In considering how we arrived at the wonderful quality of life we enjoy, it would be easy to cite specific cultural developments as key steps along the way. Communications technology, transportation, and the industrial revolution have been examined many times for their role in our lifestyles. In this article I look at two other cultural developments that might not be so well discussed and I analyze their contribution.
Cultural Development 1: Humor
Unknown origin:
As Dennis O’Neil says:
“Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made things are simply products of culture. They are not culture themselves. For this reason, archaeologists cannot unearth culture directly in their excavations.”
As a result, there is no archaeological evidence that can be said to clearly mark the origin of humor. However, it would be possible to suggest that humor almost certainly predates the advent of agriculture, since we know that our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, are capable of laughing.
Most likely, humor has evolved along with the evolution of language. As our language evolved to a higher degree of complexity, humor would have grown in complexity as well.
Time of appearance:
It is generally accepted that the earliest record of written language (as opposed to numerical writing) is in Mesopotamia around 3200 BC. Scribes of this time record daily events, trade, astronomy, and literature that included humorous stories. One of those stories tells us about a boy who is beaten by his teacher because of his poor performance in school. When the boy tells his father about the beating, the father invites the teacher to dinner and gives him a present. Seeing that parent and teacher agree, the child becomes a model student.
Greek satire and comedy make up two of the three dramatic forms of ancient Greece (the Greeks were wise. We need more comedy and less tragedy!) The earliest examples appear around 500 BC. C., include the works of Aristophanes and Pratinas and use the comic coins. of simulated drunkenness, visual gags, giant phalluses and overt sexuality.
As Tim Ferguson, the well-known Australian comedian, speaker and writer, points out, “Comedy may have a thousand skins, but the bones remain the same.”
Contribution to human prosperity:
Evolutionary Psychology Perspective:
According to research by Eric Bressler of Canada’s McMaster University, women are looking for a humor “generator,” while men are looking for a humor “appreciator.” As a result, there appears to be an advantage to passing on our genes for funny men and giggly women.
Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, argues that humor is a sign of cognitive aptitude and, as a result, women are attracted to funny men. Miller also goes on to suggest that this explains why many men engage in verbal banter that escalates when in the presence of desirable women.
Put things in perspective:
One theory for why we laugh is the theory of the Underlying Primary Response, which suggests that laughter is a biological response to avoidance of danger and the body’s need to deal with chemicals that have been produced in our systems over the period before a final line.
Using this theory, laughter is the biological/physiological response that occurs when we resolve the difference between what we expect from the introduction and what the joke reveals. This sudden shift in perspective allows us to disengage from the potential threat to our state, balance, or physical survival and gain a sudden degree of relief.
Humor through the ages has allowed us to solve and experience difficult moments by creating a sense of distance between us and the difficulty. Making fun of something allows us to distance ourselves from it. As Bob Newhart, the American comedian, says: “Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to walk away from an event, face it, and then move on.”
Theory of superiority and status:
Another common theory in humor studies is the idea that we laugh at other people’s misfortunes and feel superior as a result. This superiority infers a higher status to the person being laughed at and a lower status to the person being laughed at. Since we are a status-seeking animal, this allows us to feel like we are thriving compared to others.
Contribution of humor:
In addition to the contribution that humor makes to our sense of prosperity and well-being, humor has also left a lasting imprint on our cultures. Humor permeates all aspects of culture, including:
• Poetry – Pam Ayres, Banjo Patterson and Lewis Carroll
• Plays – Loot, There’s a Girl in My Soup and Noises Off
• Books: Max Barry, Tom Sharpe and Terry Pratchett
• Games – Pictionary, Charades, Balderdash
• Dance: just type ‘Funny Dance’ on youtube! Or check out some Morris dancing!
• Music: Víctor Borge, Gerard Hoffnung and Spike Jones
• Architecture: surely Gaudí and Tarvisio had a sense of humor!
Cultural Development 2: Division of Labor, Organization and Leadership
Origin and Time of Appearance:
Again, it would not be possible to identify a specific origin date as the division of labor is evident among many species. In humans, it almost certainly preceded the discovery of agriculture and probably arose from our classification of people by age and sex.
Older people would have been less able to perform certain tasks that require physical strength, younger ones would have been taught to gather and prepare food, women would have been in charge of cooking and raising the young, while men would have been in charge of The hunt.
This level of cooperation and specialization allows a greater result for the group. Specialization increases ability. This would have been apparent even within a specific task. When hunting, for example, there would be people who would specialize in diversion, while others might specialize in the chase, and still others would specialize in killing and distributing loot.
There is evidence that hunters killed large animals as early as 40,000 BC. This would have required organization and leadership.
Contribution to human prosperity:
As human civilization has grown in complexity, it is hard to imagine it being possible without our ability to specialize, organize, and yield to leadership.
In Plato’s Republic he acknowledges that for a state to prosper it needs a farmer, a builder, a weaver, and a shoemaker.
David Hume gives a succinct explanation of the effect of the jack of all trades, master of none syndrome on society when he writes:
“When each individual works separately, and for himself alone, his force is too small to do any considerable work; his labor is spent in supplying all his different needs, he never reaches perfection in any particular art; and as his strength and success are not always equal, the slightest failure in any of these particulars must be attended with inevitable ruin and misery. Society provides a remedy for these three drawbacks. By the conjunction of forces, our power is increased: By the division of jobs, our ability increases: And by mutual support we are less exposed to fortune and accidents. It is because of this additional strength, skill, and confidence that society becomes advantageous.”
The contribution to human prosperity of the division of labor, organization, and leadership is that it has enabled us to magnify the best and worst of human nature. Increase our reach, strengthen our arm, and amplify our creativity.
On the bad side:
• The division of labor, organization, and leadership have allowed us to magnify the effects of the worst of human nature. For example: war, genocide, intolerance, extinction of species, waste of resources, pollution, disease and corruption.
On the good side:
• The division of labor, organization, and leadership is also responsible for magnifying the best of human nature, including:
o Monumental building projects such as Göbekli Tepe, Las Pirámides, Roma, Sagrada Família.
o The defeat of innumerable diseases that could have meant the end of civilization. For example: Smallpox, Spanish Flu, Black Death and Typhus.
o The increase in the standard of living of the vast majority of people on the planet
The question now is: are we able to use this fantastic cultural development to successfully address the problems of environmental degradation, population and famine?… Stay tuned!
