The Evolution of the Human

8/9/2019 The Evolution of the Human

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The Evolution of the HumanThe universe is constructed from a multitude of various materials. It is dynamic in

form and shape due to a multitude of various processes and interactions between these

materials. To the human, however, in his need to establish his place and purpose in the

universe, the most important material is biological and the most important process isevolution, far it is only here that the human can learn to understand himself, an

understanding that is vital to his survival.

Wise men, psychologists, philosophers and theologians have surmised and conjectured

about the human over the centuries, and still do, but the truth about the human may

be found only through factual knowledge. That factual knowledge lies in a process

called evolution. The human is what evolution made him.

And now a battle rages between science and religion. It is called:

Darwin vs Intelligent Designclick for a discussion then return for the detail

Did you know that human morality may be determined through study

of evolution, the process that formed the human?

A Basis for Moralityclick here to see the connection

HOMO HABILIS

The first Homo

2.2-1.6 million years ago

This magnificent re-creationis by Professor Grover

Krantz

MMARY OF FINDINGSCKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

STORY OF MAN

STORY OF MAN - AN EXPANSIONE NEANDERTAL

OW EVOLUTION WORKS

STINCT AND INTELLIGENCE


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E EVOLUTION OF THE BRAIN

NCLUSIONS

FERENCES

Summary of Findings

n has been a tribal animal since he first walked erect, more than four million years ago. With the impedimentbeing bipedal, he could not out-climb or outrun his predators. Only through tribal cooperation could he hold

predators at bay.

two million years, the early hominid was a herd/tribal animal, primarily a herd herbivore. During the next two

lion years the human was a tribal hunter/warrior. He still is. All of the human's social drives developed longore he developed intellectually. They are, therefore, instinctive. Such instincts as mother-love, compassion,

peration, curiosity, inventiveness and competitiveness are ancient and embedded in the human. They were all

essary for the survival of the human and pre-human. Since human social drives are instinctive (notllectual), they can not be modified through education (presentation of knowledge for future assimilation and). As with all other higher order animals, however, proper behavior may be obtained through training (edict

explanation followed by enforcement).

e intellect, the magnitude of which separates the human from all other animals, developed slowly over there four million years or more of the human development. The intellect is not unique to the human, it is quite

l developed in a number of the other higher animals. The intellect developed as a control over instincts tovide adaptable behavior. The human is designed by nature (evolution) to modify any behavior that would

mally be instinctive to one that would provide optimum benefit (survivability). This process is called self-trol or self-discipline, and is the major difference between the human and the lower order animals, those that

ly only instinct to their behavioral decisions. Self-discipline, therefore, is the measuring stick of the human.e more disciplined behavior (behavior determined by intellect) displayed by the individual, the more human he

omes. The less disciplined behavior (behavior in response to instinct) displayed by an individual, the more heomes like the lower order animals that are lacking in intellect and are driven by their instincts.

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Background and Introduction

e direct lineage from the ancestor of both man and the modern apes to modern man is not known. Evidence isreasing. Thousands of relics fit the general pattern.

e word hominidae is used to describe the total member species of the human family that have lived since the


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common ancestor of both man and the apes. A hominidis an individual species within that family. The field

cience which studies the human fossil record is known as paleoanthropology. It is the intersection of theciplines of paleontology (the study of ancient life forms) and anthropology (the study of humans). Each

minid name consists of a genus name (e.g.Australopithecus, Homo) which is always capitalized, and a speciesme (e.g. africanus, erectus) which is always in lower case.

me controversy exists on the time of this common ancestor to both ape and human, but it is believed to be

ut 5.5 million years ago. A key fossil record near that time is Ramapithecus, which was believed to be any hominid for many years, but is now considered an ancient ape that lived near the fork in our common

age. Ramapithecus is now thought to be an ancestor of the modern apes.

