Can we really call ourselves an "evolved" species? (life, self)
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Supposedly we are an "evolved" species yet we consistently do things that go against that. We constantly kill/rape/take advantage of each other and yet we really think we are more evolved than dogs.
It's anthropocentric premise.
Dogs may consider us being totally backwards and barbaric.
Also, I have seen dogs do just exactly same. Including homosexual rape. I don't think, humans do anything much different from animals. Animals simply take it all as is and mindlessly, humans turn same actions into philosophical discussions.
To be "evolved", you would have to progress from one point to another. So the question is: where is the scale, how many points does it have and in reference to that, where are we on the scale?
No. Evolution does not have a goal, a direction, or a scale. Natural selection is a process that is driven entirely by one statistic: the characteristics of creatures more or less likely to cause one to survive long enough to reproduce. Evolution is not about quality of life, emotional well being, happiness, peace of mind, peace vs war, ennobling personality characteristics, or any other thing. And it is SLOW. It is unresponsive to rapid developments on the ground. It's no help to us really even on the scale of recorded history, much less our generation.
Evolution does not even "care" about survival of the fittest, as it does not constitute agency. It is simply an emergent property of biological activity, a description of a biological dynamic, an explanatory framework for how and why life tends to be pervasive and tenacious and diverse despite its relative complexity and vulnerability.
If we imagine evolution to "care" about anything it certainly should not be about things like beating swords into plowshares. Evolution would be "happy" if humanity's future were Borg-like, hive-mind, totalitarian and violent, so long as more of us would survive that way. It would be "happy" if humanity's destiny was to devolve into knuckle-dragging, mindlessly rutting beings, as red in tooth and claw as the rest of nature, so long as more of us would survive that way. Happily, that is not our trajectory, but not because evolution drives it that way. We have evolved as social creatures with a need for community, acceptance, approval, validation and safety. Evolution always acts upon what is already there. We cannot thrive subjectively in the absence of those things, and too much subjective angst and deprivation translates to poor biological survival. Now that we are self aware, evolution has to "act" within that constraint. Our destiny now is to either evolve in a direction that we consider "upward", or go extinct. And that is why we talk about "progress". But evolution isn't providing that impetus. WE are.
That is not far from the truth. More and more children are being born to parents who are less qualified to be parents, less physically and emotionally and intellectually healthy, and pass on their inferior genes to future generations. Positive evolution occurs in an environment in which the offspring are predominantly parented by those with the best survival skills, not the worst.
That is not new. For millennia, the strongest and healthiest males have been culled out shortly after adolescence, and before they can reproduce, they are sent off to be killed in war. However, that favors intelligence, because the most intelligent of boys figure out a way to dodge the draft -- then as now.
That is not far from the truth. More and more children are being born to parents who are less qualified to be parents, less physically and emotionally and intellectually healthy, and pass on their inferior genes to future generations. Positive evolution occurs in an environment in which the offspring are predominantly parented by those with the best survival skills, not the worst.
That is not new. For millennia, the strongest and healthiest males have been culled out shortly after adolescence, and before they can reproduce, they are sent off to be killed in war. However, that favors intelligence, because the most intelligent of boys figure out a way to dodge the draft -- then as now.
Another factor, too, is that we as a mass are becoming less resourceful and less skill-full, and technology has not helped us. Sure, we can find information easier on the net. But if the world was suddenly without power for a very period of time ~ or forever ~ then the ones who would know how to survive on basic resources would be those who still live on those skills. That would be indigenous people.
Supposedly we are an "evolved" species yet we consistently do things that go against that. We constantly kill/rape/take advantage of each other and yet we really think we are more evolved than dogs.
Supposedly we are an "evolved" species yet we consistently do things that go against that. We constantly kill/rape/take advantage of each other and yet we really think we are more evolved than dogs.
Assuming of course that one believes in evolution. I don't, and I think there is precious little evidence to show that evolution as generally accepted has taken place at all. Yes we may have changed within our species due to the effects of natural forces around us, but it would have taken something quite different to change us from something that crawled out of the sea to what we are now.
It's worth remembering that Darwin's theory is just a theory and a long way from being proven, as well as being contrary to Christian belief.
This is the situation as far as I understand it but I'm happy to be corrected.
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