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Christopher Halliwell

Secondary Education Physics, Mississippi State University

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What is the advantage of evolving the ability to cry?

Is it simply a result of evolving the ability for complex emotions?

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  • William Seitz

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    Mar 15 2013: Another question is what is the evolutionary advantage of smiling? We evolved the ability to communicate and to feel empathy because cooperation is useful in order for survival and in order to help our genes (family) survive. Smiling, laughing, crying are ways we communicate emotional states and tie in with our ability to feel empathy for each other. All three can be described as "contagious" because of our ability to experience empathy. Something interesting is that dogs have developed human empathy by co-evolving with us where as cats are just plotting to eat us when we die...

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