What we need to survive is more than mere attention: we need care. But attention is a necessary precondition for care. In this way, we are creatures whose very survival depends on attention. We perish in neglect. As part of that inescapable inheritance, we will forever be invested in other people paying attention to us. We are creatures that pay attention to things in our environment, yes, but also to other people. In turn we seek their attention on us. There is a reason it is our name, and not some other keyword, that wrenches our attention toward that overheard conversation: We want to know
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