I don't think it's fair to suggest humans change everything about their primate social inheritance. I suppose we're always moving farther away from it, with increased dependence on technology and complicated social networks making it impossible for people to be left alone. I mean, a monkey in the jungle might only know the other monkeys in his tribe, which might be 20 or 30 individuals. Humans spend a lot more time together because of civilization, and it's probably not uncommmon to be able to recognize more than 100 individuals, if not more. So human nature has to change simply because we're exposed to so many other individuals.
...So I understand how Sheptoski would advocate changing the ways humans interact, but I think it already is changing just as a factor of our environment. I mean, how could I ever say I belong to any particular "tribe?" Is the tribe the "state?" Or maybe it's the "city?" But certainly, people in the same city don't know each other. Or does "tribe" imply intimacy, as in family or close friends? But, I prefer to think of "tribe" as being an exclusive group, to which very few people belong because of interconnected social networks. I think it's almost impossible for people to belong to such an exclusive group.
...anyway, I'm sorry I've gone on too long with this. Combined with the fact that I'm not an expert on human (or monkey) social psychology, all this probably isn't worth much. I guess I find it all very interesting.
Don't loose too much faith in humanity because of social psychology. You'll think about how we're all smelly apes, get stoned, and sit around scratching your head as you try to justify all the acheivements humans have made just for having thumbs. Doesn't help the self-esteem area, and completely discounts the potential within humanity, which I believe in even though I have a hard time doing so these days.
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...So I understand how Sheptoski would advocate changing the ways humans interact, but I think it already is changing just as a factor of our environment. I mean, how could I ever say I belong to any particular "tribe?" Is the tribe the "state?" Or maybe it's the "city?" But certainly, people in the same city don't know each other. Or does "tribe" imply intimacy, as in family or close friends? But, I prefer to think of "tribe" as being an exclusive group, to which very few people belong because of interconnected social networks. I think it's almost impossible for people to belong to such an exclusive group.
...anyway, I'm sorry I've gone on too long with this. Combined with the fact that I'm not an expert on human (or monkey) social psychology, all this probably isn't worth much. I guess I find it all very interesting.
Don't loose too much faith in humanity because of social psychology. You'll think about how we're all smelly apes, get stoned, and sit around scratching your head as you try to justify all the acheivements humans have made just for having thumbs. Doesn't help the self-esteem area, and completely discounts the potential within humanity, which I believe in even though I have a hard time doing so these days.