Why are we all assuming that finding animals cute represents an evolved trait and isn’t, for instance, a freak consequence of all the books and cartoons we’re exposed to which anthropomorphize animals? (No points for guessing the other candidate for that etiology).
One argument for “evolved trait” is cross-cultural consistency. Thus, if just about every culture (past or present) finds rabbits cute, that’s some evidence that there’s something in our inherent neurological processes that applies the label / emotional reaction “cute” to things that look like rabbits.
And do we have evidence of cross cultural consistency? I mean you can take the modern world as pretty much a single culture. Has anyone asked isolated pygmy tribes if they find animals cute?
Why are we all assuming that finding animals cute represents an evolved trait and isn’t, for instance, a freak consequence of all the books and cartoons we’re exposed to which anthropomorphize animals? (No points for guessing the other candidate for that etiology).
One argument for “evolved trait” is cross-cultural consistency. Thus, if just about every culture (past or present) finds rabbits cute, that’s some evidence that there’s something in our inherent neurological processes that applies the label / emotional reaction “cute” to things that look like rabbits.
And do we have evidence of cross cultural consistency? I mean you can take the modern world as pretty much a single culture. Has anyone asked isolated pygmy tribes if they find animals cute?