Customer Reviews

The Nature of Grief: The Evolution and Psychology of Reactions to Loss

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the questions that I have not yet found answered in books or on the Web is, why is the intense grief response to loss often wrenching sobbing and tears.

Believing that all human behavior has derived from the instinct to survive and reproduce the species, understanding the grief response has been most puzzling to me, especially the visible physical response.

Scientists have theorized that eye-lashes kept dust from the eyes, and tearing could wash dust or sand should it get in the eyes. But why does grief produce tearing, and beyond that breathless, chest and heart wrenching sobbing.

Seeking the answer to this question, I bought this book. While it isn't the readable, anecdotal book that is Ashley Montagu's book, Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin, nonetheless it is a rich source of what scientists have researched and concluded about grief and loss.

The conclusion the book left me with was that grief is indeed related to survival of the species. The younger the person dying, the stronger the grief, except in the case of care-givers to the extent that they are raising young ones, their death is grieved very deeply. We are hardwired to preserve young life and those who give birth to future generations.

While the book gave me this valuable understanding about grief, it did not answer my question about the evolutionary value of the tearing and sobbing. For that answer, I will have to continue my search.