m a genome viewpoint, the difference between modern man and the modern apes is quite small, about 2

cent. From a physical viewpoint, the greatest difference is in locomotion. The human walks upright. It iserally thought that this came about when the ancient hominid adopted the edge of the forest and plain and

pted to a life under the trees as opposed to in them. Fossil evidence shows that this bipedal adaptation wasmpleted quite early, perhaps as early as four million years ago, long before we looked like or thought like we

today. Facial feature changes toward the modern appearance came much later. The facial characteristics ofdern man are about 100,000 years old. The faces of earlier hominid were much more apelike.

ntroversy exists over whether brain size alone shows intellectual ability, but our only measure of intellectual

wth in the hominid record is brain size. The fossil evidence, except for one notable blip, shows a steadywth in brain size. This can be misleading due to the different sizes of the people. Early man (with perhaps

ee exceptions) was quite small and the males were much larger than the females.

m a cultural viewpoint, modern man and the other apes are quite similar in some respects. Sexual practices ofdern humans are quite similar to the chimpanzee (although stoutly denied by some), but with far more

mosexual activity. Although homosexual play is common among the apes, a totally homosexual ape is rare. It

stimated that about 10% of the human population is so oriented.

e modern human's trend toward family dissolution places the human only a few percentage points from that ofchimp. In fact, unlike man, a gorilla male must be physically driven away and held at bay before he will leave

family. A great ape will rarely kill another member of the same species. On the other hand, music and art areuliarities of the human and have no counterpart in any ape society.

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History of Man

SPECIES TIME PERIOD

Ardipithicus ramidus 5 to 4 million years ago


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Australopithecus anamensis 4.2 to 3.9 million years ago

Australopithecus afarensis 4 to 2.7 million years ago

Australopithecus africanus 3 to 2 million years ago

Australopithecus robustus 2.2 to 1.6 million years ago

Homo habilis 2.2 to 1.6 million years ago

Homo erectus 2.0 to 0.4 million years ago

Homo sapiens archaic 400 to 200 thousand years ago

Homo sapiens neandertalensis 200 to 30 thousand years ago

Homo sapiens sapiens 200 thousand years ago to present

e times of existence of the various hominid shown in the chart above are based on dated fossil remains. Each

cies may have existed earlier and/or later than shown, but fossil proof has not been discovered yet. There iso dispute concerning many overlapping species, for example, the overlap between Homo habilis and Homo

ctus. It could well be that the two are continuing examples of the same species. The same dispute exists withmo erectus, Homo sapiens archaic and homo sapiens sapiens. If all species have been discovered and the

age of man lies within them, the most probable lineage would include all but the robust Australopithecinesthe neandertal.

e following chronology is abbreviated:

e earliest fossil hominid, Ardipithecus ramidus, is a recent discovery. It is dated at 4.4 million years ago. Themains are incomplete but enough is available to suggest it was bipedal and about 4 feet tall. Other fossils were

nd with the ramidus fossil which would suggest that ramidus was a forest dweller. A new skeleton wasently discovered which is about 45% complete. It is now being studied.

ew species, Australopithecus anamensis, was named in 1995. It was found in Allia Bay in Kenya.

amensis lived between 4.2 and 3.9 million years ago. Its body showed advanced bipedal features, but the skullsely resembled the ancient apes.

stralopithecus afarensis lived between 3.9 and 3.0 million years ago. It retained the apelike face with a

ping forehead, a distinct ridge over the eyes, flat nose and a chinless lower jaw. It had a brain capacity of aboutcc. It was between 3'6" and 5' tall. It was fully bipedal and the thickness of its bones showed that it was quite

ng. Its build (ratio of weight to height) was about the same as the modern human but its head and face wereportionately much larger. This larger head with powerful jaws is a feature of all species prior to Homo

iens sapiens.

stralopithecus africanus was quite similar to afarensis and lived between three and two million years ago. It

also bipedal, but was slightly larger in body size. Its brain size was also slightly larger, ranging up to 500 cc.e brain was not advanced enough for speech. The molars were a little larger than in afarensis and much larger

n modern human. This hominid was a herbivore and ate tough, hard to chew, plants. The shape of the jaw wasw like the human.

