I recently asked one of my science teachers this question and he did not know the answer. When you think about it from an evolutionary standpoint, there doesn’t seem to be an immediate answer; so why do we cry? If you are feeling a strong emotional response and tears start rolling down your cheeks, what is their role aside from providing a sense of catharsis? Is it something in the tears that somehow calms you down? Is it an ancient instinct that somehow protected us in the era of the caveman? I did some research into why we cry and I was shocked to find that no one really knows! Most of the articles I found seemed to admit this firsthand and then proceed to discuss some of the competing theories. So, even though there was no definitive conclusion, I think some of the options are definitely worth hearing.
1) Tears are a signal to the people around us – according to the article, Why Do We Cry? by Time Magazine, emotional tears have a higher protein content than those that are typically triggered to lubricate the eyes. This makes them fall down your face slower, and give more time for them to attract attention, thereby allowing more time for others to pick up on your emotional plight and come help you.
2) Tears are a symbol of weakness – another article, also called Why Do We Cry?, from The Independent, discussed the possibility that tears evolved as an indicator of submission to an attacker. Defusing the situation so as to avoid a physical or maybe emotional conflict.
3) Tears help soothe pain – livescience.com published an article also entitled Why Do We Cry?, which briefly mentions the fact that emotional tears have been found to contain natural hormone painkillers. It was unclear where these numbing chemicals target in the body, but the sheer fact that they are present in tears indicates that they have to do with the feeling of release after crying.
I am definitely shocked that there hasn’t been a clear cut answer to the question of why we cry. But the lack of knowledge in this area goes to show how much there is left to explore in the world of science! I’m sure that the correct answer lies somewhere in a mix of the possible options above and I will be anxiously awaiting the day when we figure out why we have evolved to cry.