Books about the "unnaturalness" of 21st century living
March 29, 2024 8:17 AM Subscribe
Humans seemed to have been designed to work and live in groups. But most of our living in the Western world seems now out of sync with this biology.
I recently visited the Museo de América in Madrid. One of the exhibits really struck me. It mentioned how tribal chiefs held frequent rituals to bind the togetherness of their tribe. It struck me, that for a substantial part of the Western world, while "rituals" do still take place in the form of religious events or even a sports match, for the most part, they are on wane. It got me thinking - are humans are now totally out-of-sync with our own biology? What did those tribal chiefs know that we seem to miss?
I'm fascinated by this. I'm sure travel writers, sociologists, psychologists, historians and fiction writers have already written about this. Can anybody recommend some further reading on this in the form of non-fiction or fiction?
I recently visited the Museo de América in Madrid. One of the exhibits really struck me. It mentioned how tribal chiefs held frequent rituals to bind the togetherness of their tribe. It struck me, that for a substantial part of the Western world, while "rituals" do still take place in the form of religious events or even a sports match, for the most part, they are on wane. It got me thinking - are humans are now totally out-of-sync with our own biology? What did those tribal chiefs know that we seem to miss?
I'm fascinated by this. I'm sure travel writers, sociologists, psychologists, historians and fiction writers have already written about this. Can anybody recommend some further reading on this in the form of non-fiction or fiction?
Bowling Alone, written in 2000, is the oft-cited title about the collapse of community in these modern times.
The CDC published a report on the loneliness epidemic a year ago. Here’s an NPR report on it.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:37 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
The CDC published a report on the loneliness epidemic a year ago. Here’s an NPR report on it.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:37 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
The Human Zoo by zoologist Desmond Morris deals with this. It's a follow-up to the more abstract The Naked Ape and I recommend them both often.
posted by maximum sensing at 8:45 AM on March 29
posted by maximum sensing at 8:45 AM on March 29
I can't think of any books but I think capitalism has influenced social structure: the more units of consumption, the more stuff you can sell.
posted by mareli at 8:53 AM on March 29
posted by mareli at 8:53 AM on March 29
Among modern scholars, the eminent political scientist Francis Fukuyama addressed similar themes in his 2000 book The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order
Among sociologists, the seminal thinker was Emil Durkheim, who coined the term "anomie" (or normlessness) in his 1893 work Suicide: A Study In Sociology
posted by BadgerDoctor at 10:27 AM on March 29 [1 favorite]
Among sociologists, the seminal thinker was Emil Durkheim, who coined the term "anomie" (or normlessness) in his 1893 work Suicide: A Study In Sociology
posted by BadgerDoctor at 10:27 AM on March 29 [1 favorite]
Michel Houellebecq's book Atomised/The Elementary Particles from 1998 is about this.
posted by k3ninho at 10:55 AM on March 29
posted by k3ninho at 10:55 AM on March 29
"The Promise of Sleep by William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D", probably.
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:42 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:42 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
I have a general search term for you to try for books - "slow living". You'll find a whole lot of woo and a whole lot of cottagecore and twee mixed in there, which I know is not what you're looking for, but I've managed to find some thought-provoking books about this mixed in (targeted more at the layman).
One example: Jenny Odell's How To Do Nothing. Her more recent book, Saving Time, may be even closer to what you're looking for (I haven't read it yet, but it is staring at me from the just-checked-out-of-the-library pile).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:10 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
One example: Jenny Odell's How To Do Nothing. Her more recent book, Saving Time, may be even closer to what you're looking for (I haven't read it yet, but it is staring at me from the just-checked-out-of-the-library pile).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:10 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
Joseph Campbell / The Power of Myth tv series from PBS describes a lot of the social rituals from different cultures and the importance of rites and ritual in general. With a healing dose of heroes journey of course.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:35 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:35 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
(I meant healthy dose of heroes journey but I’ll leave the typo. )
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:35 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:35 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
The Scottish Quaker (& very practical theologian), and human ecologist Alistair McIntosh is a good place to look (and find answers on a personal, local and planetary level) e.g. Riders on the Storm: the Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being [author's website].
Also check out Timothy Morton, their Ecology without Nature (2012) is a good place to start, although they have taken the idea a lot further since, but the 2012 does a great job of unpacking our situation.
Both authors dig deeply into connection, disconnection and how to repair ourselves (and our planet), and the need for modern rituals. Neither author is into woo, although both are from the Christian tradition, but despite that deeply holistic (Capitalism seems to be at odds with a liveable planet, and any ways of seeing/Being -e.g. holism- that help us preserve a liveable planet).
posted by unearthed at 1:36 AM on March 31
Also check out Timothy Morton, their Ecology without Nature (2012) is a good place to start, although they have taken the idea a lot further since, but the 2012 does a great job of unpacking our situation.
Both authors dig deeply into connection, disconnection and how to repair ourselves (and our planet), and the need for modern rituals. Neither author is into woo, although both are from the Christian tradition, but despite that deeply holistic (Capitalism seems to be at odds with a liveable planet, and any ways of seeing/Being -e.g. holism- that help us preserve a liveable planet).
posted by unearthed at 1:36 AM on March 31
Coming back in after starting to read Odell's SAVING TIME, which I mentioned above, to say that yeah, I think it could be of interest. It is a more scholarly look at time, but so far has dug down into "other cultures have many ways to relate to time, but capitalism picked just one and spread it and that fucked everything up".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:52 AM on March 31 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:52 AM on March 31 [2 favorites]
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posted by ojocaliente at 8:24 AM on March 29 [1 favorite]