Primeval Forces: You, Me and the Creature Within Us

By David Leslie

When one of our ancient forebears Little Lucy, died on the banks of an African river, to be preserved in its alluvial mud and discovered aeons later, did anyone mourn her passing? Did some hair-covered male hold her hand, perhaps shed a tear as she took her last breath, or did her group just wander off about their business, leaving her to die alone? Had she been a lover, a wife of one man only, who gave her love and loyalty and received it back in return? Or had she just been a child-bearer to many, a cog in the evolution of man?

Whether Lucy ever knew a committed or loyal love, somewhere along our evolutionary path, it began and entrenched itself in our social behaviour. And with it came every couples eternal dilemma, the question to cheat or not to cheat, to follow our primitive instincts or our higher moral ideals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: May 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514444900

David Leslie

has retired from his long standing position as Reader in Tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University, where he was instrumental in the development of tourism studies following on from the development of the introduction of the tourism degree at Leeds Metropolitan University. The recurrent theme in his scholarly activity and research has been tourism and the environment, which is manifest in a diverse range of publications including academic journals, research and consultancy reports and also serving as a Specialist Witness on tourism at Public Enquiries, spanning over two decades. Since retiring from University life, he has continued to be active in the tourism field with research and writing, most notably his latest book on Responsible Tourism and spending a semester as Visiting Professor to the Collaborative Tourism Programme at Chengdu University.

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Copyright © 2016 by David Leslie.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016901055

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5144-4489-4

               Softcover       978-1-5144-4488-7

               eBook            978-1-5144-4490-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/17/2016

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CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Herd Instinct and the Beginning of Us All

Chapter 2: Forbidden Fruits: Husbands and Wives—to Cheat or Not to Cheat

Chapter 3: Should Women Rule the World?

Chapter 4: The World’s Greatest Sin

Chapter 5: Australia: Fifty-First State of USA?

Chapter 6: The Human Wolf Pack: When It Kills

Chapter 7: Are You a Cruel Australian?

Chapter 8: Why Do We Treat the Homeless, the Sick, the Poor, and the Aged Badly?

Chapter 9: The Battle Your Child, Every Child Must Fight

Chapter 10: Master and Slave: Man’s Primeval Attack on Woman

Chapter 11: Must Planet Earth Perish?

Chapter 12: Why Men Do Dangerous Things and Don’t Care about Their Health

Chapter 13: Tribal Christianity and Paedophilia

Chapter 14: Tribal Islam and Terrorism

Chapter 15: Why Stock Markets Crash

Chapter 16: Who Is the Ultimate Man?

Chapter 17: Why Do Siblings Fight?

Chapter 18: Do You Want a Tribal Wedding?

Chapter 19: America: Can It Survive?

Chapter 20: Can Europe Survive?

Chapter 21: Deadly Memories: The Tragedy of Children Drowning

Chapter 22: Deadly Memories: The Hunter and the Need for Speed

Chapter 23: The Primal Evil of Adolf Hitler

Chapter 24: Why a Younger Woman Will Steal an Older Man Away from His Family

Chapter 25: Why Do Older Men Chase Younger Women?

Chapter 26: Why We Enjoy Watching Violence in Sport

Chapter 27: Why Do We Have Wars?

Chapter 28: Will We Ever Live Forever?

Chapter 29: Racism and Homosexuality: The Tribal Truth

Chapter 30: Monarchy or Republic: Which Is Better?

Chapter 31: Refugees: How Many Is Too Many?

Chapter 32

Chapter 33: Predatory Man and Predatory Woman: Do They Still Exist?

Chapter 34: The Squatter Aristocracy: Fact or Fiction?

Chapter 35: Nationalism: Curse or Glory?

Chapter 36: Climate Change: Fact or Fiction?

Chapter 37: Blood Sports

Chapter 38: Labour or Liberal: Which Is Better?

Chapter 39: Are Primeval Movies Bad for You?

Conclusion

About the Author

Dedicated To

My mother, Lydia, whose unselfish love kept me alive through the first precarious years of my life and who taught me how to write.

My father, Bill, that good and simple man who worked tirelessly for his family without complaint through many trials.

My Aunt Paula, who possessed the rare combination of intelligence and common sense, and who encouraged me to observe, listen, and think.

Preface

This book concerns the concept that heavily influences each and every one of us—our tribal, pack, herd ancestry, our subconscious memories formed by the actions of our direct ancestors from prehistoric times to our present day, and the control they have over us.

These memories are stored within our individual subconscious minds and are passed down through successive generations. They are an explanation for premonitions and déjà vu, the feeling that the experience you are undergoing has happened to you before.

In fact, that is exactly what they are, a personal message from your individual ancient forebears by means of your subconscious memories. Perhaps you have experienced that classic nightmare where you are seriously threatened by a savage beast of some description yet you remain rooted to the spot, powerless and unable to move. Somewhere in the prehistoric past, an ancestor of yours must have found himself in such a situation yet survived to pass down the terror of the moment by subconscious memory to you.

This terrifying situation would have been seared into your subconscious memory to emerge aeons later in your sleep when you are not distracted by conscious thoughts.