stralopithecus aethiopicus lived between 2.6 and 2.3 million years ago. This species is probably an ancestor


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he robustus and boisei. This hominid ate a rough and hard to chew diet. He had huge molars and jaws and a

ge sagittal crest. A sagittal crest is a bony ridge on the skull extending from the forehead to the back of thed. Massive chewing muscles were anchored to this crest. See the opening picture of an early Homo habilis for

example. Brain sizes were still about 500cc, with no indication of speech functions.

stralopithecus robustus lived between two and 1.5 million years ago. It had a body similar to that oficanus, but a larger and more massive skull and teeth. Its huge face was flat and with no forehead. It had large

w ridges and a sagittal crest. Brain size was up to 525cc with no indication of speech capability.

stralopithecus boisei lived between 2.1 and 1.1 million years ago. It was quite similar to robustus, but witheven more massive face. It had huge molars, the larger measuring 0.9 inches across. The brain size was aboutsame as robustus. Some authorities believe that robustus and boisei are variants of the same species.

mo habilis was called the handy man because tools were found with his fossil remains. This species existed

ween 2.4 and 1.5 million years ago. The brain size in earlier fossil specimens was about 500cc but rose tocc toward the end of the species life period. The species brain shape shows evidence that some speech had

eloped. Habilis was about 5' tall and weighed about 100 pounds. Some scientists believe that habilis is not aarate species and should be carried either as a laterAustralopithecine or an early Homo erectus. It is possible

early examples are in one species group and later examples in the other.

mo erectus lived between 1.8 million and 300,000 years ago. It was a successful species for a million and af years. Early examples had a 900cc brain size on the average. The brain grew steadily during its reign.

ward the end its brain was almost the same size as modern man, at about 1200cc. The species definitely hadech. Erectus developed tools, weapons and fire and learned to cook his food. He traveled out of Africa into

na and Southeast Asia and developed clothing for northern climates. He turned to hunting for his food. Onlyhead and face differed from modern man. Like habilis, the face had massive jaws with huge molars, no chin,

k brow ridges, and a long low skull. Though proportioned the same, he was sturdier in build and much

nger than the modern human.

mo sapiens (archaic) provides the bridge between erectus and Homo sapiens sapiens during the period,000 to 500,000 years ago. Many skulls have been found with features intermediate between the two. Brain

raged about 1200cc and speech was indicated. Skulls are more rounded and with smaller features. Molars andw ridges are smaller. The skeleton shows a stronger build than modern human but was well proportioned.

mo sapiens neandertalensis lived in Europe and the Mideast between 150,000 and 35,000 years ago.

andertals coexisted with H.sapiens (archaic) and early H.sapiens sapiens. It is not known whether he was ofsame species and disappeared into the H.sapiens sapiens gene pool or he may have been crowded out of

stence (killed off) by the H.sapien sapien. Recent DNA studies have indicated that the neandertal was an

rely different species and did not merge into the H. sapiens sapiens gene pool. Brain sizes averaged largern modern man at about 1450cc but the head was shaped differently, being longer and lower than modern man.nose was large and was different from modern man in structure. He was a massive man at about 5'6" tall with

extremely heavy skeleton that showed attachments for massive muscles. He was far stronger than modernn. His jaw was massive and he had a receding forehead, like erectus.

mo sapiens sapiens first appeared about 120,000 years ago. Modern humans have an average brain size of

ut 1350 cc.


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History of Man - an Expansion

s section is a narrative based on the physical evidence in the introduction above. It is speculative, but it iseved that any reasonable alternative would lead to the same conclusions. The author solicits other opinions.

olution appears to work in bursts of activity. A species may survive for a very long time, even millions of

rs, with relatively little change, then suddenly, seemingly overnight, a variant species springs from it. Severalh cases are evident among the hominid. When populations are large, species drift is very slow, regardless of

cies. Evolution works best when a small population of a species becomes isolated and faced suddenly with

w hazards. The environment provides early and quick death to quickly weed out deleterious mutations and theall population provides a small gene pool across which helpful mutations may quickly spread.

