Natural selection was the architect of our minds, and happiness was never part of the plans. As Robert Wright pointed out more than a decade ago, echoing the pioneers of a new science called evolutionary psychology, we have the minds of cavemen. Indeed, he was right. Our minds were built to survive, happiness or not, in a time that has long since disappeared, but now they?re miserable. At least, a lot of them are, and it?s not because they don?t think positively. It?s because they don?t think properly.
The fundamental source of frustration, depression, despair, and general unhappiness that pervades society is the clash between the caveman mind and the modern world. Far from hopeless, this is a manageable problem, but it requires a new approach to mental health. We must dispense with the platitudes of optimism that dominate the ?happiness? market and set a course to understanding the caveman within us. Only then can we determine what it takes to make ourselves happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment