Ackerman's description of the Ik in A Natural History of Love is chilling: "After only three generations of drought and starvation, the Ik became hostile, selfish, mean. They had abandoned love along with other so-called virtues because they could not afford them. It was simple economics." And even after the drought had ended the Ik were incapable of regaining emotion... I don't want to believe that it is possible to lose the ability to feel emotions and love.
I have no evidence for the following claim, but I want to think that it is more a case of losing the ability to express emotion than a case of actually losing emotion itself. In her assessment of the tribe, Ackerman mentions that when they made eye contact with each other they would look away in embarrassment. Embarrassment is an emotion. I think that this instinct is a subtle indication of the emotions that are being stifled inside. Somewhere buried deep inside I would like to think that the Ik still feel emotions.
But maybe I just look for the best in people.
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