We Eukaryotes

Part 9 - Senses and Emotions

The earliest forms of life probably didn't feel pain or pleasure, they survived purely by chance. Food and predators arrived or they did not. By chance, mutations produced symbiotic neighbours who consumed waste and provided food and propulsion. If this worked, they survived. But the exchange of molecules was the beginning of a chemical communication system and may have been the start of sensations analogous to pain or pleasure. By chance they developed poisons to deter unwelcome predator organisms which may have been repelled by something analogous to pain.

Over billions of years, they joined together to create multi-celled animals and evolved electro-chemical, nervous systems which reacted more rapidly than chemical signalling. And this was linked to flagellae which could propelled the organism away from danger . . . or toward food or mates.

They developed sensors for touch, smell, taste, sound and light because these made it easier to avoid danger and find food.

The nervous system evolved pain along with memory which taught the organisms to avoid things that might injured them.

Pleasure must also have been an early development. It made it easier to select good sources of food and make the act of sexual procreation desirable.

The electro-chemical central nervous system evolved a brain to collect and analyze signals from many sensors-cells, and send signals to trigger muscular activity. Sensors became more complex. Light detecting cells evolved into eyes, sound sensors evolved into ears, chemical sensors became taste and smell and touch sensors densely covered the outer surfaces.

Sensors informed the brain of serious damage and the brain responded by releasing chemical that caused a sensation of pain to be felt at the injury site. This also triggered repair responses. (Typically the immediate pain is intense and after a few minutes the pain subsides).Somewhere back in time, animals evolved emotions, chemical signals produced by the brain which generally improved the chance of survival.

Fear was probably the earliest emotion. It kept animals away from danger.

Anger also evolved early as a way to suppress fear in animals cornered by a predator. (Anger, or rage, overrides a rational response so that the animal reacts irrationally, as if it is insane. It also provides a prodigious burst of energy to flee, or to fight off, an attacker). The first rule of life was, stay alive!

Sexual urges drove them to find mates. The second rule of life was, produce progeny!By the time mammals evolved, they were equipped with larger brains able to more rationally analyse and remember more information but they had also inherited more than the basic emotions.

Anger, fear and love were joined by happiness, sadness, compassion and friendliness as ways to successfully raise offspring and keep family groups co-operating together until the children were old enough to be independent.

Evolution had left most people with a strong need to be liked, admired or even worshipped as part of a group. Co-operation was essential to survival in good times. Altruism had evolved so that we would help others in need even at some cost to ourselves. Moods like humour, courage, optimism, awe, contentment, desire, interest and amusement also evolved.

But there was a powerful dichotomy which plagued every generation down to the present.

Hominids inherited not only the most primitive emotions but also,- envy, jealousy, disgust, embarrassment, cowardice, pessimism, boredom, confusion, pride, shame, contempt, relief and triumph.

And, in bad times, when food was scarce or epidemic diseases struck, there was a selfish need to stay alive. But this was also a survival technique. Better a few survived rather than everyone died.

So evolution left us with this dichotomy. We have evolved to work closely with others, to depend on each other for survival, and yet in extreme desperation we are selfish. When we are starving some of us will steal food from children. We will break all of the rules to stay alive, even at the expense of close relatives and friends.

It is difficult to accept that these conflicting moods and emotions would all contribute to survival . . . except if the resulting confusion, strife and mayhem drove intelligence to higher levels. Were smarter people able to avoid violence and better equipped to defeat their enemies? Did our violent nature leave us with greater intelligence and thus more likely to survive?

FOOTNOTE

In researching this topic I came across the work of Dr. Alan Watkins.  In the following TED Talk videos he demonstrates the simple technique of rhythmic breathing whereby we can control our emotions and improve our lives. Breathing techniques have been used for thousands of years but modern research methods have discovered the precise method of controlling negative feelings and emotions such as stress, anxiety, sadness, fear and anger allowing us to live better more productive lives.