History Archives

Religion and Altruism: Religion Aided Group Survival

Why are religion and altruism connected? How did religion play a role in cultural evolution? Whether you’re religious or not, there is no denying that religion has played a huge role in shaping our culture and our ideas of morality. As a cultural trait, religion encouraged patterns of mutual trust and obligation—altruism—that aided in group survival and success in the competition with other groups. Continue reading to learn how religion and altruism aided group survival.

The Scandinavian Influence on the English Language

What influence did the Scandinavian tribes exert on the English language? How did the importation of Scandinavian words change the English lexicon? The Scandinavian invasions left a profound and lasting influence on the English language. The influx of Scandinavian words lent English more flexibility since they didn’t fully replace the existing words, but supplemented them, making it possible to express more nuance and subtlety of meaning. Learn about the Scandinavian influence on the English language.

Evolutionary Functions of Emotions: We Need Them

What do emotions have to do with evolution? Why do we diagnose overly anxious people but not people who don’t feel anxiety at all? How can sadness actually benefit us? According to the authors of Why We Get Sick, emotions are a maladaptive psychological process. In the Stone Age, anxiety was necessary to keep us alive and sadness prevented us from repeating losses. Keep reading for more information about the evolutionary functions of emotions.

A Look Into the Key Influences on the English Language

What were the major foreign influences on the English language? What changes did they introduce? From the earliest stages of its development, English has come into contact with a number of foreign languages. The major influences on the English language were Latin, Scandinavian, and Norman French, each associated with distinct changes to its lexicon, pronunciation, and grammar. Here is a brief overview of the major foreign influences on the English language.

What Is Disgust? Separating Disgusting From Divine

What is disgust? How is disgust closely related to divinity? What is the opposite of disgust? Our sense of disgust was probably an advantage in natural selection, as it would have prevented us from coming into contact with things that were harmful to us. Aversion to disgust is ingrained in us so deeply that we try to separate ourselves from actions we deem unclean in order to reach divinity. Keep reading to learn more about the logic of disgust and how it relates to religion.

The Evolution of the English Language: A Brief History

What are the origins of English? What are the key events in the evolution of the English language that were most instrumental in shaping it into the version we speak and write today? English, as we know it today, is very different from its original Anglo-Saxon version. To understand how this came to be, we need to understand the evolution of the English language and the processes by which it transformed into English as we know it today. Keep reading to learn about the evolution of the English language.

British and American English: The Great Divide

What are the differences between British and American English? How did the same language evolve into two different versions? The British and American English differ in a few fundamental ways, but this has not always been the case. The great divergence between the two was a slow and long historical process, which started when the first English-speaking settlers arrived in the Americas. Read about the divergence between British and American English.

Charting the Future of Humanity: Goals for Earth

What do you think should be the main goals of humanity, going forward? Do you think we will one day be able to eradicate disease, death, and scarcity? What will humanity strive for, if or when survival is no longer a concern? In his book Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari envisions humanity shifting to the next phase of human evolution—the era of Homo Deus. In this era, survival is no longer a concern in most parts of the world. Consequently, humanity will look towards higher goals of immortality, happiness, and divinity. Keep reading to learn about the projected future of

The Greatest Achievements of English Lexicography

What are the greatest works of English lexicography? What were each of their contributions? English lexicography has succeeded in producing the greatest and most comprehensive dictionaries to be found in any language. Some of the most notable works of English lexicography include the 1735 Dictionary of the English Language, the Webster Dictionary, and of course, the crown jewel of all English dictionaries the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Keep reading to learn about the key figures of English lexicography and their contributions.

The Invention of Language: Humanity’s Greatest Feat

Is language an invention or an intrinsic trait? What are the exact mechanisms that gave rise to the phenomenon of symbolic language? Language is undoubtedly one of the greatest human inventions of all time, although the question of whether symbolic language is an invention or an intrinsic feature of the human species is a matter of semantics. There’s some archaeological evidence that language arose during the Cro-Magnon period, but the exact mechanisms behind its development are unknown. Keep reading to learn about the invention of the human language.