4 ms·
Just at the start > now more than ever, it seems — have a profound civilizational anxiety about being alone. It seems to me the "natural" state of things is
by gernb 4y ago
Just at the start
> now more than ever, it seems — have a profound civilizational anxiety about being alone.
It seems to me the "natural" state of things is to NOT be alone. Did cavemen survive if they were alone? It use to be common for the majority of people in the world it live in single room houses. I'd think the "natural = better" crowd would be very much of the thought that being alone is a symptom of modern society. I'm not personally saying that being alone is bad. Only that the framing seems to be that not having alone time is bad and that seems like a strange framing to me if for most of our existance we were rarely alone.
Also, I notice almost none of the comments are about the "Do nothing" part. They're all about "do something with nobody all alone by yourself", not "do *nothing* with nobody all alone by yourself"
- fleddr 4y agoYou're right. Being alone and the very idea of privacy is a modern "luxury". It did not exist as hunter gatherers nor in the "african village" model. In some cultures, it still doesn't exist, think a multi generational home where rooms are shared with many people. I think indeed the emphasis should be on the "do nothing" part. Which very much is natural. I've once read that hunter gatherers "worked" for about 4 hours per day. As for the rest of the day? Rest, watch the sun set, gaze at the stars. Many animals also do fuck all for a considerable part of the day.
- naasking 4y agoThere is no such thing as a natural state. At all stages of human development you'll find loners who lived off by themselves in the woods, like shaman or trappers, and others who formed towns and tribes. As for the "do nothing" part, you'll find plenty of people here who meditate regularly. That's the pinnacle of doing nothing, all alone by yourself.