Explaining Life: The Evolutionary Need for Understanding
Humans strive to explain everything around them because ignorance incites inner agitation and a sense of discomfort that impedes full adaptation to the conditions of life. In their search for the satisfaction of knowledge, they construct probable hypotheses in order to impose some order on incomprehensible phenomena. As mentioned in one of the sources,"A person acquires knowledge because he strives to acquire it, and he seeks to acquire knowledge because the awareness of his ignorance agitates and troubles him, given the decisive impossibility of adapting to the conditions of life amidst a world of phenomena that are incomprehensible. In order to adapt to these living conditions, he endeavors to explain all the mysterious phenomena of the world, and in this very quest for explanations he constructs various probable hypotheses regarding their determining conditions. If, in this process, a certain probable explanation sufficiently satisfies him, he accepts that explanation as real—that is, he wishes to believe, and does believe, that the event in question actually occurred as he conceived it in his mind. However, if the conceived explanation does not satisfy him, then even though that explanation was formed in his thoughts, he would not attribute objective real validity to it and would begin searching for another explanation that might fully satisfy him." (source: link txt)That is, life experience and internal psychological comfort demand that a person constantly search for explanations of phenomena, which helps him feel in control of his surrounding reality.On the other hand, evolutionary mechanisms in the development of the brain have played a decisive role in the evolution of these abilities. The rapid evolution of the brain, accompanied by a sudden improvement in its organization, has contributed to the development of consciousness, including the ability to analyze and systematize information. Thanks to this, the modern brain is capable not only of perceiving events but also actively interpreting them—a result of natural selection, where more efficient adaptation to environmental conditions has provided significant advantages.Additionally, it is once again emphasized that:"A person strives to explain the facts that interest him and can only cease this pursuit when his desire for knowledge is satisfied and the unpleasant agitation of uncertainty is replaced by the pleasant thrill of knowledge." (source: link txt)Thus, the internal drive to eliminate the sense of ignorance and the need to adapt to external conditions, reinforced by evolutionary changes in the brain, underpin this constant search for explanations in humans.Supporting citation(s):"A person acquires knowledge because he strives to acquire it, and he seeks to acquire knowledge because the awareness of his ignorance agitates and troubles him, given the decisive impossibility of adapting to the conditions of life amidst a world of phenomena that are incomprehensible. In order to adapt to these living conditions, he endeavors to explain all the mysterious phenomena of the world, and in this very quest for explanations he constructs various probable hypotheses regarding their determining conditions. If, in this process, a certain probable explanation sufficiently satisfies him, he accepts that explanation as real—that is, he wishes to believe, and does believe, that the event in question actually occurred as he conceived it in his mind. However, if the conceived explanation does not satisfy him, then even though that explanation was formed in his thoughts, he would not attribute objective real validity to it and would begin searching for another explanation that might fully satisfy him." (source: link txt)"A person strives to explain the facts that interest him and can only cease this pursuit when his desire for knowledge is satisfied and the unpleasant agitation of uncertainty is replaced by the pleasant thrill of knowledge." (source: link txt)