Tears of fear, anger, and sadness are not defects. It is the most powerful survival weapon that our ancestors have evolved to survive over millions of years.
Five complete deep essays
Charles Darwin, who shook the world with “The Origin of Species” in 1859, turned to the most secret and difficult topic to solve the final puzzle of evolution theory. It was ‘human mind and emotions’.
At the time, Western society believed that human emotional expressions—laughter, tears, frowns—were soul marks bestowed specifically on humans by God. But Darwin discovered a completely different truth when he observed the cries and smiles of his newborn baby William, second by second, and sketched the face of Jenny, a chimpanzee at the London Zoo.
『Emotional Expression in Humans and Animals』, published in 1872, became a historical classic that was the first in the world to examine emotions through the lens of evolutionary biology.
Darwin planned an ingenious global project to prove his hypothesis. A questionnaire containing 16 questions was sent to missionaries, explorers, and colonial officials in remote areas around the world.
'Do native Australians also open their mouths and widen their eyes when they are surprised? Do Amazon tribesmen also shed tears and lower their mouths when they are sad? When you're angry, do you clench your fists and grit your teeth?'
Although the answers did not all match perfectly, Darwin discovered commonalities in many expressions that were repeated in distant populations. He read this as evidence that emotional expression did not arise solely from cultural practices, but also had aspects inherited from our common ancestors. In addition to these universal trends, today's research also looks at the impact of culture and context on how expressions are revealed and interpreted.
Darwin clearly explained why certain emotions cause certain physical reactions in three principles.
� 1) Principles of useful association habits:
Why do we open our eyes and open our mouths when we are surprised or scared? This is to maximize your viewing angle to identify danger in the dark, and get ready to run by breathing in oxygen into your lungs all at once! On the other hand, when you feel 'disgust', you wrinkle your nose and stick out your tongue, which originates from the vomiting reflex to block the smell of spoiled food and spit it out.
� 2) Principle of Opposition:
When attacking an enemy, a dog stands upright and growls, but in front of its loving owner, it lowers its body and wags its tail. Opposite emotions convey clear signals without misunderstanding through opposite body postures.
� 3) Direct action of the nervous system:
Trembling hands or pouring out cold sweat under extreme tension are physiological discharge valves that allow explosive energy to boil over in the body and be released out of the nervous system.
Why do humans shed tears when they are sad? The only way for a newborn baby without any weapons to survive in the face of wild beasts and cold was by crying.
Tears activate compassion circuits in the brains of parents and peers faster than a thousand words. It's a visual cue that says, 'I'm so vulnerable right now and I really need your help!'
The same goes for the tears of adults. When human groups see members openly expressing their sadness, they put aside their selfishness and show cooperation and care. Tears were not a defeat of weakness, but the warmest social glue that allowed humans to survive in a large community in harsh nature.
Modern society forces emotional labor like emotionless professionals and robots who always smile. But Darwin's theory of evolution gives you warm comfort.
The pounding of my heart when I'm nervous isn't because my body is stupid, but because it's an extremely devoted loving response that pumps blood to my muscles and brain in full force to overcome the beast of upcoming exams and presentations.
Don't dismiss your fears and tears as pathological flaws. When we honor this trustworthy biological compass handed down to us by our ancestors over millions of years, we can regain deep peace in our bodies and souls.