Why do we yearn to share the company of others?

Question

Why do we seek and yearn to be with others, why do we need to share the company of other people?

From married couples and lovers to strangers and people we meet on the street we seek to be around, to be in the company or in the presence of other people. And while 'getting away from it all' and going somewhere totally remote can be pleasant, eventually everyone gets the same urge to find and share the company of other people.

So my question is, Why do we seek and even yearn for the company of others?

To be clear, I am not asking about biology, evolutionary science, physiology or evolutionary psychology : i.e., we are pack animals. Instead my question is directed more at the 'heart and soul', the emotional centre of our being. What is it that being around others fulfils on ourselves and why do we yearn for both romantic/intimate relationships and just friendships and acquaintances?

Please explain your answers if possible.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Superb question... indeed it is not merely a biological or evolutionary design that we seek company. There is more to it ........ there is our design and purpose here.

To put those other factors in one phrase... it is lack of self sufficiency. We are not able to have total self confidence or self esteem to be entirely content and satiated just with our own self. The lack of self confidence scares us when we are alone and that is one of the basic reasons we seek company... this however can lead to one wanting to be just among a crowd to feel safe and not necessarily to seek active communicative company.

It is the lack of total and absolute self-esteem that makes us seek emotional or communicative company........ we are all the time seeking approval, accord and appreciation from others.... we have ego to feel our importance, but we need to keep feeding it through others because our self-esteem is not absolute... if we have to be entirely on our own, we always end up having doubts.

The basic reason behind our inability to have either self-confidence or self esteem of any absolute or complete degree, lies in the irrefutable and unchangeable fact of uncertainty and the constancy of changes in this universe. In the wake of all pervading uncertainty, we are continuously trying to create small pockets of certainty around ourselves....... and the need for company is one of the ways we try creating such circles of certainty around us.

Answer 2

I don't yearn for company. I am probably considered a loner, if I have to be labeled. Most people, drain me. I'd be the one asking, Why don't more people like to be alone? I am content and find all kinds of things to do. There are bullies at work, and many dysfunctional relationships.

So to answer, I guess, some people want the company from others, to prevent being alone or fear of.

Answer 3

evolution, we survived by bonding together.

oh, no answers like that huh...

Well, we crave attention. We need someone around to help keep us sane, to know that we have those that will support us when we can't support ourselves.
To me, other people intrigue me. How did they become the Way they are and how well of friends can we become.
Other people are also entertaining. They provide us with socialization that will allow us feel we are part of something bigger. We want to share our thoughts with others and we seek knowledge that others have.
Also, most of us are raised into families. We have that need for closeness instilled into us from the very beginning. We live with our family, then we find friends that are like us and yearn to be close to them.

Answer 4

ok here ya go, I was out late at a drug store ran into 2 cute guys and we openly chatted to each other, and I joined their company, it fun to meet new people, as well as the experience of someone unknown is somewhat intruiqing, as is someone playful with a good personality.
Each is differnt ...acquaintaintences have some feeling/bond.
Marriage is totally Love.
Friends are special and needed to be happy.

Answer 5

I dunno...cus i don't yearn their company...but i'm thinking...what the heck...i have nothing to do anyway...might as well be accomodating to invites....good things might happen...who knows? if not well...free dinner and booze, and a chance to stroll around can't be so bad.

Answer 6

Our souls seem to be too greedy with positive energy from others, we must teach ourselves to be able to exist in solitude, or replace that energy with the energy from nature, like Thoreau. We must be wary of relationships and emotions, because the eminently lead you to unhappiness, trust in your reason.

Answer 7

Very simply put..... The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
In other words we are all created to desire relationships because, it is not good to be lonely. That is why man and woman were both created.

Answer 8

it is our innate most magnificant ability to love, love is what seperates us from animals, etc. in order to experience love beyond our family, we must have relationships in order to resolve our inner desire to love and be loved at the highest level. this is why many people serial date, they are simply looking for the one person whom will love them beyond all understanding. no one admits it freely, however, we all in some way desire to be loved.

Answer 9

I think it has alot do with us, learning from the others around us, they stimulate our minds with the conversations you have with them that keep us interested in being surrounded by them.