I have a friend who’s an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don’t agree with very well. He’ll hold up a flower and say “look how beautiful it is,” and I’ll agree. Then he says “I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing,” and I think that he’s kind of nutty.
First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I believe. Although I may not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is … I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it’s not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there’s also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colors in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; it means that insects can see the color. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don’t understand how it subtracts.
- Richard Feynman
“A magician never reveals his secrets.” Why? Because when a magician shows you how they do a trick, it removes all elements of "awe". In other words, it is no longer magic. If you show someone how a trick is done then it loses its “magic-ness”. The vast majority of people when they experience magic don’t become obsessed with determining how the trick was done. Sure, they may ask “how did you do that?” and should you refrain from telling them, they may spend the ride home thinking about it, but in the end they get over it. Why? I believe it is because most people don’t mind living with this bit of illusion. It’s entertaining, and they know that if they understood how the trick was done it would lose some of this entertainment value.
Similarly, people extend this same mindset to the analysis of humanity and culture. I think people fear that if they dig too deep, it will lose its “magic-ness”… but they’re wrong. This is the beginning of understanding the inherent and persistent dualism between what you think and what you feel. Understanding humanity and culture is not the same as most magic tricks because even when the trick is revealed, it still works on you. We know this because people spend their lives studying humans and culture (think PhD psychologists or anthropologists) and yet most of these people still want families, enjoy socializing, cry at the death of a loved one, etc. Just because they understand why we want to procreate, socialize, or protect our loved ones does not prevent them from actually feeling these things. Sure, they may be better equipped to cope with these emotions, but it doesn’t mean they are absent of them.
As the previous paragraph eluded to, this book is about humanity and culture; more specifically how evolution has shaped our psychology. Now, evolution remains a touchy subject. On one hand it is in direct opposition to many religious creationist stories. However across the global population religious faith is in rapid decline. Those not aligned with a religion most likely buy into the theory of evolution, but I find that most of these folks don’t quite take it all the way. Most folks who believe in evolution recognize that we are descended from ape’s but often fail to extend this relationship beyond biology and into the realm of psychology. Often the extent of the psychological comparison is only as far as understanding that the desire to have and love for one’s own children stems from the evolutionary process of passing along one’s genes. Even this idea folks struggle with as it seems to propose that the love for one’s children is in some way not genuine, as if love isn’t truly love if it is a byproduct of our genes. I believe it is this uncomfortable idea that prevents many folks from taking the evolutionary psychology idea any further. It’s a magic trick that they prefer not to know how it works because in this case it’s not just entertainment value at stake, it’s their life’s value.
Trust me when I say that I empathize with this stance, but I want to challenge you for just a moment to let your guard down. Don’t worry, it won’t leave you emotionless, and as a reward for your efforts I believe you will find a new, even better, level of magic - one which I think people are already more familiar with than they realize. You see the coolest thing about magic is the fact that, well, it doesn’t exist. The majority of people (albeit probably not as strong of a majority as it should be) also know this to be true. How is it then that people simultaneously know it is an elaborate and complex trick, and yet still derive entertainment value? It is because they learn to appreciate the complexity necessary to fool them. In other words, even though they know it is a complex trick, they don’t think of magic as any less amazing. Instead it becomes a work of art, a highly detailed painting in which beauty emerges out of the product of effort and complexity.
I believe the same is true for human motivation. The magic doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t mean it’s not amazing. Better yet, even when you understand that it isn’t real, it still works on you. But still, why dive into it? What are the advantages? Well, it is my belief that understanding the complex underlying motivations of yourself and the people around you will leave you more content with your current life, better able to empathize with others, and better equipped to pursue the life you want.
Next chapter: 03 - Nuance
Previous chapter: 01 - Why