s is the manner in which the first hominid, the walking ape, appeared. Although no one knows whatcifically happened or where, a small pocket of primates were somehow isolated in an area where there were no

(the main primate predator) and the food supply was short, perhaps even dwindling.

warmer and wetter times, huge forests abounded across Africa. Both the ancient primates and felines were

espread. Then the climate changed. Forests dwindled. Patches of forests became isolated, causing animalrchange to become quite difficult. In most such patches, both primate and feline survived. The shortage of

d, perhaps growing worse daily, drove some of the primates to the forest floor in search of food. There they

ame food for the cats. Life was too grim and short for a new ground dwelling primate species to develop.

somewhere there was an unusual valley, one completely isolated from all the others, and something there

minated the cat. Perhaps it was a disease. Perhaps it was a famine of all animal life, with the sole animalvivor being the primate. There must always be a large numerical ratio between food supply and predator.

haps it was a small valley, too small to support a large enough cat gene pool for the cat survival, but largeugh to support bare primate survival. Or, more likely, the small valley was over-harvested by the cats to the

nt that only the primates, safe high in the trees, survived, and the cat was starved out of existence. The primatehat valley was then able to spread safely to the forest floor. The walking ape was born. The original primate

cies still ruled the forest canopy, while this new species, in the absence of felines, was dominant on the forestor.

en the climate changed, reopening the valley for the transit of both primate and feline. The tree-top primate

oined his fellows and their gene pools blended. The feline was re-introduced to the valley. The bipedal ape onforest floor was introduced to his new predator. If that introduction had been sudden, the bipedal ape could

have survived. Perhaps there were other valleys in which that actually happened. Luckily, in this one, it wasw, and the walking ape had time to adjust to his new danger. He formed defensive groups and developed

ensive strategies.


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at first hominid was Ardipithecus Ramidus. He lived on the forest floor. His close cousin, the primeval ape

mapithecus, lived overhead. Ramidus had become a herbivore. Ramapithecus was an omnivore. Ramidusfeet on one end. Ramapithecus had hands on both ends. They were about the same size and had about the

me intelligence. When the predator came, Ramapithecus escaped into the trees. With four hands he could outmb even the ancient leopard. In spite of the leopard, ramidus had to stay in the forest, being on the open plains

certain death. He was neither fast enough nor strong enough to handle the big plains' cats. While in the forest,midus could at least jump into a tree and escape the big ground cats, but he was still easy prey for the leopard.

e death rate, especially among the children, was high. A pregnant woman had no chance at all. Something hadhange. Ramidus learned how to cooperate in defense and he learned how to use a club. His culture became

re restricted and structured.

e idea of a club was not new. Modern chimps will use one to beat on the ground in trying to drive off anrloper. The chimp does not need to learn how to use one well because he can always take to the high trees.

mps will even cooperate in driving off interlopers by jumping up and down and screaming. They do not needearn how to cooperate in fighting. They can always take to the trees. Ramidus did not have that choice.

midus now had two things that kept him out of the trees in times of danger: his feet and the club. When thepard came, he had no chance without the club whether he met the cat on the ground or in the tree. Climbing a

in a hurry with two feet that cannot grasp anything and a club in one hand while trying to escape from a bigwould be an exciting experience. His women and children had no chance at all without his protection on the

und. Ramidus learned to get shoulder to shoulder with his friends, club at the ready, in front of the womenchildren, and stand his ground, no matter what the animal was. Now he did not have to live under the trees.

could live anywhere he pleased. They moved out on the plains.

anwhile, ramidus was also having deep trouble trying to make a living. He was a herbivore, the available food coarse and hard to chew and his chewing apparatus had been designed to fit the needs of an omnivore who

much fruit. The women, especially, were having real problems in caring for the children while foraging. The

style was brutal, and the death rate was high. Evolution loves a high death rate.

