20120920 Disanalogy between avoidance of predisposed behavior to eat sweet and to extend circle of concern beyond family and friends

When we’re born, our circle of concern is infinitesimally small, if even existent at all. As we mature, in most cases, it expands to include most of our immediate personal well-being, most of the time, and to the immediate well-being of others. For many, it also grows to include long-term considerations about the self and loved ones. Some people never extend this circle to include people in their local community, or other people beyond the ones they know. A sociopath’s circle never extends beyond the self, and egoists claim that their circle does not, and should not extend beyond the self. Regardless, most people’s circles extend beyond the self, quite naturally, but not beyond those that they interact with on a regular basis, or those who they have interacted with on a regular basis before.

When we’re born, our range of preference for certain types of food is very small, and humans prefer sweeter foods. As we grow, our palate develops the taste-preference for other foods, however, most of we have a predisposition to eat sweet foods.

The explanation for both of these predispositions lies in the biological sciences. Ancestors of early humans developed innate predispositions to these behaviors for safety and nutritional reasons, respectively.  Small social groups needed to protect themselves and their young from predators and hostile neighbors, and they also needed to maximize their intake of carbohydrate, preferring faster metabolizing calories over slower metabolizing ones, due to scarcity. Animals store extra energy for this reason, as well.

Seeing that it’s not so difficult to accept that it’s better not to indulge our natural predisposition to eat sweet, high-sugar foods, why is the common cultural practice, as it was in tribal societies, to only care for the people we know?