Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to human evolution

Re: human evolution
Fox — (archived)

I have a couple of minor problems with that:

First of all, evolution (human or otherwise) has no direction. "Survive to breed; breed to survive" - that's it. The whole concept of "the fittest", (Darwin himself regretted using the phrase) is defined as "surviving to procreate". There is no meta-genome directing long term "improvement", what ever that might be, in a species, let alone a phylum or clade. There are constraints imposed from within by ontogeny and from without by environmental pressures; beyond those unconscious guiding forces, viable genetic variation is directionless. As far as we are able to know, the only place a future with attainable goals exists is in the minds of humans.

Second (less scientific, more teleological): H. sap has been able to make its medical advances because of the brain it evolved. Why is it (I wonder) that when natural selection of the human species is discussed, the abilities of humans to enhance their survival is regarded as 'unnatural', often in regretful tones? In other words:

If God hadn't meant Man to fly, why did She give him the brains and hands to invent aircraft?

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (42 posts)