To a whole degree, the book challenged a lot of my thoughts and beliefs. I was wondering on which basis he was basing his argument, which goes as follows: The greater woes of man,—cancer, depression, diabetes, STD's, anxiety, wars, greed, loneliness, chronic disease, (even tooth decay)—are products of civilization, of agriculture and modern societies. He compares the status quo with the pre-historic simplistic groups of people living off the land in hunter-gatherer societies. What worries me the most is that as the years go by our lives are getting more and more under control by that selfish band of egotists. Soon nobody will be able to break free anymore from them because the time is nigh their control will be absolute. Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal. While the social hierarchical system, built upon control and expansion, rationalizes itself under these premises, messages of altruism, generosity, and sharing, which are prominent in foraging groups, are conflicted with and misrepresented. Even in modernity, infants and children develop quite differently than those in hunter-gatherer societies. C-sections, which don’t provide the immunological advantages of natural births, less time physically touching an infant, less time breastfeeding, more separation from offspring, contribute significantly to the emotional development in people in agricultural societies. In foraging groups, infants are closely attuned to, nurtured, and emotionally responded to, by dozens of loving caregivers beyond the mother or father(s). They are breastfed longer and supported in a cooperative social world.

The hundreds of sources Ryan read to write his book make it nonetheless an interesting and compelling read. Our modern age produces unhappy kids that grow up to become psychopaths . But in reality this has already happened from the dawn of civilization on. These bands, despite how long ago they lived or where they had come from, were egalitarian, mobile, social, and generous. Power was fluid rather than hierarchical, based more on social value than status and property. Women were given similar opportunities to men, gaining respect for their intelligence, skill, and integrity, while being able to make decisions that would profoundly impact the rest of the group. While I do agree with Ryan that the earth, ecosystem, and humans would have been better off not evolving, I disagree with him over the fact that civilization is all bad. I think that it is a chance for us, and for everyone after us. I was a big fan of Sex at Dawn, but that was more specialized. This one is wide-ranging and deeply disappointed with the absolute state of the place.Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues. Civilized to Death” is a fascinating read, with plenty of academic references. But Ryan provides only a few concrete ideas of how to foster and preserve elements of our lost forager culture. (He does cite progressive European societies’ generous maternity and paternity leave policies as one example.) He received a B.A. in English and American literature in 1984, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from Saybrook University, an accredited hybrid low-residency/online learning program based in San Francisco, twenty years later. [1] His master's thesis examined differences in specific personality measures between working fashion models and the general public. His doctoral dissertation analyzed the prehistoric roots of human sexuality, and was guided by the psychologist Stanley Krippner, [2] a humanistic psychologist, with additional committee members Sabrina Zirkel and Jürgen W. Kremer. [3] It is done in a group of friends. In most ecological contexts, hunting parties consist of at least a few men, and women almost always hunt and gather in groups. Anthropologist Alf Wannenburgh described gathering expeditions with the !Kung San as "jolly events," often having "something of the atmosphere of a picnic outing with children."

Caloric restriction, which occurs at periods with hunter-gatherers, may actually be healthful, preventing some neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, diabetes, while supporting a longer lifespan. What seems like progress for one person, group, community, or civilization, may be contextually a benefit, but not absolutely. Furthermore, what is normalized for one group may not necessarily be “good” for that group or another group, but rather, an adaptation overtime of that group to an advantageous environment. Those who do not gain any benefits from that environment would suffer, die, or merely not flourish enough to gain much from it. Agricultural societies may have developed independently from each other, thousands of years ago, due to extremes in climate. As the hoarding of resources began, complex social hierarchies did as well. These hierarchies may have led to more conflict among groups, artistic creation, nuanced relationships with the dead, ritualistic practices, warfare, and enslavement. While every unstoppable civilization such as Rome, Sumer, and Ancient Egypt, have all crumbled in the past, they have done so regionally. If our civilization falls, it will happen at a global scale. For hunter-gatherer tribes, an individual is prized for their intelligence, hunting skills, and so on. When they exceed their skills through arrogance, selfishness, pride, or an unequal amount of power, they are laughed at, socially exiled or eventually killed. As long as they provide social benefit to the group, they are mutually benefited themselves. In agricultural societies, however, there is a conflict regarding the messages of promoting generosity and support and sharing, competition and survival and private ownership. Large populations with complex civilizations are prone to conflicting value systems.The case for war will die out partly for this reason and partly because it will involve long and severe work for all. Unfortunately, this was constantly undercut by the many parts of this book that are ableist, sexist garbage, verging on eco-fascism. It’s rare that I read a book that is exceptionally bad. Normally the publication process weeds out the truly bad books, but the editors failed the author in this case. Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress is a book that should have never made it to press.

While precivilization is condemned, civilization is often seen as perpetually improving, all despite human nature’s competitive, aggressive, and bloody history. This view of humankind is routinely used in the justification of slavery and war and colonialism. Rather than connecting more intimately with one another, civilized people are conditioned to not trust each other, to compete, to feel shameful over their bodies and instincts. Ryan, Christoher. "Civilized To Death, Why Everything's Amazing, But Nobody's Happy". Psychology Today. Christoher Ryan . Retrieved 2019-11-24. While civilized people are systematically forced to remain in civilization, they are conditioned to fear any alternative. They are routinely propagandized with fear of death, fear of old age, fear of outsiders, fear of a dangerous environment, fear of disobeying the structure of society, fear of being different, and fear of questioning.

Civilized to Death is a book that tells how the modern society we have created is not adapted to us at all. The effect reading this had on my mindset, i.e. I now think everything about modern life is ridiculous and don't much care for it and have decided to zone it all out, is amazing! Nevertheless, humans have complex moralities based on social values that were deeply woven into their biological makeup for thousands of years to ensure their survival. It is clear that civilization overall has not improved everyone’slives. Instead of sitting on the floor and crying, shouldn’t we ask instead “what we can do to improve?”