Humans are vastly more social than most other mammals. Neuroscientists point to the development of our social brain as key to the survival of our species; early humans survived by cooperating with each other in the rearing of children, by hunting in bands, by organizing night watches. A battery of research reveals that people still need people.
“Long long-lasting loneliness not only makes you sick; it can kill you,” writes The New Republic’s Judith Shulevitz in a cover story called “The Lethality of Loneliness.” She talks with us about some of the very real, and fatal psycho-biological consequences of social isolation.