Further to that, these memories, good and bad, can and do constantly emerge from the deep recesses of our subconscious minds to influence (along with our day-to-day conscious environment) our thoughts and physical actions without our even being aware of them. This is one of the reasons mankind cannot, so far, break out of his continuous cycle of violence and war.

These memories can override our peaceful behaviour (conscious, learnt kind) to turn us into rabid killers and dictators or simply into common everyday selfish individuals with no feelings of duty of care for our poorer cousins.

Conversely, they can also lead us to be kinder and more generous individuals—as countless numbers of our ancestors undoubtedly were as they struggled out of mankind’s harsh prehistoric times, helping and caring for one another as they lived out their lives.

Whichever direction they propel in us as individuals, along with our herd or tribal instincts, these memories can and do have a profound effect on our day-to-day lives, often but not always in direct conflict with the slowly emerging humanities formed by our conscious thoughts.

Acknowledgements

Charles Darwin, not for his towering intellectual ability to draw radical conclusions from his acute observations but for his courage to publish his revolutionary theories on evolution and the origins of life in the face of severe and overwhelming criticism from society, religious bodies, and even some who were dear to him.

Special thanks to my good friend Linda, who typed this book and provided much needed technical expertise.

Author’s Note

In no way is the material in this book intended to be judgemental or condemnatory of any of humankind’s myriad behavioural traits, except where they involve hurting any living creature. I have merely endeavoured to explain our seemingly inexplicable ways as I see them and in an unprejudiced fashion.

I also wish to remind the reader that although humankind is partly subconsciously bound by the actions of our ancestors which have been passed down to us through generations, spanning aeons of time and which now reside in our deepest hidden subconscious memories, we have very much the conscious mental capabilities and awareness to be held accountable for our thoughts and actions.

Also, I have tried to illustrate the fascinating similarities of modern human behaviour, not only to our prehistoric forebears but also to the animals with which we share our planet. I have referred to both humans and animals as creatures because we both share a singular rootstock.

Most importantly, nothing in this book should be construed as an undeserved attack upon any religion, philosophy, or political system. I believe everyone has the right to their own beliefs; however they may vary from person to person, provided they do not imprison or harm others, either mentally or physically.

It will become obvious as you read on that I believe in the evolution of all creatures over time, including ourselves, even in our own short individual lifespan. If we examine our own personal lifetimes honestly, changes in our outlook, beliefs, opinions—call them what you may—are patently obvious. Each of us is constantly evolving as we journey through our lives.

How and where did we humans begin? Evolutionary scientific studies tell us that the most probable scenario was that the first forms of life were created about 3.5–3.8 thousand million years ago from within a primordial atmosphere which contained the basic constituents of organic matter (water vapour, hydrogen, methane, and ammonia). Through a process of chemical evolution, aided by energy from the sun or lightning strikes, these simple forms of bacteria developed complex molecules and self-replicating nucleic acids. From these developed different branches of life, each carrying their own hereditary genetic information (DNA), and by selective (not random) evolution, they emerged into the forms of life that we see around us today, including mankind.

We have gathered a mass of anthropological evidence, including physical remains that date members of the Hominidae family (including humans and their immediate and close extinct relatives) some 6–8 million years ago. Evidence of other genus such as H. habilis, H. rudolfensis, H. erectus, H. sapien sapien have been discovered around the globe and have been dated to more recent times (e.g. H. floresiensis circa 18,000 years ago).

This does not mean that I do not believe that a supreme creative being initiated this process, but I do not share the belief that a god or deity created every living creature (once again including humankind) in its present-day form only some 6,000 years ago. Or that the world was formed in six literal days. Others I know believe this. That is their choice and their right.

Just as religions, to their credit, have gradually accepted that the earth is spherical, not flat, and that it revolves around the sun, not vice versa, theologians will one day accept the theory of evolution as a way a supreme creator created all life forms on earth, of which man is but one.

I have purposely not dwelt on the sanctity or otherwise of other weighty theological questions. Nor have I mentioned by name individual denominations. But I have referred to all of them in their broad sense (e.g. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism). Many a learned religious scholar, let alone me, has been sucked beneath the glassy surface of theology by whirlpools of doctrinal thought and enigmas which can never be solved to the satisfaction of all. So I will not try.

Now, considering the evolution of our own species and even discounting the weighty evolutionary evidence anthropology has provided us with, we can easily see how, in a matter of decades, certain races have (through better diet and living conditions) evolved into larger, heavier individuals (e.g. the Japanese since WWII). Present-day evolution in progress!

As regards animals, records going back many centuries show how farmers and breeders evolve different characteristics in individual creatures by careful selective breeding (e.g. larger meat cattle for more profit in less time, different breeds of sheep for wool or mutton production, horses for pulling drays or racing, dogs for guarding, herding, or pets). The list goes on. Now genetic engineering has taken this form of design evolution to an even higher, if not dangerous level.

Advanced and sophisticated in every field of human endeavour as we may be, I believe we are still overwhelmingly tribal and primeval on a national and personal level and share many herd/pack characteristics with our animal cousins.

