Love - A coping mechanism?

[WWJND]

If this has been questioned already please direct me to the thread/reference. I was thinking that if evolution were the case, and there were no god/s, could love have been developed as a coping method for the realization of a bleak, cruel world in intellectual man's mind? I tend to think religion in general, evolved as a coping method too, so along the same lines maybe?

-WWJND

 

[Bushido216]

I would, personally, postulate that love is a mechanism for forming ties and bonds so that we as a population would work together to do things like protect ourselves and our offspring so that we can survive and pass on our genes to the next generation.

Remember that humans are social beings who lived in groups, so interdependency and teamwork was a big necessity to that social structure.

 

[Ishmael Borg]

If this has been questioned already please direct me to the thread/reference. I was thinking that if evolution were the case, and there were no god/s, could love have been developed as a coping method for the realization of a bleak, cruel world in intellectual man's mind? I tend to think religion in general, evolved as a coping method too, so along the same lines maybe?

-WWJND

There are a number of posts in this recent thread that address these questions:
http://www.christianforums.com/t736912

 

[WWJND]

Interesting...

Thanks for the link.

 

[lucaspa]

If this has been questioned already please direct me to the thread/reference. I was thinking that if evolution were the case, and there were no god/s, could love have been developed as a coping method for the realization of a bleak, cruel world in intellectual man's mind? I tend to think religion in general, evolved as a coping method too, so along the same lines maybe?

-WWJND

Possibly. But not likely. Human females have all year round sexual desire, not just when they are fertile. The reason is that human infants are so helpless for so long. Remember, deer babies can stand up and run within 30 minutes.

So, human babies need a LOT of care. And mothers can't forage or hunt for food while doing the caring. For human babies to survive, dad has to be around. But in order to be around, dad has to have a selfish reason for being around. Continued sex and "love" are selfish reasons. So love evolves as a way to keep dad and mom together until the baby doesn't require constant care.

 

[WWJND]

Dang. Talk about "cold, brutish and short."

Thanks for the reply Lucaspa. I guess that would support the argument for such short marriages that seem to be going around these days.

 

[AndTheyShoutedJesus]

It's just an opinion, but even if the world was a perfect place, we would still have love.