The domestication of humans
I have often suspected that humans are the only "self-domesticating" animal on the planet but never really considered what that meant.
Not to get overly mundane, but I have two male housecats who have never set foot outside...and I've been watching them carefully. There are a number of characteristics in my domesticated cats which I believe would not be found in wild/outdoor animals and these traits are very similiar to a number of traits I see in humans:
1. Boredom which results in overeating, moodiness (with one another and with me).
2. Hording (they tend to collect and hide things for later (food, toys). When the food bowl is less than *entirely* full, they walk around it and meow in distress.
3. Jealousy: if one pushes the other off the window sill, the dislodged cat will try to get me to pet it or play with a toy or hog the food bowl. If one is hogging the food bowl, the other will claim the window or try to get me to pet it, etc.
4. Spite: they destroy things if I don't do what they want...or they ignore calls to them/won't let me pet them without getting grumpy for a period of time.
This post isn't actually about my cats, it's about the effects of domestication on human of animals. When I expand the scope of what I see in my cats to include the options available to humans, I see:
1. Boredom which induces overeating, moodiness.
2. Hording to avoid boredom and secure the animal (human) against a sudden shortfall...which implies that even though we don't actually depend on an "owner" or a "master", we might as well since we act as if we do.
3. Jealousy and pettiness which result in constant comparison in status, possessions, attention, praise, etc.
4. Spite or depression when gratification is not provided on par with expectations.
....in short, domestication bores *the life* out of any animal it touches.
Does my theory make sense to anyone?
Hmmm...now what would a non-domesticated society look like, or is such a thing possible?
I take it then that you disagree with me here, Keld.
Actually, I was thinking of you when I posted this since you are the only hunter on the board.
I often thought, when I was in Maine practicing archery in the great outdoors, how dependant we all are on supermarkets, electricity, technology, etc. There is something about hunting, or, at the very least, spending large amounts of time outdoors which both clears the domesticating influence of modernity out of one's mind and also reminds one how dependant one is on its byproducts for survival.
Almost none of us would survive if dropped in a forest somewhere by ourselves...we've forgotten how.
Add to that, most of the older, nature based proffessions are disappearing. Individual commercial fishermen are a dying breed on both coasts, individual and family owned farms are struggling, even very simple trades like leatherworking, bookbinding, stonecutting are dying. They are being replaced by mass production businesses which employ none of the skill or craft.
These are centuries old trades which we are losing.
Re: The domestication of humans
Nice observations, Nous. I, too, have cats and they seem to follow the same behavior patterns as yours. Before I adopted them they had no home. It seems as though they were much more active and aware of their surroundings earlier in their lives. I most definitely noticed weight gain and the onset of boredom with time. From reading and relating your post to my cats, it seems that the factors of the laziness, etc. are the same.
I think there are a few important ideas to consider here.
The first being the obvious thought that the cats think everything is provided for them. With that, they would be entitled to do anything they wanted with this human "safety net" to protect them.
This theory may be a bit off. I don't feel that the cats have the ability to make a rational assessment of the situation. They might, with time, let their guard down. With no predators around them there is little need to be on their toes (so to speak) 24/7. However, they still have basic instincts that animals will ALWAYS have, no matter what the environment.
To relate it to the human condition...
Humans may be capable of understanding the dangers around them, etc. (or lack thereof, which may lead them to being in a similar condition as the cats) However, there is always going to be the fear of slipping through the cracks of society. If immediate circumstances left someone without food or shelter, the human would be able to react by changing their habits.
Even in nature there is a certain level of domestication. Take, for example, a pack of wolves. There is distinction between wolves in 'status' and a noticeable difference in their roles. Each wolf has a job it must do that is crucial for the survival of the pack.
So to answer your question...
I think there is always a certain level of domestication that helps each species survive in its own unique environment.
~Dylan
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Re: The domestication of humans
Welcome, StStephen41!
Quote: However, there is always going to be the fear of slipping through the cracks of society.
Most definitely, but I am equating this more to the fear of impending lack experienced by all animals who find themselves with a steady supply of anything. Falling through the cracks in human terms means being homeless, jobless, destitute, etc.
I'm thinking more along the lines of having the skills to survive in an environment we have pretty much spend our history attempting to isolate ourselves from: nature.
I am influenced in this by my experience in Cali with earthquakes. After a bad quake, the following systems are damaged for 1 day to 1 week:
Power: blackouts
Heat: Same deal
Telephone: Lines overfilled.
Water: Undrinkable for around a week's time...public health warnings about sediment and bacteria.
Supermarkets and stores are usually closed for a few days while the electricity comes back on and they clear out damaged stock.
The LA riots resulted in much the same problems.
While these were both short term scenarios, they demonstrated the dependance of a large population on limited resources.
These are, however, more practical concerns. I think I'm more interested in the psychological effects of "comfort". Perhaps animals humans/cats/wolves etc. are not entirely hardwired for comfort....
in other words, if you give an animal comfort and take care of all of its needs, will it then seek to create problems where there are none? Out of boredom or an oddly wired survival instinct? I am thinking of the past 15-20 years of proclaimed prosperity in this country and the juxtaposition of those claims with the incredible consumption level of anti-depressants in this country.