olution had few options. Ramidus could not return to the jungle. He was built wrong. He was structurally too

w to convert to a plain's predator. Besides, he was primarily a vegetarian and did not have the physicalipment to tear meat off his prey. Birth rate increases would require major physical changes. Only cultural

nges were available. The women needed more time to take care of the children and the children would fareer if they did not need to be out on the plains. The males needed to take more of the burden. The tribe needed

fe haven for the women and children, preferably one with some protection from the weather. The old menld stand guard and the young ones could take their clubs with them and forage. Since they were bipedal, they

two arms to haul the food back to camp.

the time Australopithecus afarensis appeared, some structural improvements had been made. His head wasportionately larger with a much improved eating apparatus, with molars that were much larger. The size of theine teeth had diminished (evolution diminishes things not needed). His jaw was heavier and had huge chewing

scles attached. The male was also a little taller and heavier and the female was smaller because of theirfering roles. A slight brain size increase provided improved social interaction. With the following

stralopithecus africanus, they survived, in balance with nature, for almost two million years. Still, life wasrt, child mortality high, and hardship was constant. Evolution had honed the species to fit the environment and

now in balance. The people were tough, hard-working and resilient. Man had joined the other plains' animals


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balance with nature that appeared stable (not fun, but at least survivable). Many other plain's animals had also

ched a stability in their evolution, one that exists to this day. If something had not happened to upset thisance, man would still be there today, mingling with the gnus and wildebeests.

eral things happened to spur further development. With their stronger culture, they could survive the plains

er than the other herd herbivores. Their population grew. Competition was high for food. Other speciesnched off: Australopithecus aethipicus came first, followed by robustus and boisei. These were bigger and

gher competitors for the same food supply.

mewhere along in that last million years of the reign ofafricanus, someone sharpened a stick, perhaps to usedig roots, and discovered that a spear was a much more effective weapon for some uses than a club. A club is ad defensive weapon. When a club is used against an animal other than man, it is immediately available for

ther swing. It is not too good against another man. He will usually grab it on the way in and the advantage is. The aim of a club is usually to discourage, not to kill, and it is more effective against an animal than a man.

pear is an offensive weapon. It has only one purpose: to kill. Still, though skill is present in its use, it oftenks in the adversary and is torn from the hands when the adversary twists away. Looking bare-handed into the

of a tiger with an out-of-reach spear sticking out of his shoulder is not healthy. The tiger gets down righttated under such circumstances. Smacking him up side the head with a club, on the other hand, leaves the

ender still armed. The spear works best in sneak attacks. Stalk and kill is spear territory. A few good men,rking as a hunter-killer team, could now hunt and kill any animal on the plains, including other men.

e became even more precarious, the favorite working ground for evolution. The greatest dangers that man now

ed were other men. When man goes against man, and the weapons are the same, cunning is usually theiding factor. A spear is a great equalizer in size, so growing bigger was not as effective as a survival move as

wing smarter. Unfortunately, becoming more vicious was also effective. The docile hominid cow of the plainsame a warrior. His culture was now much more complex, one that needed careful planning and leadership.

s required intelligence and language.

mo habilis was the transition man. Starting with a 500cc brain, it grew to a respectable 800cc. Habiliseloped from a brutish and dim-witted herd animal to a competent man. The Broca's area in his brain became

eloped showing the existence of a workable vocabulary. He invented the use of fire for cooking, warmth andping wild animals at bay. He invented the stone axe. He also may have eliminated the last of that big tough

ustus and boisei bunch. For some reason they disappeared about that time. For sure there was no one else onplains who could have done them in.

en, about 1.8 million years ago, Homo erectus came: mighty warrior, skilled hunter, inventor, far-ging explorer and king of all he surveyed. The size of a modern human and standing as straight, he

eloped a 1250cc brain, very close to modern man. Along the way he developed many new tools and weapons,

ented clothing, and traveled out of Africa, the first hominid to do so. He went across southeast Asia, intothern China and south to Java. He was now an omnivore who ate mostly meat, both animals and fish. Heked his food. Evolution had noted the softer food, and degraded his magnificent chewing apparatus. By the

of his reign, his molars and jaw had shrunk to almost that of modern man.

