3 ms·
"Previous human civilizations did a better job of recognizing that we enjoy imbuing objects in the world with meaning, I think." I wonder if that's true or jus
by chmod600 4y ago
"Previous human civilizations did a better job of recognizing that we enjoy imbuing objects in the world with meaning, I think."
I wonder if that's true or just nostalgia? Certainly there are examples of prized possessions in the past. And the rise of manufacturing makes a lot of things feel less unique.
But at the same time, empathy even toward living things took quite a while to develop.
- noduerme 4y agoAnthropomorphizing anything made out of foam with googly-eyes is probably in our DNA.. but even a simple teddy bear is kind of a hack on a kid's emotional brain. (Or, in 2023, an "adult" brain). As a thought experiment, how many people would find it easier to share grief about their lost teddy bear than about their dead mother? Maybe placebo is the wrong word. We channel our souls through anthropomorphized objects to see ourselves more clearly, but in the end we see only dimly and at best recognize that we displace our love and grief metaphorically only to miss the world that we meant the totem to hold for us.