Exploring Humanity's Unquenchable Curiosity: Why We Ask 'Why?

[Kerrie]

why are humans so intent on knowing why? what drives our curiosity, and why don't animals have the same drive?

 

[wuliheron]

Animals do have this same drive, like people it is pushed to the back burner by accumulated habits. Infants of any species tend to be more aggressive, playful, and curious than adults. However, too aggressive, playful, or curious and they die off. Hence, nature apparently gives us all some genetic predispositions of individual character that maintains a variety so that some percentage of the population is adapted to the environmental demands of any particular time and place. Shyness, in particular, has been shown to be an inheritable personality characteristic.

Notably, the more intelligent the animal generally the more curiosity they display and preditory animals tend to be the more intelligent. Hunting, especially in packs, requires a fair amount of learning and adapting to group. At the same time, it requires the group maintain some sort of social organization that is adaptable.

One experiment that highlights the utility of playfullness and curiosity involved a computer program created to simulate the acquisition of language. It could learn five languages, including enlgish, in anywhere from a few hours to a few days by listening to the babbling of small children. It did this by constantly playing with the possibilities for what makes a well structured sentence or question and building upon whatever seemed to work best.

 

[with.buddha]

Knowledge is Power!
Information is food for your brain..
so let it rain let it rain

keep your eyes open...

keep your mind in the frame..

 

[Mentat]

Originally posted by Kerrie
why are humans so intent on knowing why? what drives our curiosity, and why don't animals have the same drive?

We are more complex. We thus have a hightened awareness of the essence of that which exists around us. This awareness causes us to contemplate "why?". Or, at least that's how I usually look at it.

BTW, we are animals. Any animal that becomes as complex as the human animal, will probably also be curious.

 

[Iacchus32]

Originally posted by Kerrie
why are humans so intent on knowing why? what drives our curiosity, and why don't animals have the same drive?

Because we are both ignorant and cognizant at the same time. Meaning we don't like to feel awkard, or stupid! ... Huh?

 

[Manuel_Silvio]

1. For Kerrie:

why are humans so intent on knowing why? what drives our curiosity, and why don't animals have the same drive?

I think there's no certain reason for asking "why." Asking "why" will almost always lead into improved understanding until you learn to ask "why" you should ask "why". That's when no answers come. You've come to the brink of knowing "why." You've come to the brink of rationalization.

After having asked this last "why," one may feel she/he has tried in vain to improve her/his understanding with asking "why." I'd quote wuliheron here: "virtue is its own reward." And another one: "the way is the destination."

Asking "why" one goes through a long journey, a quest, for seeing beyond, for seeing through. The last step in the journey is to realize how precious yet worthless has all this been. After the realiazation, one's alone with improved understanding, that is no good to no one, and an intuition of existence, that is no warranty to no one, and a way to choose, that is of no significance to no one. Now the way becomes the destination, the virtue becomes the reward. Sit back and enjoy what you've seen and what you'll see.

Yet this isn't a fall, it's a rise to countless possibilities. Now one is free to set her/his own rules of the game, for no obligation, no necessity, no preference, no significane and no fear remains to limit the range of possibilities. You can set a rule: "I may ask why whenever and from whatever I want, no matter whether or not it's in vain."

 

[drag]

Greetings !

Intresting, none of the above "answers"
seem to actually adress the question...

Originally posted by Kerrie
why are humans so intent on knowing why?

Because we want to know the reason for stuff.
Stuff starts from the most basic things and
extends - in our highly evolved minds to
many abstract stuff.

What is the original reason for us to want to
know the reason for stuff ?

By knowing the reason for stuff we can control,
predict and understand the Universe. A reason
or cause is something that is always present if
we have (and we do ) time.

The Universe is guided by the laws of physics.
The most primitive life-forms and objects are
guided by the laws of Physics and Chemistry.
The more complex life-forms are guided by the laws
of Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

What is Biology ?

It is a science that explains the behaviour
of complex systems of particles. These systems
formed as a result of a certain balance of
Physical and Chemical laws that was achieved.

Why would these complex systems want to ask the
question Why ?

Simply because being part of nature they must
follow the laws of Physics. A basic system seeks
to reach an equalibrium. Complex systems do that
too. For the latter, however, it is expressed in
a seemingly different way - we strive towards
our equalibrium by what we perceive as our
"actions" dictated by no other than our
minds - a result of the action of our minds.

Originally posted by Kerrie
what drives our curiosity, and why don't
animals have the same drive?

Of course they do. The above explains what
drives this curiosity.

Why are we more curious ?

Simple - we're more complex.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Leonardo Da Vinci

Live long and prosper.

 

[Mentat]

Originally posted by drag
Greetings !

Intresting, none of the above "answers"
seem to actually adress the question...

Hey, did you happen to read my post? Yours is mainly an elaboration of the same point that I was making in mine.

 

[drag]

Greetings Mentat !

Originally posted by Mentat
Hey, did you happen to read my post?
Yours is mainly an elaboration of the same
point that I was making in mine.

Hmm... With all due respect Mentat, it would
seem to me personally that your message did
not quite provide a clear reason as requested
by the question. But, I suppose that if
you view it as such then I was wrong.

As for me making the same point you made in your
post, I personally find that slightly
difficult to deduce from your post. But, I suppose
you know what you meant.

"If I have seen farther than other men, it is
because I stood on the shoulders of giants."
Sir Isaac Newton

Live long and prosper.

 

[Iacchus32]

Originally posted by Sensei
the why ask why song:

why ask why ask why when you can just ask why, asking why is where it's at...

don't even be a brat!


just ask why, instead of asking why ask why

you can ask why in the evening, you can ask why in the morn!

you can ask why any time and any sentence adorn!

ask why ask why

why ask why when you can just ask whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Why's that?

 

[with.buddha]

Originally posted by drag

Intresting, none of the above "answers"
seem to actually adress the question...

i think i did - Knowledge is Power!

there was a selective advantage for those who asked why...

 

[newton1]

u know why the human more clever than the other being
it's because we always ask why...
and try to get the answer
if we dun ask why...
we will not get the answer
so
ask why is the most important thing for learning

 

[Mentat]

Originally posted by drag
Greetings Mentat !

Hmm... With all due respect Mentat, it would
seem to me personally that your message did
not quite provide a clear reason as requested
by the question. But, I suppose that if
you view it as such then I was wrong.

Kerrie was asking why we, as humans, as why while other animals don't. I said...

Originally posted by Mentat
We are more complex. We thus have a hightened awareness of the essence of that which exists around us. This awareness causes us to contemplate "why?".

How is that not pertinent? Oh well, to each his/her own.

Originally Posted By Drag
As for me making the same point you made in your
post, I personally find that slightly
difficult to deduce from your post. But, I suppose
you know what you meant.

By that, I meant that you were saying that the fact that we are more complex leads us to conimplate "why?". I was intending to say the same thing.

[/QUOTE]

 

[jammieg]

I agree in that animals do this too just not in a verbal way. It is advantageous to any species to explore it's world, to play, and to be curious.
Asking why is the human version of intellectual curiousity, getting a satisfactory answers will increase one's curiousity, and a curious animal may find a new food source and hopefully not a new predator.
I didn't know that about shyness, I guess I was genetically predisposed to be overly cautious of the unfamiliar I guess that could be an advatage too provided most of humanity isn't terribly shy but just a few, like a watchdog staying up all night guarding the camp. I wonder if there is a correlation between a marked shyness of a child and growing up to an adult with a cautiousness or even dislike of the unfamiliar...