Disfunction In Modern Life
This piece is the last of the 3 part series on Modern Life. I've been putting it off for a week or so as it is perhaps the most complex of the 3 parts and I want to present a better, more coherent argument than in the last entry.
Many of the difficulties in modern life stem from human disfunction arising from maladaptions of human psychology and biology to the modern environment. This has occurred because human beings, although having developed sophisticated cognitive and adaptive traits, nevertheless still retain many traits & functions which were designed to operate in more primitive environments. Primal responses such as fear, anger, & propensities to violence which served adaptive purposes in the pre-historic times are not so helpful in modern life and in many instances cause serious disfunction in individuals and society.
To understand how humans maladapt to modern living one has to examine the evolution of human existence and the development of the human brain. According to Professor Paul D. Maclean's 'Triune Brain Theory', the human brain is not a single entity but rather one made of three distinct parts or sections, which were developed at different times in the evolutionary process to serve different functions. These three parts are the neo-cortex (sometimes called the cerebral cortex) which deals with higher order processing and thought, the limbic system (the emotional & memory centre of the brain) and the R-Complex or reptilian brain. The reptilian brain is the most ancient of the three brain sections and deals with the most basic, primitive emotions such as fear, anger and the fight or flight response.
Maladaptation and disfunction in modern life occurs when human beings ancient, primitive instincts and responses clash with the challenges of and complexities of modern living. A simple example is the fight or flight response which was designed to ensure short term physical survival in pre-historic times. So for instance a cave man would have been walking along and then he'd see a saber tooth tiger. In a split second his pulse would race, and he would fear, which would prompt him to run, or alternatively if he was cornered he might feel anger and a surge of adrenaline to help him fight. If all went well he would escape or fight off the saber tooth and survive for a time. Notice how in the ancient scenario there is a clear and immediate resoultion to the situation that triggers the fight or flight response & the fear and the anger. The cave man either succeeds or fails in fleeing or killing the saber tooth.
In contrast, in modern scenarios there frequently is no immediate resoultion to stress inducing threats and events. The stresses tend to be lower (you usually don't have to fear for your life) but nevertheless significant e.g. job insecurity, credit card debts, mortgage repayments, overwork, work politics, and relationship difficulties. Yet in many of these cases our ancient fight or flight responses are activated and cannot be shut off because there is no immediate resolution that a person can effect. For example, an important project at work could be delayed by various factors, interest rate rises could send debt repayments skyrocketing, your job might get outsourced to India. You can't run from these things nor can you necessarily hit back at them. As a result there is continuous stress and a feeling of loss of control. This can lead to wide ranging damage both physical (heart attacks, stroke) and mental (anxiety disorders and depression).
In the areas of anger and violence, ancient hard wiring, causes particular problems in modern life. This is because many if not all of us still possess ancient responses of anger and agression to threats real or perceived. As in the saber tooth tiger example this would have been useful. However it is a destructive response in modern situations of frustration & threat like traffic jams, or annoying neighbours and school/workplace colleagues. We can see this in such examples as road rage, school and post office massacres.
Wider social disfunction can also occur due to maladaptions of human psychology to modern sociological, political and demographic conditions. Take the example of ancient tribalism which served the purpose of fostering team work and cohesion which helped early humans survive in difficult prehistoric environments. Its modern form exists today through primitive tendencies to nationalism, racism and xenophobia, which do not adapt well to a modern world of diversity and interdependence betwen persons of different 'tribes' within pluralist, multi ethnic socieites, and a world which is increasingly interconnected. If you doubt this take a look at the holocaust and soccer violence.
Human biology is also maladapted to modern dietary and lifestyle conditions. The physiology of human beings and their adapted preferences for food were designed for a physically arduous and calorie scarce environment. Hence humans are hard-wired to like high calorie, fatty food, and sweet food as these high energy foods would have been useful in pre-agragrian society. However the 'sweet tooth' and taste for fat does not serve humans well in a modern world of abundant high fat, high energy food and beverages. The result of ancient preferences for high energy food in a world of fast, convenient food and a sedentary lifestyle is the modern epidemic of obesity and its attendent complications.
In summary, human disfunction as a result of pre-programmed ancient responses that are inappropriate to modern environments is the source of many individual, social & health problems in the world today. How these disfunctions arise environmentally and psychologically must be researched in order to devise methods to reduce their incidence.
