A False Dichotomy

In the discussion section of the last post, the eternal argument about non-industrial people arose: were their lives (a) "nasty, brutish and short" (Hobbes), or were they (b) "noble savages" (Shaftesbury) living in Eden? The former argument states that they had awful lives, and we should be glad we're living int he 21st century. The latter argument implies that we should emulate them as much as possible. Each side is bursting with anecdotes to support their position.

Any time the discussion reaches this point, it stops providing us anything useful. The argument is a false dichotomy, one in which neither answer is correct. The correct answer is (c): none of the above. Some aspects of hunter-gatherer life are preferable to ours, and some aspects of our lives are preferable to theirs. Understanding that we spent a lot of evolutionary time as hunter-gatherers, as well as a few thousand years in small, tightly knit agricultural communities, may be useful in understanding how to work constructively with our own bodies and minds in the modern world.

So please, let's leave behind the false dichotomy and foster a more nuanced understanding of the lives our ancestors led.

two weeks...

i have officially been on bed rest for two weeks. you learn a lot about yourself when you're stationary.... and while i try (really hard) to have an optimistic outlook on the situation, i would be lying to say it's not incredibly hard. you might find some tears rolling down my face on any given day. mostly b/c i hate having to rely on someone else to do everything for me (and b/c i am pregnant and pregnant people cry a lot). it's hard to give up control of yourself. and while i never knew i was a controlling person, i have realized that i like to have an opinion in most all situations. i cannot thank my husband enough for what he has had to become. i always knew he was amazing but to watch him be a dad, a husband, a housekeeper, a cook, a chauffeur, a grocery shopper, a dog walker, a waiter, a laundry folder, a carpool picker upper, and so much more- amazes me. he does funny things like hide the receipts from me when he gets home from the grocery store, he buys taylor outfits that maybe a little bit more tomboyish then i would prefer, he asks girls in the make up aisle what concealer is (and bless his heart, he comes home w/ some that would look amazing on a really tan person), he goes into freak out mood when i have contractions and makes me call the doctor....but mostly, he makes me so incredibly proud to have him by my side....and he puts a smile on my face everyday (even if i sometimes don't feel like doing it).

*images courtesy of aubrey + lindsay, curls and coffee, girly me