The Moral Animal

I'm sitting in the exam room of my doctor's office with whom I reluctantly made an appointment because I told myself, if my chest still hurt by Monday I would go.  Given that I had my head on my desk and was practicing Lamaze breathing techniques by lunchtime, I thought I better hold true to my commitment.


The Nurse Practitioner walks in and the first thing she asks is, "What are you reading?"  Not exactly what I came there for, and since talking when you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest takes more effort than one would think, I simply show her the cover of my book.  "The Moral Animal.  Why We Are The Way We Are"  

"For school?"  She asks.  "Nope."  I say..."For fun."

She gives me this sideways glance, as if to say, "What kind of  loser reads something like that for fun?"

Yes, I am weird in that way.  Granted, it has taken me 3 months to get through it, but this stuff is off the hook!!

Have you ever wondered....I mean REALLY wondered why we do the things we do?  I mean, there has to be a reason...right?  This is the stuff that keeps me up at night....again weirdness...I know.

Like, why do people "love" their siblings even if they don't "like" them?  Why are we inclined to help others?  What attracts us to a certain "type" of person?  Why is polygamy actually a better gig for women than it is for men?  What does game theory have to do with being successful in life? (This will be another post related to Survivor at some point I'm sure....cuz it's really cool stuff).

So much of this is hardwired into our brain...into our being...that it seems spiritual...or is it? 

From a Darwinian perspective, with a little bit of Freud thrown in, this book really forces one to rethink motives, responsibility and purpose.

Of course it's just a theory.

As far as my chest is concerned, the NP confirmed inflamed chest wall, probably as a result of over use of my chest muscles....duh!

Not quite sure how that would play into my "fitness" according to Darwin...other than perhaps my body is telling me to slow down.