Getting Past Us vs. Them

A stone age hunter-gatherer, coming upon a conflict where danger was present, didn’t have time to carefully analyze the situation, look for nuances, or seek points of commonality between combatants. Instead, driven by adrenalin, heart pumping, thoughts racing, pupils dilated—within seconds a choice was made: pick a side and join the fray, or turn and run away.

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Complete entry

Posted by Hector  on  05/06  at  02:15 PM

I suppose that even "peacemakers and compromisers" battle fiercely for their positions to win. At least the politicians I'm thinking of.

Concerning the ancient hunters and gathers, do we really have any idea as to what extent they had the capabilities of "analyzing situations, looking for nuances, seeking points of commonality"? Just because they may not have had time to use them in extreme situations does not mean that they didn't have (or evolved to diminish) those capabilities. It could be that those very faculties, when applied to /other/ situations, are what helped those people survive. I really doubt anyone can make an assertion about this that rises above speculation.

Posted by Robin Hanson  on  05/07  at  02:29 PM

Hector is right; our ancestors must have many occasions where immediate response was not the issue, so that cannot be the main explanation for our us/them ways.

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