e culmination of man's evolution was Homo sapiens (archaic). It has been down hill ever since. He cameut 300,000 years ago, straight and tall, muscular, hardened and practical, with almost a full size brain, the

ult of four million years of evolution. Humankind was now a veteran of millions of deaths and countless


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dships, with a population so small that mutations spread rapidly. His gene pool had little variability. Natural

ection (death and misery) had kept him pared. Only the strongest, the most cunning, and the most stubbornvived.

en came modern man, an anticlimax, about 120,000 years ago. From this point on his inventive mind would

ise method after method to ease his lot. He would remove his enemies without compassion. He would learn tolave other animals and even other men. He would greedily take from the world around him and from those

o were weaker. He would make his life easier, and evolution would degrade him to match.

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The Neandertal

ncluding this story without giving tribute to an enigma in our history would not be proper. The Homo sapiens

ndertalensis does not quite fit in our story. They probably came from far northern Europe, the descendants ofancient Homo erectus tribe, a tribe that had migrated to that region many hundreds of thousands of years

ore. They had many physical characteristics of the modern Eskimo, who is well tuned to arctic living. Theye stocky, almost massive, in build. The males were about 5'6" tall but they were much heavier and stronger

n modern man. They had the large pronounced cheeks usually associated with cold weather adaptation. Theyked as erectly as modern man. Their tools paralleled the coexisting Homo sapiens sapiens, but it is not


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wn who copied. Although lacking a forehead, they had brains that averaged 1450cc, about 8% larger than

dern man. They were the first to bury their dead, complete with flowers and artifacts. Were they cunningsts? Or were they gentle and intelligent people? And what happened to them? Were they of the same species

their genes disappeared into a much larger pool? Or, (the most likely) did they get in the way of the earlymo sapiens sapiens and were simply exterminated? Late evidence in a study of the DNA from fossil remains

m to indicate that the neandertal was not assimilated into the gene pool of modern man.

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How Evolution Works

tations are accidents in reproduction. The only place where such mutations can occur is in the production ofhaploid cells (cells with a single set of chromosomes) in the sperm and egg, or in the joining of the two inception. A reproduction accident anywhere else in the body will affect only the cell that suffers the accident.

h accidents will not be added into the gene pool and thus are not mutations. In such an accident, the sick celluickly replaced by a well one and the incident is over. Yet when such an accident occurs in the sperm or egg,

ill appear in every cell in the offspring. This mutation then has a 50% chance of occurring in each grandchild.he recipient of the mutation has several children, the odds are that the mutation will join the species gene pool

way of one or more of his children.

ural selection then determines the fate of the mutation in the species gene pool. The test is not survivability orellence. The test is in species population growth. If the mutation aids the growth of the species population then

successful and will remain in the gene pool. If it does not, natural selection will remove it from the gene poolough death and hardship).

e are a few examples concerning man and evolution to help gain understanding of the way evolution works.e effects shown are not necessarily caused by genetics, but evolution treats all conditions as if they were. Note

natural selection acts as if all genes are involved in the success or failure of the individual. Each case thatuces the expected offspring is considered a vote against each gene in the genome. Each case that equals or

eeds the expected offspring is considered a vote for each gene in the genome. The mixing of genes inombination allow individual allele selection over the long period of time.

ect1:The new gene shortens the life to 35 years. Natural selection would not see this defect as detrimental

ce the children will be old enough to fend for themselves by that time.

ect2:The parent has too many children. If so many children were born that the resulting death or misery rateuced the number of the children who had children, evolution would see this as detrimental. If society takes

e of his children for him they will be healthy enough to raise more children and evolution would judge thedition as beneficial

ect3: The parent does not take good care of his children. If society does not interfere by taking care of the


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dren for him, the suffering children are less likely to raise children of their own and evolution would judge

the condition is detrimental. If society cares for his children, evolution will judge the condition beneficial.

ect4:The new gene lengthens life to 150 years. Evolution will not see this change as beneficial. Neither will itlater mutations that degrade it as detrimental, until the life expectancy gets so low that it affects child bearing

raising.

