Not so... Civilization is possible because human being are social, tool using animals. Cooperation is vital to the survival of humans. If humans did not have a strong inclination to cooperation, most of them would never put up with the crap they do. This is the trouble with extremely individualistic philosophies - it is nearly impossible for a human to live well or long without the help of other humans. Even hermits come out to trade or buy human made goods occasionally. But because we are predators, we have a strong inclination towards violence or agression as well. In order to assure our survival, societies spring up which provide enforced guidelines of what type of agressive behavior is allowed, towards whom, and at what times.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-12-03 02:54 pm (UTC)Civilization is possible because human being are social, tool using animals. Cooperation is vital to the survival of humans. If humans did not have a strong inclination to cooperation, most of them would never put up with the crap they do.
This is the trouble with extremely individualistic philosophies - it is nearly impossible for a human to live well or long without the help of other humans. Even hermits come out to trade or buy human made goods occasionally.
But because we are predators, we have a strong inclination towards violence or agression as well. In order to assure our survival, societies spring up which provide enforced guidelines of what type of agressive behavior is allowed, towards whom, and at what times.