I hope the reader will enjoy this little journey of the mind into our strange ways and, perhaps, even come to the same conclusion as I did that although we have made astonishing progress in the fields of science, medicine, engineering, the arts, and humanities, the more things change, the more they stay the same—for the next million years or so anyway.

Introduction

The Sins of the Father

The sins of the father—what an evocative term that is. It conjures up visions of evil men fathering evil children, passing on their sinful ways generation after generation. And if these children have evil fathers, could they have evil mothers as well? Or maybe just one of either. Is this an automatic process, good from good, evil from evil?

I have, for many years, been intrigued by the violence and savagery that can emerge from humankind with very little provocation. Where does it come from? Does an evil deity single out an individual at random to fill him with hate and aggression? If so, why does it emerge so often from religious organisations that preach the exact opposite—love and peace?

The conclusion I came to from my observations (both first-hand and otherwise) of all life forms—animal and human—is that we all carry such traits within us as well as, to a lesser degree, those of goodness and kindness.

Are these just character traits? If so, what are their origins? Are they literally passed down from a number of generations of our direct genetic ancestors—father, mother, grandparents, etc.—before they are replaced by other following character traits or weakened? Become diluted, if you like, and then simply fade away? If so, how many generations does this process take? Ten, twenty, fifty? Perhaps even a hundred?

Or are our thinking and our actions controlled mainly by our immediate social environment (e.g. those we associate with—friends, workmates, sporting teammates, etc.) and, of course, by all forms of that great invasive force, the media?

Without a doubt, both of these are powerful factors which heavily influence our individual behaviour for better or worse. But is there something deeper, unseen, and even insidious that we carry within our very cores, strongly influencing the actions of each of us? Something that we are not even aware of? Something that has been carried forward by generation after generation of our ancestors (both animal and human) since life was formed on planet earth aeons ago?

I came to the conclusion that each of us must carry within our minds subconscious memories—a sort of databank of the lives of each individual’s direct ancestors stretching back to prehistoric times. This would explain why we are still so tribal and so aggressive. Much of man’s existence has been bloody and cruel as he strove to survive against the savagery of primeval beasts and the most deadly predator of them all—man himself.

I have termed this nebulous thing our subconscious memory and describe it as a ‘creature’, for in many ways, that is what it really is—a living force created at the dawn of time, never dying, and added to by each successive living human being who breeds on. Sometimes this creature is at war with our conscious thoughts; sometimes it is in harmony with them.

Some of us are seemingly violent and cruel, while others are born gentle and kind. Both these diagrammatically opposed character traits are sometimes evident at a very early stage of childhood. Both can be enhanced or reduced by our environment. We can also undergo huge changes to our behaviour if circumstances dictate it (e.g. little Mrs Mild will fight off an attacker if her child is threatened, or road rage will instantly turn Mr Nice Guy into Mr Dangerous).

Hand in hand with this is mankind’s deep-rooted desire to group together. No doubt, this is born out of prehistoric man’s necessity to band with others if he wished to survive the primeval killing fields he found himself in. Basically, there is strength in numbers.

I believe this is why we are all members of a number of tribal groups. First is our small family tribe, our school tribe, our work tribe, then our national tribe, our political tribe, etc. If we are not born into them, we gravitate into them, just as birds of a feather gather together. Like attracts like.

This would explain why tribal man has slaughtered and still does slaughter his brother en masse, often without any remorse whatsoever. Why has mankind endured seemingly never-ending warfare? And even if not at this level of barbarity, societies worldwide seem incapable of reducing their levels of crime. Also why, at a much lower and benign level, seemingly trivial by comparison, do everyday males and females fervently support their national sports heroes when they do ‘battle’ on the international stage? Why is a degree of violence in body contact sports tolerated even appreciated and expected (e.g. most people do not enjoy being thumped themselves, but if their ‘boys’ or ‘girls’ do it to their opposition on the sporting field, that is a fair, even a good thing)? Also, at a more mundane level, why are we so competitive in so many things that are part of our everyday lives (e.g. at school, in the workplace, even when forming personal relationships)? Also, I was struck by the remarkable similarities in much of human behaviour to that of our closest ancestors, the apes, and to many other animals that live in close proximity to one another—we humans in family tribes and nations and animals in herds or packs (such as horses and wolves).

So I began writing this book, pointing out that although so well-disguised by our sophisticated lifestyles, our tribal/national behaviour was and still is so similar to animal or pack/herd behaviour, with particular emphasis on the shared overwhelming challenge all creatures on earth (including us) face—the battle to survive and breed and all that it entails. Also, I believe humankind, already dominant over every other species and (in an unplanned evolutionary way) designed to kill off any competition to his existence, is causing most species, especially mammals, to become extinct or under threat of extinction.

This then is the creature I refer to in the title of this book—mankind’s inherent behaviour. An incredible history of the day-to-day actions of each individual’s ancestors that lie within us—how they had to fight to survive and the right to breed in a world that was, for thousands and thousands of years, harsh and violent. One which, in the main, goodness and kindness was an unaffordable luxury, even a handicap to those who wanted to survive and prosper as it still can be today. This is why I have presumed that these subconscious memories contain more that is hard and aggressive than soft and peaceful.

I