19-12-2021, 01:00 PM
This is a bit long but I found the idea fascinating; that we could learn empathy from wolves, of all creatures. 
“Darwin told us we're descended from apes so scientists studied them to understand us, They wanted to know where our so-called humanity came from. Kindness, patience, loyalty, cooperation, most importantly, empathy.”
“And?”
“Couldn't find any of 'em. Not in apes. Not in primates. They found intelligence, self-awareness, long term planning, but none of the big-ticket social emotions.”
“Where'd they come from?” asks Richard.
“Wolves” he says. “Forty thousand years ago, humans & wolves teamed up. It began with garbage. Wolves wanted our leftovers, so they started hanging out by our refuse piles. We liked having cleaner camps. Better hygiene, healthier tribe. Over time, it became a partnership. The wolves, especially the ones who weren't afraid of humans, got more food, lived longer lives, had more pups. And the humans, especially the ones who liked wolves, had cleaner camps, less disease, more children.
“Exerting evolutionary pressure.”
“Yeah. And adaption. After starting out garbage cans, wolves became our security guards: barking at danger, keeping us safe. Then we started huntung together. Wolves hear & smell better, so they took over tracking. We had opposable thumbs so we focused on killing. For both species, these are huge advantages.”
“Co-evolution” says Richard dryly.
“Uh huh”.
“No. Why are you telling me about co-evolution?”
“The partnership changed us. To co-evolve with wolves, we needed to learn to live with wolves. Our pack size grew. A bigger pack might be a stronger pack, but only if the members can cooperate & work toward a common goal. This required more patience, more collaboration, more loyalty, more empathy, than ever existed in our primate past.
But once we teamed up with wolves, evolution began selecting for these things. It means our celebrated humanity is actually a collection of traits we learned from wolves.”
…...
“Unfortunately, I'm making a different point. We teamed up with wolves 40 thousand years ago, but empathy – the word – didn't show up until the late eighteen hundreds. It took us that long to recognise & name that emotion. We're slow learners.”
Last tango in cyberspace
Steven Kotler
“Darwin told us we're descended from apes so scientists studied them to understand us, They wanted to know where our so-called humanity came from. Kindness, patience, loyalty, cooperation, most importantly, empathy.”
“And?”
“Couldn't find any of 'em. Not in apes. Not in primates. They found intelligence, self-awareness, long term planning, but none of the big-ticket social emotions.”
“Where'd they come from?” asks Richard.
“Wolves” he says. “Forty thousand years ago, humans & wolves teamed up. It began with garbage. Wolves wanted our leftovers, so they started hanging out by our refuse piles. We liked having cleaner camps. Better hygiene, healthier tribe. Over time, it became a partnership. The wolves, especially the ones who weren't afraid of humans, got more food, lived longer lives, had more pups. And the humans, especially the ones who liked wolves, had cleaner camps, less disease, more children.
“Exerting evolutionary pressure.”
“Yeah. And adaption. After starting out garbage cans, wolves became our security guards: barking at danger, keeping us safe. Then we started huntung together. Wolves hear & smell better, so they took over tracking. We had opposable thumbs so we focused on killing. For both species, these are huge advantages.”
“Co-evolution” says Richard dryly.
“Uh huh”.
“No. Why are you telling me about co-evolution?”
“The partnership changed us. To co-evolve with wolves, we needed to learn to live with wolves. Our pack size grew. A bigger pack might be a stronger pack, but only if the members can cooperate & work toward a common goal. This required more patience, more collaboration, more loyalty, more empathy, than ever existed in our primate past.
But once we teamed up with wolves, evolution began selecting for these things. It means our celebrated humanity is actually a collection of traits we learned from wolves.”
…...
“Unfortunately, I'm making a different point. We teamed up with wolves 40 thousand years ago, but empathy – the word – didn't show up until the late eighteen hundreds. It took us that long to recognise & name that emotion. We're slow learners.”
Last tango in cyberspace
Steven Kotler
in order to be old & wise, you must first be young & stupid. (I'm still working on that.)