Ibon wrote:Yonnipun wrote:Sadly we have not gone very far beyond that and when placed in extreme stress we revert totally to kill or be killed.
It absolutely blows my mind that some people who turned to cannibalism during extreme famines would eat their own children.
Your rational cerebral cortex mind can be out voted by your Hypothalamus when hunger reaches a certain point.
Some mothers would sacrifice their own bodies to sustain their children. Others may eat their children. This is one of the most brutal ways that natural selection can find that right balance between altruism and selfishness.
Homo sapiens are an amalgam of both.
And it is also related to the cultural programming. I completly get Yonnipuns point that he can’t contemplate the act. But that’s because of the culture he (and I) grew up in. All kinds of things are possible IF that is a historic part of your culture.
Let’s take Victorian England for example. It’s a bit less brutal example, I’ve read a book about it, and it’s verifiable, and it’s about sex.
Most of us have been a aculturated to believe the Victorian period was one of very uptight sexual morality. And it was, for most. But within the upper echelons it was quite different. In those circles marriages were engagements of mutual financial interest. Which coupling could most benefit both parties. It was widely held that neither sex had any physical obligation to their spouse and sexual assignations abounded. The Queens son, and future king, had trysts too numerous to count. In fact he bulk ordered some broach like clocks for his “conquests” to wear as a subtle sign of pride that they had bedded “his highness.” Apparently they were rather cheaply made and infrequently ran. Still they were a matter of pride and reports are that at some smart dinner parties over half the ladies would be wearing his highness’ medal of dishonor proudly. This period lasted well into the 20th century. Churchill’s mother bedded over a dozen men and named his (half) brother after the father, which brought her social rebuke. Churchill’s own Wife recieved advice that she should take a well placed lover to further Churchill’s career, she demurred. Shackleton was essentially a gigalo to a bankers wife, the banker financed Shackeltons exploits to keep him out of her pants. While Mountbatten was Supream Eastern Commander during WWII his Wife came to visit, but shacked up with one of the district rulers. On and on and on it goes.
This behavior was completly tolerated within that elite class culture because they were raised to expect it. While at the same time the middle class and below were turning themselves inside out to deny their inherit sexuality.
The point of this too long post is simply that the human mind is extreamly plyable, especially while young. We can be induced to do and believe almost anything.
Look at North Korea today. Or look at this quote from not too long ago.
It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.
Goebells