Rob Henderson discusses some of the points. I commented there, of course.
Sell defines anger as a neurocomputational device, an adaptation of the mind that functioned in the human evolutionary past to bargain for better treatment from other people. The word anger, like love, can be used in many different ways. People can get angry at objects, for example. But that’s not why anger actually evolved. Its original purpose was to recalibrate other people to get them to treat you better...
Violent anger is provoked when someone indicates, “I know you need this resource, I just don’t care.” Sell gives the example of agreeing with someone’s arguments when they are mad at you. Imagine you’re supposed to pick your friend up, and you’re late. He’s been standing outside in the rain for hours. Finally, you pick him up, and he says, “You left me out in the rain for hours.” If you reply, “Yeah. I know. So what?” This implies that you do not care about him, and he will respond with extreme hostility...
One reason narcissists provoke anger is that they demand better treatment than others think they deserve. Moreover, narcissists tend to treat others with worse treatment than those people believe they deserve.
There's an extra layer in this for Christians because of such directives as "Be angry, but do not let the sun go down on your anger," plus admonishment to allow oneself to be offended, even defrauded, for the sake of personal and group comity and to practice living in a world where your own rights and entitlement matter less and less. What about protecting the rights of others, or enforcing norms for the common good? How do those fit in? Even if you letting go of your rights shames decent people into better behavior in the long run, doesn't it make sociopaths worse, and teach them they can treat the world this way? Fun stuff to go over.
And then there's Jesus beating the moneylenders out of the Temple, and the numerous references to God's anger. What to make of all this? I have been in many discussions about it over the years.
5 comments:
"an adaptation of the mind that functioned in the human evolutionary past"
Evolution has not stopped. It is impossible for it to stop. The environment, which includes people and their products, continually changes, and there is always an adaptation pressure on both the genonme and the culture.
The fact that reproduction is failing across almost all the countries in the world, means that there is a major misalignment between modern culture/economy and humans. We are under severe selection stress right now, and the majority of people are failing to adapt.
Yes, this comes up all the time, and usually it remains beneficial. Getting angry because you have a partner who doesn’t do a fair amount of chores; getting angry because a work colleague interrupts you while you speak. It often improves matters, as long as it isn’t lingering.
The Adam-12 episode "Excessive Force" (sometimes called "X-Force" for short) seems to enshrine the principle "In your anger do not sin." Anyone with even a shred of empathy would be furious at the kid-fiddler who molested a six-year-old, injured her badly enough to require hospitalization, and then when arrested blustered that "She wanted what she got." But, as the extra-long dénouement underscores, that did not justify Malloy's police brutality.
I suppose the most obvious use of anger as a tool is in disciplining children.
The "turn the other cheek and go the extra mile" admonition assumes that the person doing the annoying thing shares your own basic values, and that he can be shamed into mending his ways. Probably intended for fellow covenant members, even if that's not explicitly stated. It was never intended as a universal principle to be applied to every situation. It certainly has no bearing on what to do about mortal enemies, although the more suicidally-minded among us are constantly trying to apply it that way.
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