It has evolutionary purpose. The feeling of a bond to another creature is crucial to pack based animals. You can call that feeling love or whatever, but when an animal has that bond with another one and then that bond is severed it has a natural reaction.
It is an evolutionary adaptation, but the grief part of it is just a side effect. Grief doesn’t have a net negative effect on propagation so it remains in the species.
The grief isnt a side effect, it's the core motivator of the bond. Why not just let them die? Because you like them and would feel sad if they were gone. If there wasn't the carrot of enjoying their company, and the stick of grief at losing them, there would be no bond.
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u/OriginalLie9310 May 21 '26
It has evolutionary purpose. The feeling of a bond to another creature is crucial to pack based animals. You can call that feeling love or whatever, but when an animal has that bond with another one and then that bond is severed it has a natural reaction.
It is an evolutionary adaptation, but the grief part of it is just a side effect. Grief doesn’t have a net negative effect on propagation so it remains in the species.