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# Why are we like this? Why are we here?
- URL: https://www.johnwoodblog.com/why-are-we-like-this-why-are-we-here/
- Published: 2026-10-26T12:33:53.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-26T17:50:16.000Z
- Author: John Wood

We are social animals. We evolved over millions of years by natural selection acting on variation. We were shaped by our environment, by survival of the fittest (or at least survival of the best adapted) and by sexual selection.

That one idea explains more than almost any other. It helps us understand:

- Why status and power matter to people
- Why we care what we look like
- Why we are competitive
- Why we are aggressive
- Why we are social and caring
- Why we get stressed and anxious

And the list goes on. It helps explain why nationalism and tribalism arise, why we start wars, why we ruin marriages, and why we can be incredibly cruel and incredibly kind. In short, it helps us answer some of the biggest questions of all. Why are we like this? Why are we here?

Anyone who doesn’t grasp this is likely to misunderstand much of what makes us tick. If we are not evolved, social animals, we could be here for a whole host of other reasons, all of them anyone’s guess. That leaves us guessing, and usually wishful thinking.

So if you want an answer to a big “why” question, go back to first principles. Why did this happen? Why am I feeling like this? Why can’t I solve this problem? Or a smaller one: why are people all doing this, buying this, behaving like this?

We are social animals that evolved by natural selection over millions of years.

Start there, and you will soon find a likely answer.