I think maybe they were thinking pre-modern history? But even now, people do dance and sing around campfires, and ‘arts and crafts’ exist which is a pretty low judgement activity.
I even tried to consider pre-history, and it’s always some level of unfounded or even contradictory. I won’t mince words: the post seems to just be making shit up based on some idealized version of the (naïvely homogenized) past, and I seriously doubt its author could produce any relevant, credible sources they’ve read that support this very niche talking point.
The other way around also has a false assumption in it. OK, maybe bees don’t have the concept if skill so much, but birds most certainly do judge singing/dancing skill (when selecting mates).
Yeah, wait, I completely overlooked that because I got so distracted by the human thing. Bird songs are among the most “the only reason this is done is so that it can be judged” things in nature, and it’s one of two things listed. The other one is something the bee needs to be good at and only exists for pragmatism. I cannot with this post.
Do they sing and dance for fun? I mean, even for other animals dancing and singing is part of their mating rituals, so being better than others is beneficial. IMO, this predates not only modern history, but homo sapiens in general.
People forget that we’re just animals with a teensy bit more awareness of our instinctual drives; and we have developed terms like “fun” and “love” and “joy” to describe the feeling we get when we engage with those drives successfully.
If a higher-level being were to observe humans dancing in a social situation, they might ask if we’re doing it for fun or as part of a mating ritual–neither would really be wrong.
I think maybe they were thinking pre-modern history? But even now, people do dance and sing around campfires, and ‘arts and crafts’ exist which is a pretty low judgement activity.
I even tried to consider pre-history, and it’s always some level of unfounded or even contradictory. I won’t mince words: the post seems to just be making shit up based on some idealized version of the (naïvely homogenized) past, and I seriously doubt its author could produce any relevant, credible sources they’ve read that support this very niche talking point.
The other way around also has a false assumption in it. OK, maybe bees don’t have the concept if skill so much, but birds most certainly do judge singing/dancing skill (when selecting mates).
Yeah, wait, I completely overlooked that because I got so distracted by the human thing. Bird songs are among the most “the only reason this is done is so that it can be judged” things in nature, and it’s one of two things listed. The other one is something the bee needs to be good at and only exists for pragmatism. I cannot with this post.
Do they sing and dance for fun? I mean, even for other animals dancing and singing is part of their mating rituals, so being better than others is beneficial. IMO, this predates not only modern history, but homo sapiens in general.
Porque no los dos?
People forget that we’re just animals with a teensy bit more awareness of our instinctual drives; and we have developed terms like “fun” and “love” and “joy” to describe the feeling we get when we engage with those drives successfully.
If a higher-level being were to observe humans dancing in a social situation, they might ask if we’re doing it for fun or as part of a mating ritual–neither would really be wrong.