.
I can honestly say that I’m seldom happier than when I have to use the earth and my instincts in tandem in order to stay alive – not that I’m in that situation much these days, but I still get the calling – the desire to leave ‘domesticity’ and return to the loop.
People who still live at a basic level understand so much more about the world for they are a part of it, they know what it takes to survive and their hearts and minds are mighty as a result.
Their love is deeper and insight profound, their pains are more numerous and their health is never taken for granted.
I have tasted also the immense respect that you have for everything when living without great convenience. It’s hard to describe , but with this respect is such a feeling of belonging – like you know exactly why you exist and that no questions are necessary. You feel more, intangible reception, like a tacit agreement with the earth and the signals it sends. After a while, you find yourself making little sound when you walk, catching the scent of faraway objects and hearing the world around you like never before.
And the tiniest things are great enough to remember for the rest of your life – a hot drink, re-flighting a fallen swallow, the sound of the rain approaching your shelter or half imagined worlds guiding you through the snow.
I think that a ‘non’domesticated’ society would be one where we live fulfilled and happier than imaginations can describe, for we would be in our rightful positions as paid up tennants of our planet, and not aloof and unfeeling, safe in our heated pens, eating the food that they feed us, passively standing by as the whole point of it all recedes further and further away…
Freedom of The Loop...
I can honestly say that I’m seldom happier than when I have to use the earth and my instincts in tandem in order to stay alive – not that I’m in that situation much these days, but I still get the calling – the desire to leave ‘domesticity’ and return to the loop.
People who still live at a basic level understand so much more about the world for they are a part of it, they know what it takes to survive and their hearts and minds are mighty as a result.
Their love is deeper and insight profound, their pains are more numerous and their health is never taken for granted.
I have tasted also the immense respect that you have for everything when living without great convenience. It’s hard to describe , but with this respect is such a feeling of belonging – like you know exactly why you exist and that no questions are necessary. You feel more, intangible reception, like a tacit agreement with the earth and the signals it sends. After a while, you find yourself making little sound when you walk, catching the scent of faraway objects and hearing the world around you like never before.
And the tiniest things are great enough to remember for the rest of your life – a hot drink, re-flighting a fallen swallow, the sound of the rain approaching your shelter or half imagined worlds guiding you through the snow.
I think that a ‘non’domesticated’ society would be one where we live fulfilled and happier than imaginations can describe, for we would be in our rightful positions as paid up tennants of our planet, and not aloof and unfeeling, safe in our heated pens, eating the food that they feed us, passively standing by as the whole point of it all recedes further and further away…
Re: .
...Damn, I thought I had slain that Daemon the last time we fought! Now I find that not only has it survived my assault, but it has followed me and is now attacking my fellow posters! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! YOU HEAR ME YOU DAMNED DAEMON!? I SHALL FIND YOU, AND WHEN I DO YOU SHALL REGRET IT!!!
We are all alike in that we want to be different.
-David Nolvin
Entity under construction
Posts: 30
(10/9/01 6:15 pm) Reply
Re: off topic
LaHibou, the edit button is next to posting, close to the reply button (if you are logged in).
Mmm, the echo took almost two minutes to arrive--pretty big message board or a very slow speed of post therefore. Rather apt that the Pique Performer should be rewarded with an Echo though.
Wanderer Registered User
Posts: 4
(11/2/01 12:47 pm) Reply
Re: The domestication of humans Nous Great topic! (And I'm not just saying that because I love cats.)
Quote: Are we uncomfortable with being comfortable?
This is true for some, and hopefully it will become true for more and more people. You said that humans don't actually depend on a "master," but I think we do. As you put it, we are dependent on the cultural machine (media, technology, etc.) which is constantly shifting as we all try to balance our lives. The threat of technological/cultural breakdown is omnipresent, though we spend most of the time ignoring it.
Domestication, I think, goes hand-in-hand with any cultural activity. However, we seem to be living in a world that is in denial. Our inability to live "naturally" is not a concern, because we don't let ourselves believe that we would ever need to live without culture and technology. While most of us will probably never have to test our wilderness survival skills, I think this way of thinking has other implications. For example, it effects the way we relate to the earth in general. Many people don't feel a strong need to nurture the earth's resources. This way of thinking also effects the way we relate to others (jealousy, spite), how we understand ourselves (insecurity, guilt) and how we feel in general (moodiness, paranoia, depression and laziness).
I think we could be both domesticated and psychologically healthier. It is the fear of not being in control, I think, that leads to undesirable behavior. Boredom is painful because, when we are bored, we don't know what to do to stop being bored. We always fall back on quick fixes (playing solitaire, watching television, eating, sleeping, etc.) We are unable to satisfy whatever desire needs to be expressed, and so we feel helpless. I'd like to stress that I think fear is the problem, not the lack of control. Letting go of the desire to be in control is, I think, a necessary step for a healthy, creative individual.
So, to put it more concisely: I don't think domestication is necessarily a problem. After all, cats aren't all bad all the time, right? Edited by: Wanderer at: 11/2/01 2:09:23 pm
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