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RE: Our (Secret) Pleasure for Tragedies
I think that tragedy taps into some part of our brain that wants to learn from the misfortune of others. Perhaps this is hardwired for us -- on a lower cognitive level, how would you get a brain to pay attention to bad things that happened to other people unless it was rewarding in some way? Perhaps our sense of interest is actually an evolutionary thing in that if it feels rewarding to pay attention to the tragedy others experience, then you do it, and in the process maybe you learn something that helps you escape that same tragedy next time.
how would you get a brain to pay attention to bad things that happened to other people unless it was rewarding in some way?
This definitely makes sense. Very interesting point of view. I see that is a way more complex issue than I thought.
I am often astounded at the complexity of behavior present in the animal world -- most of it driven by forces that the animals don't understand at all.
I remember watching my puppy "bury" bones in couch cushions -- she would "dig" the cushions out, then "push' non-existent dirt back and forth and tamp it down with her muzzle -- all with a distant, vacant look on her face. Obviously no clue what she was doing, but something in her brain said do it, and it probably felt rewarding to do it although she had no clue why.
Our cats would go from wary to extremely cuddly when they went into heat -- making it feel good is how nature convinces them to get close enough to random strangers to procreate.
I suspect there is a lot more programming going on in our brains than we all want to admit -- we'd rather paste some cerebral, intellectual reason over the top of it, because no one wants to think about us running on autopilot.