A Tentative Theory of Primitive Kansei : Social Skills in Ancient Human Society

Abstract

In this paper, a tentative theory that explains how human beings have acquired primitive Kansei as an essential intellectual ability to survive in severe conditions so that having social ability becomes evolutionary selective pressure is proposed. In the remote past, perhaps the Paleolithic age or later, Kansei ability was part of social ability that was indispensable for surviving in human society. Kansei ability enabled human beings to perceive, understand, estimate, and manipulate the influence of tangible and intangible entities; this is beneficial for the mental state of human beings. In this paper, this social ability is referred to as primitive Kansei. It was very important in ancient human society so as to secure a socially advantageous position, acquire more spouses, and leave descendants. The role of Kansei seems to have changed significantly since ancient times.