> This is the 21st century. Are we really still talking about "natural imperatives"?

People (and in particular their brains) have not evolved significantly for a very very long time.

A lot of modern unhappiness is caused by people doing things which they are socially expected to do but which go against their primal urges.

The feminist movement is perhaps the classic demonstration of this. Many women feel that they should go and get that high-powered job etc. due to social pressure, but I think many of them would be happier if they didn't.

This problem isn't limited to women, of course. Men also feel social pressures to behave in more cooperative and less ambitious/aggressive ways and this causes issues for them too.