[quote=SK in CV]
I would propose that humans do not now, nor have we ever had “herding” instincts. Hoarding behavior is learned. And has little, if anything, to do with opposition to a multicultural society.
It is rather, a remnant of object permanence, an intellectual growth stage in infancy. Infants recognize that “things” exist even though they are not always present. Both other people and objects. Like parents, siblings, pacifier. Infants, and later as toddlers and small children, are comforted by that which is familiar. (You parents remember when your kids wanted to watch the same movie over and over and over again. They like knowing what’s going to happen next.)
As older children, and unfortunately, sometimes as adults, we are only comforted by that which is familiar. All else is “other”. “Other” is stressful. It creates fear. We really all do have the intellectual capacity, as adults, to overcome that stress and fear.
Yeah, I went there.[/quote]
IMHO, our “fear of unfamiliar/different people” stems from our herd/tribal nature.
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Human beings are social animals and need some form of community. Since the time our ancestors gathered together in caves for protection and food we have formed tribes and exhibit tribal behavior. As civilization advanced the tribes got more numerous and specific, developed into institutions, communities and countries. The predominant characteristic of tribes throughout time is the need to communicate.
The theory that humans could have a predisposition to cooperate in groups and by doing so earn an advantage over rival individuals and groups dates at least as far back as Charles Darwin:
As man is a social animal, it is almost certain that he would inherit a tendency to be faithful to his comrades and obedient to the leader of his tribe; for these qualities are common to most social animals[2]
A trend in modern scholarship has been to extend this theory to encompass behavior observed in modern life, including the broader scope of behaviors in large groups, beyond the family, kin and tribal entities, to include city-states, nation states and transnational bodies such as religions.
Although there are a number of theories that seek to explain this phenomenon, suffice it to say that some themes are common in the literature:[3]
Individuals seem to have an innate predisposition to cooperate in groups.
Groups tend to have cultural markers that allow the members of the group to identify who is and who is not a member.
Group members demonstrate preferences for members of the group, and reinforce group norms with a system of rewards and punishments.
Individuals can demonstrate significant emotional attachment to membership in groups whose limits are abstract, impersonal and ideologically defined rather than just through interpersonal dependencies.
If this theory has merit, it could go a long way toward aiding our understanding of some of the manifestations of cultural conflict seen in the world and most prominently in the Middle East.
There is no doubt about herding/tribal instincts in humans, IMHO. Throughout history, humans have lived and worked in groups; and they have fought vicious battles with other “groups” who’ve tried to gain control/access to the resources controlled by the first group.
We are, without any doubt, social animals, and we engage in tribal/herd behavior because it has been beneficial to our ancestors in the past — it was the only means by which they were able to survive during times of scarce resources and other threats.
Hoarding is a very basic instinct, and it really becomes apparent when resources are scarce. IMHO, the global unrest is a result of the perception that billions of other people are beginning to seek greater access to more of the world’s resources. The growing wealth disparity is an example of this hoarding behavior, as those with the access and means are stockpiling for what they believe will be a future filled with greater competition for commodities and other basic necessities.
