Why are we, and other creatures on this planet, curious?
Isnt it dangerous to be curious and maybe get eaten or get in serious trouble while watching something unknown?
How was curiosity an advantage in natural selection?
It seems that curiosity is a higher ordered conscious process. It should be distinguished from the instinct of the moth to the flame. Anyhow, curiosity is dangerous but comes with great reward. When coupled with memory and the ability to develop culture (a collective memory of past successes and failures) the result is technology. Technology is a competitive advantage.
On a different note, my own intuition about the purpose of curiosity has to do with the place of consciousness in nature. The development of consciousness seems to be somewhat arbitrary, given that we can imagine life functioning without it (a zombie nation). However, curiosity seems to be the result of the driving force of the universe to view itself subjectively through conscious beings. I think as civilizations progess (presumably there exists others more advanced than our own), they move toward greater and greater awareness. Slowly we will move toward a collective experience and shared memory, which will be sustained through a common medium (like a more advanced internet). In such a state of connected, the differences between individuals becomes less about difference and more about expansion of knowledge and experience (see the goal of Wikipedia). Ultimately, the telos of the universe is that we might all share the mind of god (I'm so bold as to say we will get there). Finally, its probably reasonable to assume that immortality lies in plugging and dissolving into a larger mind (with continuity in self-awareness). This would be a tremendous advantage in terms of natural selection if the goal is to live forever. The worry is that we will blow ourselves up before realizing this important goal.
Again I want disclaimers all over this. I try to avoid attaching myself to any of my mental dribble because it is always in a state of flux.
Edited by UOchris1, 14 January 2010 - 08:38 PM.
LongeCity
