summary of book "Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization" by Edward Slingerland (2021) "

Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization

"Drunk" by Edward Slingerland presents a fascinating paradox: if alcohol is so bad for us—impairing judgment, damaging health, and reducing productivity—why have humans been brewing and consuming it for at least 10,000 years? Slingerland, a professor of Asian studies and philosophy at the University of British Columbia, argues that intoxication has actually provided significant evolutionary and social benefits that help explain its persistence across virtually every human culture.

The Central Argument

Slingerland challenges the conventional view that alcohol consumption is purely a harmful evolutionary mismatch or "hijacking" of our brain's reward system. Instead, he proposes that getting drunk served important functions for our ancestors and continues to offer benefits today, albeit ones that come with serious costs in modern society.

Key Benefits of Intoxication

The book identifies several ways alcohol has been useful to human societies:

Creativity and Innovation: Alcohol temporarily dampens the prefrontal cortex, our brain's critical, logical center. This chemical lobotomy can actually enhance creative thinking by allowing more free-flowing, associative thought patterns. Many breakthrough ideas and innovations have emerged during or after drinking sessions.

Social Bonding: Perhaps most importantly, shared intoxication creates trust and strengthens social bonds. When people drink together, they become vulnerable together, signaling that they trust one another. This helped forge the tight-knit groups necessary for human survival and cooperation. The chemical changes in our brains while drinking make us more open, less guarded, and more willing to form connections.

Religious and Spiritual Experience: Throughout history, alcohol has facilitated altered states of consciousness that people interpret as spiritual or transcendent experiences. These shared experiences helped unify communities around common beliefs and practices.

Stress Relief: Alcohol provides genuine relief from anxiety and stress, helping people cope with life's difficulties. In moderation, this served as a valuable psychological release valve for our ancestors.

The Modern Dilemma

Slingerland doesn't advocate for heavy drinking. He acknowledges that alcohol causes tremendous harm: addiction, health problems, accidents, and social damage. The challenge is that while our ancestors drank weak beer or wine in communal settings, modern society offers cheap, potent alcohol available 24/7, consumed often in isolation. We're dealing with Stone Age brains confronting industrial-strength intoxicants.

Drawing on Multiple Disciplines

The book weaves together evidence from archaeology, anthropology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and history. Slingerland examines ancient brewing techniques, religious texts, psychological studies, and cross-cultural drinking practices to build his case. He discusses everything from Dionysian festivals in ancient Greece to modern laboratory experiments on creativity and trust.

The Conclusion

Slingerland suggests we need a more nuanced approach to alcohol. Rather than prohibition or unrestricted access, he advocates for understanding drinking's genuine benefits while managing its costs. He proposes we might learn from traditional drinking cultures that embedded alcohol use within social rituals and community contexts, rather than treating it as mere recreational consumption.

The book ultimately argues that our relationship with alcohol reveals something profound about human nature: we're deeply social creatures who sometimes need help loosening our psychological defenses, and for millennia, controlled intoxication has been one tool we've used to bind communities together, spark innovation, and make life more bearable.