Although I do suppose that we have reached a point of exhaustion, I will raise a few issues that you may or may not care to address, just in case we find a second wind:
Although social cohesion is important, most animals have it without art, literature, and science. Why would the herd instinct be bred out, and need to be supplanted by cultural forms?
If there is no perception of "high" and "low" common to humanity, whatever its origin, why did the conquerors of more civilized empires admire and adopt the ways of the conquered, not merely in Europe, where the Goths emulated Romans, but in China, after the Mongols; in Asia Minor, where the Muslim elite took up Hellenism, and produced texts on Plato and Aristotle; among the Vikings, where the Normans became French; and elsewhere?
Why are our social relations so status driven? More importantly, why do only close competitors vie, why are most prepared to admire those they perceive as "high status"? And why do qualities like a gorgeous voice or comical facility produce keen admiration, when they are superfluous to biological imperatives?
Well, that should do for now. I will understand if you do not feel like continuing...... |
