desire to know harmful info

[ecoli]

Here's a question that's been bugging me for a while. Why do people (I should just single out myself, because I'm not sure if everyone is this why) seek out information that could potentially hurt them?... talking emotionally here. Is seeking this information due to some inante desire to know gossip, regardless of potential damaging effects?

 

Why wouldn't people rather be blissfully ignorant?

[intothevoidx]

Here's a question that's been bugging me for a while. Why do people (I should just single out myself, because I'm not sure if everyone is this why) seek out information that could potentially hurt them?... talking emotionally here. Is seeking this information due to some inante desire to know gossip, regardless of potential damaging effects?

 

Why wouldn't people rather be blissfully ignorant?

 

 

Humans are naturally curious. We're not happy that the sun is going to blow up, but we still think it's nice to know. I might've answered that incorrectly, but I wasn't quite sure what you meant. Do you mean "Bob cheated on Jane" and Bob hears Jane did something bad to him so he wants to find out?

[ecoli]

Humans are naturally curious. We're not happy that the sun is going to blow up, but we still think it's nice to know. I might've answered that incorrectly, but I wasn't quite sure what you meant. Do you mean "Bob cheated on Jane" and Bob hears Jane did something bad to him so he wants to find out?

 

More of the latter, but it all applies. I'm curious if it's the same basic instinct that causes us to seek this knowledge.

 

Maybe it goes like this:

Bad thing X happened. Find information about X. Attempt to fix problem X for my benefit. If attempt fails, pursue other course of action.

 

Maybe it's an evolutionary advantage?

[RyanJ]

Some harmful information can be put too good use in the right hands so it could be an evolutionary response as you suggest. We have the botulism toxin that kills and yet in small enough doses can actually help people with muscle conditions.

 

Its also a very good idea to know when something is dangerous so if xxx is ever encountered we know how to deal with it without getting injured, if we didn't know the dangerous information we have the potential to get hurt if the situation ever arises.

 

Just my ideas

[SkepticLance]

The 'forces of evolution' do not give a damn about your level of happiness. The end goal is to preserve and spread your genes. If this process makes you miserable as hell, that is not even an issue.

 

In terms of survival and reproductive success (ie evolution) knowledge is vital. For example, if a man's wife is cheating on him, he needs to dump her (in terms of evolutionary benefit), regardless of how unhappy that makes him, since otherwise he may end up devoting his life to raising another man's child. This is to the detriment of his own genes.

 

Evolution has built into us the need to seek information. This information is to increase our reproductive and survival success, not our psychological welfare.

[Gilded]

If someone hasn't heard of Faust it might be an interesting read in this context. I somewhat agree with SkepticLance on the thirst for knowledge/curiosity being an evolutionary advantage.

[ecoli]

The 'forces of evolution' do not give a damn about your level of happiness. The end goal is to preserve and spread your genes. If this process makes you miserable as hell, that is not even an issue.

 

In terms of survival and reproductive success (ie evolution) knowledge is vital. For example, if a man's wife is cheating on him, he needs to dump her (in terms of evolutionary benefit), regardless of how unhappy that makes him, since otherwise he may end up devoting his life to raising another man's child. This is to the detriment of his own genes.

 

Evolution has built into us the need to seek information. This information is to increase our reproductive and survival success, not our psychological welfare.

 

But wouldn't he be just a likely to forgive her?

 

He finds out she's cheating and dumps her -> he's emotionally distraught for a while

 

He finds out she's cheating and forgives her -> they're more likely to stay together, which is beneficial to passing on genes AND his emotional health.

[SkepticLance]

Ecoli said :

 

But wouldn't he be just a likely to forgive her?

 

That, of course, is a possibility. However, much would depend on the actual circumstances, and the nature of the people involved. The point is that our behaviour is determined by evolution which does not care about our emotional welfare. Happiness is not a prerequisite to success in the evolutionary sense.

[ecoli]

Ecoli said :

 

But wouldn't he be just a likely to forgive her?

 

That, of course, is a possibility. However, much would depend on the actual circumstances, and the nature of the people involved. The point is that our behaviour is determined by evolution which does not care about our emotional welfare. Happiness is not a prerequisite to success in the evolutionary sense.

 

Why not? Isn't mating success dependant on psychological welfare?

[SkepticLance]

Isn't mating success dependant on psychological welfare?

 

No, it is not. Think about it. In your own experience, is it only well balanced, happy people who have lots of kids? Or do lots of thoroughly screwed up, indeed psychotic, types get to have lots of kids?

[ecoli]

Isn't mating success dependant on psychological welfare?

 

No, it is not. Think about it. In your own experience, is it only well balanced, happy people who have lots of kids? Or do lots of thoroughly screwed up, indeed psychotic, types get to have lots of kids?

 

good point. But, on the other side, I don't think chronic depression is a facilitator for sex.

[Glider]

No, but chronic depression is only one condition. Socipoathy, psychopathy and many other conditions won't affect your breeding. Arguably sociopaths and psychopaths are more likely to breed more because they don't care about the picky details of monogamy and consequences and stuff.

[Ndi]

Not knowing something harmful opens the door for repeating of the harmful event or even more harmful if not taken care of.

 

A good point, if my gf/spouse/etc ever cheated on me I'm not exactly happy about it, not even 100% sure I want to know. But the implications are different. In my opinion, there is no such thing as "happening". Been there, seen it. There is no loss of control, only a battle. Losing such battles only means that one of the sides is too weak to win. Ergo, it will lose again given time/circumstances.

 

You think forgiving makes it all better? Heck no, forgiving only chooses where you sleep tonight. Some things never change, ever again. The fact that whatever you have is not enough.

 

Maybe it's just me, but IMO people are of principle or not of principle, by formation/genetic/whatever. You can kill once and never kill again, true, but you can't kill once and be trusted with never killing again. I hope I'm not confusing.