Why, we are social animals, whose kids and elders can't survive alone. No surprise that there is appropriate machinery in the brain, or rather that machinery gives rise to what we call empathy, parental care, altruism, family and in-group bonds, etc.
Apart from that, other people are constant source of problems, distraction, annoyance, due to their narcissistic tendencies to assert themselves, to show off, to gain attention, to validate their inflated self-esteem, their extremely annoying primitive and rude attempts to manipulate, use, cheat, take advantage of others, etc. Truly "Hell is other people".
Moreover, they tend to validate everyone according to their artificial, biased socially constructed "norms", which leads to hegemony of mediocrity and much uglier things, like hunweibins and similar cancer-like social formations.
So, the balance is subtle - as long as we are dependent of each other for survival, which reflects each and every clan or tribal societies, we are OK. But since we have forsed to live in too much crowded, overpopulated, highly competitive urban areas of post-infustrialized societies, everything is doomed. The only thing Marx got right is alienation.)
Back to loneliness. Loneliness is a prerequisite for any intellectual or spiritual (which is an ancient word of intelligence) achievement. Less other people - less worries, less distractions, tension, noise, pressure, cruelty, violence. That's why everywhere in the world monasteries has walls and no academics work in Starbucks.
Loneliness should be understood as necessity, like privacy and embraced. Unless you are a brick in the wall, a living cell, a soldier or a drone.
Apart from that, other people are constant source of problems, distraction, annoyance, due to their narcissistic tendencies to assert themselves, to show off, to gain attention, to validate their inflated self-esteem, their extremely annoying primitive and rude attempts to manipulate, use, cheat, take advantage of others, etc. Truly "Hell is other people".
Moreover, they tend to validate everyone according to their artificial, biased socially constructed "norms", which leads to hegemony of mediocrity and much uglier things, like hunweibins and similar cancer-like social formations.
So, the balance is subtle - as long as we are dependent of each other for survival, which reflects each and every clan or tribal societies, we are OK. But since we have forsed to live in too much crowded, overpopulated, highly competitive urban areas of post-infustrialized societies, everything is doomed. The only thing Marx got right is alienation.)
Back to loneliness. Loneliness is a prerequisite for any intellectual or spiritual (which is an ancient word of intelligence) achievement. Less other people - less worries, less distractions, tension, noise, pressure, cruelty, violence. That's why everywhere in the world monasteries has walls and no academics work in Starbucks.
Loneliness should be understood as necessity, like privacy and embraced. Unless you are a brick in the wall, a living cell, a soldier or a drone.