Post by lvenegas9 on Oct 6, 2016 4:03:43 GMT
Why is the theory of evolution so important in understanding how human beings behave?
The theory of evolution might help explain the reason behind a person’s appearance such as eye color, height, skin tone and so on. But it can also help explain the reason behind an individual’s behavior. Human behavior might be explained by the challenges the human race has endured for thousands of years. Charles Darwin explains the theory of evolution by Natural selection in the video Evolution Explained in Four Minute as, “If variations to any organic being do occur, assuredly individuals thus characterized will have the best chance of being preserved in the struggle for life and from the strong principle of inheritance, they will tend to produce offspring similarly characterized. This principle of preservation, I have called for the sake of brevity, Natural Selection”. It is possible that human behavior might have been a variation that has helped the human race survive. In the book Darwin 101, it states “Many animals adapt their behavior to the challenges they face either under natural conditions or in laboratory experiment.”(Page 191). By studying the different behaviors that humanity has circulated throughout our evolution, we might achieve a better understanding of why humans behave the way they do. This might also help explain how humans achieved consciousness. What kinds of challenges did man endure in order for them to acquire the variations needed in order to evolve a consciousness? Also stated in Darwin 101, “For conscious animals enjoy the advantage of being able to think about alternative actions and select behavior they believe will get them what they want or help them avoid what they dislike or fear”(Page 192). This might be the reason man became the dominant species on planet earth. The ability to reason and make alternate choices will always give us the advantage over other species.
2. Which questions do you think evolutionary theory cannot answer? Be sure to support your answers with references to the required readings and films.
The origin of human consciousness is one question that the theory of evolution cannot answer. Alfred Russel Wallace was one of the founders of Natural Selection in the Theory of Evolution; however he did not believe that Natural Selection gave rise to human consciousness. In the book Evolutionary Limits, it states “Even though Wallace was a strong advocate of the persuasive power behind natural selection, he felt that human consciousness specifically was of such a high order of organization (and apparently unlike anything else arising in nature by physical and natural processes) that natural selection was insufficient to explain it”(page 9). Wallace did not believe that a single cell organism can evolve enough to develop a consciousness from no consciousness. He believed that it was too complex for an organism to develop such a significant attribute. Also in the book Evolutionary Limits, Wallace states “I maintain . . . that man is descended from a lower animal form, but I adduce facts which go to prove that some other law or power than Natural Selection has specially modified him. If Darwin is not anti-Darwinian in admitting, as he does, the possibility that animals and plants may not have had a common ancestor, I may surely deny that I am anti-Darwinian when I show that there are certain phenomena in the case of man that cannot be wholly explained by Natural Selection”(page 11). Wallace believed that there had to be some kind of external impact on humans other than evolution in order for consciousness to develop in humans. Perhaps by studying evolution in our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, we might attain a better understanding of where humans attained consciousness from.
The theory of evolution might help explain the reason behind a person’s appearance such as eye color, height, skin tone and so on. But it can also help explain the reason behind an individual’s behavior. Human behavior might be explained by the challenges the human race has endured for thousands of years. Charles Darwin explains the theory of evolution by Natural selection in the video Evolution Explained in Four Minute as, “If variations to any organic being do occur, assuredly individuals thus characterized will have the best chance of being preserved in the struggle for life and from the strong principle of inheritance, they will tend to produce offspring similarly characterized. This principle of preservation, I have called for the sake of brevity, Natural Selection”. It is possible that human behavior might have been a variation that has helped the human race survive. In the book Darwin 101, it states “Many animals adapt their behavior to the challenges they face either under natural conditions or in laboratory experiment.”(Page 191). By studying the different behaviors that humanity has circulated throughout our evolution, we might achieve a better understanding of why humans behave the way they do. This might also help explain how humans achieved consciousness. What kinds of challenges did man endure in order for them to acquire the variations needed in order to evolve a consciousness? Also stated in Darwin 101, “For conscious animals enjoy the advantage of being able to think about alternative actions and select behavior they believe will get them what they want or help them avoid what they dislike or fear”(Page 192). This might be the reason man became the dominant species on planet earth. The ability to reason and make alternate choices will always give us the advantage over other species.
2. Which questions do you think evolutionary theory cannot answer? Be sure to support your answers with references to the required readings and films.
The origin of human consciousness is one question that the theory of evolution cannot answer. Alfred Russel Wallace was one of the founders of Natural Selection in the Theory of Evolution; however he did not believe that Natural Selection gave rise to human consciousness. In the book Evolutionary Limits, it states “Even though Wallace was a strong advocate of the persuasive power behind natural selection, he felt that human consciousness specifically was of such a high order of organization (and apparently unlike anything else arising in nature by physical and natural processes) that natural selection was insufficient to explain it”(page 9). Wallace did not believe that a single cell organism can evolve enough to develop a consciousness from no consciousness. He believed that it was too complex for an organism to develop such a significant attribute. Also in the book Evolutionary Limits, Wallace states “I maintain . . . that man is descended from a lower animal form, but I adduce facts which go to prove that some other law or power than Natural Selection has specially modified him. If Darwin is not anti-Darwinian in admitting, as he does, the possibility that animals and plants may not have had a common ancestor, I may surely deny that I am anti-Darwinian when I show that there are certain phenomena in the case of man that cannot be wholly explained by Natural Selection”(page 11). Wallace believed that there had to be some kind of external impact on humans other than evolution in order for consciousness to develop in humans. Perhaps by studying evolution in our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, we might attain a better understanding of where humans attained consciousness from.