Many of the difficulties in modern life stem from human disfunction arising from maladaptions of human psychology and biology to the modern environment. This has occurred because human beings, although having developed sophisticated cognitive and adaptive traits, nevertheless still retain many traits & functions which were designed to operate in more primitive environments. Primal responses such as fear, anger, & propensities to violence which served adaptive purposes in the pre-historic times are not so helpful in modern life and in many instances cause serious disfunction in individuals and society.
To understand how humans maladapt to modern living one has to examine the evolution of human existence and the development of the human brain. According to Professor Paul D. Maclean's 'Triune Brain Theory', the human brain is not a single entity but rather one made of three distinct parts or sections, which were developed at different times in the evolutionary process to serve different functions. These three parts are the neo-cortex (sometimes called the cerebral cortex) which deals with higher order processing and thought, the limbic system (the emotional & memory centre of the brain) and the R-Complex or reptilian brain. The reptilian brain is the most ancient of the three brain sections and deals with the most basic, primitive emotions such as fear, anger and the fight or flight response.
Maladaptation and disfunction in modern life occurs when human beings ancient, primitive instincts and responses clash with the challenges of and complexities of modern living. A simple example is the fight or flight response which was designed to ensure short term physical survival in pre-historic times. So for instance a cave man would have been walking along and then he'd see a saber tooth tiger. In a split second his pulse would race, and he would fear, which would prompt him to run, or alternatively if he was cornered he might feel anger and a surge of adrenaline to help him fight. If all went well he would escape or fight off the saber tooth and survive for a time. Notice how in the ancient scenario there is a clear and immediate resoultion to the situation that triggers the fight or flight response & the fear and the anger. The cave man either succeeds or fails in fleeing or killing the saber tooth.
In contrast, in modern scenarios there frequently is no immediate resoultion to stress inducing threats and events. The stresses tend to be lower (you usually don't have to fear for your life) but nevertheless significant e.g. job insecurity, credit card debts, mortgage repayments, overwork, work politics, and relationship difficulties. Yet in many of these cases our ancient fight or flight responses are activated and cannot be shut off because there is no immediate resolution that a person can effect. For example, an important project at work could be delayed by various factors, interest rate rises could send debt repayments skyrocketing, your job might get outsourced to India. You can't run from these things nor can you necessarily hit back at them. As a result there is continuous stress and a feeling of loss of control. This can lead to wide ranging damage both physical (heart attacks, stroke) and mental (anxiety disorders and depression).
In the areas of anger and violence, ancient hard wiring, causes particular problems in modern life. This is because many if not all of us still possess ancient responses of anger and agression to threats real or perceived. As in the saber tooth tiger example this would have been useful. However it is a destructive response in modern situations of frustration & threat like traffic jams, or annoying neighbours and school/workplace colleagues. We can see this in such examples as road rage, school and post office massacres.
Wider social disfunction can also occur due to maladaptions of human psychology to modern sociological, political and demographic conditions. Take the example of ancient tribalism which served the purpose of fostering team work and cohesion which helped early humans survive in difficult prehistoric environments. Its modern form exists today through primitive tendencies to nationalism, racism and xenophobia, which do not adapt well to a modern world of diversity and interdependence betwen persons of different 'tribes' within pluralist, multi ethnic socieites, and a world which is increasingly interconnected. If you doubt this take a look at the holocaust and soccer violence.
Human biology is also maladapted to modern dietary and lifestyle conditions. The physiology of human beings and their adapted preferences for food were designed for a physically arduous and calorie scarce environment. Hence humans are hard-wired to like high calorie, fatty food, and sweet food as these high energy foods would have been useful in pre-agragrian society. However the 'sweet tooth' and taste for fat does not serve humans well in a modern world of abundant high fat, high energy food and beverages. The result of ancient preferences for high energy food in a world of fast, convenient food and a sedentary lifestyle is the modern epidemic of obesity and its attendent complications.
In summary, human disfunction as a result of pre-programmed ancient responses that are inappropriate to modern environments is the source of many individual, social & health problems in the world today. How these disfunctions arise environmentally and psychologically must be researched in order to devise methods to reduce their incidence.
posted by Dr. Kananga at 8:13 AM
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