“The better angel is a man right fair…” -William Shakespeare, Sonnet 144 (1599)   “So do the shadows of our own desires stand between us and our better angels, and thus their brightness is eclipsed”. -Charles Dickens in Barnaby Rudge, 1841 Imagining life before the Hydra: The Nole1 Exercise A time before the Hydra? In a previous blog post [chapter] I sketch out a history of the eight privileging forces represented by the heads of the Hydra. Based on anthropological and archeological evidence, I argue that if one goes back in human history far enough, back to pre-agricultural times, the Hydra is non existent and social life is largely characterized by a marked lack of socially structured inequalities. All the privileging forces are muted by an egalitarian ethos necessary for the survival of the group. Hunting and gathering life is not perfect, but all evidence indicates that beyond age and … Continue reading Imagining life before the Hydra: The Nole Exercise