The basis of a sort of Unified Theory of what makes people do what they do - in Western society, anyway - to keep appreciation coming, the other day. At least that's what the self-praising part of my persona is hoping for. *-)

My basis is a sort of cap on an established basis, formulated by Riemann in his Basics of Anxiety from over half a century ago. There are basically 4 challenges ("Forderungen") that people experience, and they can be visualised as a 2-dimensional field governed by the following axes:

    Change (freedom / explorative drive)
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Closeness ---------+----------- Distance
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Stability (set boundaries, e.g. me vs. you)

So, basically we desire closeness to be less alone, but seek distance when being near others causes too many constraints on one's life; or we seek stability for its reassurance that life will proceed in a plannable way, but at other times seek change to escape boredom or perceived imprisonment by society.

Now here comes the Unified Theory, that dropped in my head last weekend: What drives us most of all is the need for love. (Hey, the Beatles got it, long ago! Let it be!) And loneliness or just aloneness often means lovelessness, at least here in the o so civilised Western world.

I axiomise that humans notice this, probably subconsciously, all their lives - from the built-in togetherness of children and their parents/siblings, to the societal coercion of having to be in a stable relationship, to the ever-older good-lookers beyond middle age, to the dark, quiet corners of old age, where people are often increasingly alone. Being not always sapient animals, we also - beyond childhood - equate love with sex, and our own capacity to have sex (am I slim/interesting/strong enough?). And in the "good-lookers" phase mentioned above, at around about my age, you get to see much heatedness among peers - & probably they see it in you - of the "final" surge to catch as much "love" as one can get.

I hypothesize that you can overlay the above diagram with a big sideways tear, dropping in from the East: c> -- Inside this tear area we are likely to be loved; outside it we are preparing for the darker end of the life tunnel, of which we are often at least as afraid as of death, I posit. And with time the tear tends to dry up, the "volume" of love decreasing - for most people.

Ergo: We need to become more loving as a society. And as a truly wise species. So says me...

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A brief word on vonderfull Bavaria, Germany's southernmost federal state, and its long but unfortunately sure progression into a retrograde police state, increasingly similar to South Africa during the apartheid years. An interview in the current STERN magazine (#20, theme "German police") lays out how far (down!) the now* approved new law goes - what stands out for me is that police now have interminable power of detainment for people suspected (!) of misdeeds (probably in a terrorist or "similar" vein, but who knows - who categorises?)! All that separates this from the bad S. African example of yesteryear is that a judge has to agree. For the moment.

Butt Shermany iss de most civilised cowntry in de world, ja!?