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It's important to remember that evolution has no interest in whether or not an organism is "happy." Evolution is not teleological. Traits that are adaptive persist, while non-adaptive traits tend to fade from the gene pool over time. As a group primate species we're primarily in competition with each other: for food, shelter, mating opportunities, status, etc. So of course we perpetually rank ourselves against our peers, resent those who have more than we do, and scheme to get more for ourselves. We fear loss and we fixate on what we don't have - because these traits would on average have driven us to get more and thus increase our odds of survival and passing on our genes. Waffling on about abstract "morality" and babbling god-nonsense illuminates nothing. Fortunately a more empirical and rational approach can help us better understand our human dilemma.

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Allan Milne Lees
Allan Milne Lees

Written by Allan Milne Lees

Anyone who enjoys my articles here on Medium may be interested in my books Why Democracy Failed and The Praying Ape, both available from Amazon.

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