did I find their Darwinism sacred.Evolution is often compared to a model, in stark contrast to religion.The latter promises many good things for people as long as they follow a set of rules.Personally, I've also found peace of mind in evolution, despite writing about people's flaws in one way or another.It was this man who brightened my nights and made me see a ray of hope. Like you, I get hundreds of emails every week.Aside from a lot of spam, most of it is not world news.As you must be familiar with, delete is the most common action when dealing with these emails.Still, my mailbox still cheers me up every now and then.An email came in with a warm and funny message that would be delightful to reread several times.Some of the information is the same as the guy who stayed after my speech said.A woman once wrote to me, "Thank you so much for your contribution to popular science, so I understand that humans are the children of evolution, and that not only is there nothing wrong or fearful about it, but rather..." Amidst all this feedback, I The most commonly read common feeling is "inner peace".These people made me understand that the theory of evolution has brought us much more than a scientific pillar. It can help us answer the question of "what is the meaning of life", although I am not very keen on similar questions and feel that they are redundant.Why do these feedbacks appear?What kind of support does knowledge of Darwinism provide for "finding peace"?Let's go find the answer here.

Science teaches us that life happens only occasionally.Over an unimaginably long period of time, living systems arose as a result of accidental reactions between molecules.After reading this sentence, you will definitely feel that I am talking about science fiction.However, a large amount of scientific data shows that hundreds of millions of years are enough for those coincidences to appear.Don't you like to hear words like "impossible" and "coincidence" when discussing the nature of life?But I must go on and say that you and I are the product of an unpredictable and impossible coincidence.The chances of your mother and father meeting are very small, and the chances that one of your father's sperm will happen to get into your mother's egg cell are even smaller.In short, we are the product of an infinitesimal chance.Isn't it amazing that we were born anyway?This means that nothing can bind us with ropes to determine our fate.We may suddenly disappear from this earth party, some will suffer from cancer, and some will go through bloody wars... But we still have to take care of ourselves and make life wonderful.Since we all came into this world by accident, we must manage our own happiness well.Know that after the end of life there will be neither hellfire nor little golden spoon.Isn't that awesome?

Studies of human behavior tell us that humans have evolved to be the most social of creatures.This point has been made many times in the book.Termites and bees are also hyper-social, whereas human sociality is characterized by constant contact between group members.Society is part of human biology and we cannot exist without groups, so groups must function well.Each individual contributes to the good functioning of the group by trying to conform to the behavior of the group, and it is all operated by a biological system that has been created by natural selection and is deeply rooted in human nature.Therefore, equal love, common sharing and solidarity among people do not need to be persuaded by some kind of ideological trend-such as philosophical views or religious dogma-they are in us, naturally, without any instructions , but also bring a warm feeling!

Being able to put yourself in another person's shoes is a good example of how human sociability is possible and how it can grow.I admit, it's a buzzword these days, with politicians, leaders, and gurus chanting "put yourself in their shoes," but they don't use the place.They think the word means pity, sympathy for others.In fact, "putting yourself in the shoes" means so much more than that, and people don't fully grasp what it means.It's a biological mechanism by which people "take over" the feelings of others.When someone expresses this feeling, your behavior and physiology will undergo the same changes to subconsciously experience that feeling.Feelings, such as fear, joy, surprise, pride, nausea, etc., have existed for millions of years and are extremely valuable behavioral systems that optimize our lives and social groups.Evolution has given us empathy, the ability to transmit feelings within a group so that group members profit from each other's feelings.We don't have to learn how to empathize, just be careful not to suppress it.With this gift of evolution, we are guaranteed sociability in places like work, school, and health clubs, among other benefits.

"By the way, and..." the man said softly, hesitantly, "I'm not at all afraid to admit that I'm gay. I've read in books that I'm not abnormal. . . . Of course I know that...but it still feels great to prove myself right!" He's glad he said those words, and I can totally relate.Homosexuality as a behavioral system can also be reassuring to know about human nature.For hundreds of years, this behavioral system was considered abnormal, a disease to be avoided and punished, and it remains so today.Just ask the countless gay men and women who have suffered, in some cultures, even punished and abused for this trait of their own.Sex is for reproduction, and homosexuals can't have children, so it's abnormal, it's a cancer that needs to be eradicated.

wrong.Behavioral biology and psychology have a different view.Originally, sex was indeed meant to produce children, and grandchildren were needed to ensure that genes were passed on from generation to generation.Since the apes a few million years ago, though, sex has taken on a secondary role, a phenomenon that often occurs in evolution, where well-functioning systems take on new functions.Bonobos, the cousins ​​of gorillas, discovered that sex can be used to relieve tension, strengthen bonds, and experience the thrill of it.The sex our bonobo cousins ​​experienced had little to do with reproduction.So, the roots of homosexual behavior have been around for millions of years, and there have been two systems: either straight, like the majority, or gay, like the minority.This is actually the same thing as being right-handed or left-handed.Should someone be punished because they are left-handed?Wouldn't it be great to learn that homosexuality is normal human behavior, developed by evolution?No god or thought can do anything to it.

A recent study shows us even more about homosexuality.In the article "A little foundation", I made the following points.The question of whether someone is straight or gay is not the same as being black or white. There are many gray areas in between.Most people carry some gay gene to some extent.When the pendulum swings in the "few" direction, you can call yourself straight; conversely, if someone has a strong homosexual genetic base, he or she can call themselves gay.This is a continuous process, there are many gray areas between black and white, and many people are located in that area.Can you say this is a disease or abnormal behavior?Darwin taught us that homosexuality is also a normal human behavior.

Let's wrap it up here, and we can go on for a long time.Yes, knowledge about the evolution of human behavior can give us a good feeling, a kind of inner peace, because we know that human life is not condemned.The sanction people get for making mistakes comes from ourselves or the group we belong to, not some uncontrollable imaginary creature.If I were to list every possible example that would prove it all, I'd have to rewrite Darwin's Glasses and The Brain Machine.If you want to know more, you can read these two books.What we have to keep in mind is that Darwinism and the perspective of the evolutionary roots of human beings can provide us with a pillar that can compete vigorously with various currents of thought and philosophies.

I said goodbye to the man with whom I had shared my personal experience of Darwinism, and headed out into the night for the train station.At this time, the outside world was dark, but a ray of light lit up in my heart.It feels good to be able to bring peace of mind to someone.On the train home, I decided that I wanted to do more to spread the knowledge of human biology.Where is my pen?Now it seems that it is really a luxury!