ect5:The man is a murderer of children. His murder of someone else's children will affect the evaluation ofgenes of their parents adversely. If the murderer has sufficient children of his own, evolution will not see

thing detrimental in his lineage.

ect6:The man is cruel and vicious with his wife. As long as he does not kill her or otherwise render her unable

are for her children, evolution will see no harm. Even if he kills her and society takes over the raising of hisdren, evolution will still see no harm

ect7: The man dies of an accident before he has children. Natural selection will see this death as detrimental

ect8:A young lady decides not to marry and have children. Natural selection will see this as detrimental.

ect9:A man decides to adopt children instead of having his own. Natural selection will vote for the genes ofnatural parents of the children and vote against the adoptive parent's gene set.

reat difference clearly exists between the goals of evolution and those of a compassionate culture. We are

lt one way, but we want to be another way. Luckily there is a large overlap where both evolution and manire the same thing. Unfortunately, where we differ the choices are all quite painful

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Instinct and Intelligence

at is instinct? It is the driving force in the behavior of an organism and is directly determined by genetic code.ly single-cell organisms, billions of years ago, developed sensors to detect light and an instinct to swim toward

light. Others developed poison darts and sensors to tell when another organism was near. When their sensors

d that something was near, their instinct fired the darts to obtain a meal. With the development of sexualroduction, the instinct of sexual desire provided the drive for reproduction.

e northern pike is a fish in the lakes of northern North America. It is a predator. If one is placed in a tank of

er and a smaller fish tossed into the tank, the pike will quickly eat it. If two fish of equal size are tossed intopond, it will eat the closest one first. If the two fish are of unequal size but are placed in the tank equally far

m the pike, it will eat the largest first. If the larger one is farther away, it will still eat the larger one first up to aain distance differential. If the larger one is too far away, it will eat the small one first. It judges the relative


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ance of the two fish, juggles that with the size of the fish, then optimizes his chance for the most food. This is

ed reasoning. Yet the pike can be raised in isolation and it will still do this. This is called instinct. Theameters of the calculation are fixed in his genetic description.

e purple martin can fly beautifully, directly out of the box. Flying is not easy. It requires much skill, but the

ple martin chick does it the first time. Adult martins will make sure he practices awhile, that first time out, butknows how to do it. That is instinct. He is fix-wired to fly well, to a point. He usually falls right out of the tree,

first time he lands. If he tries to land on a pole, he will usually fall off or slide down. His genetic codepared him for flying, those parameters are fixed, but it did not directly prepare him for every possible landing

. It gave him memory and a landing formula for that. Watch that chick a week later and see a perfect landingry time. He has learned how to grab onto the standard surfaces. He has learned. He remembers what he has

ned and uses that knowledge to control his claws when he lands. That is reasoning. Yet he does not needther martin to teach him. That is instinct.

asoning of this type in man is indistinguishable to him from intellectual reasoning. The reasoning mechanismxed and is the same one used in both cases. The only difference in the process is that intellectual reasoning

ows a learned process (program) stored in a learning memory (RAM). The pike follows a process (program)ed in fixed memory (ROM). Most reasoning by man, which he considers to be intellectual, is not intellectual

ll. All cultural (emotional) interactive reasoning processes are of the fixed type, embedded eons ago. Moderna may be fed into these processes from memory or senses, but the process is instinctive. Anything involving

ther love or sex, for example, will be reasoned following ancient fixed processes.

the author's contention that there is no distinction between instinct and intelligence (which includes memoryreasoning) other than in size, relative proportions and complexity. They are dimensions of the same structure

are decreed by the coding in the DNA. Pure reasoning in the human is not only a myth but is impossible. Hishod of thinking, utilization of memory, and problem solving skills, are all fixed by his DNA, a DNA designed

an idiot. Man can conceive the idea of pure objective thought, but he is incapable of it. Man is a subjective

anism. Evolution took millions of years to make sure of it. He can talk about objectivity all he wants, he canlishly believe that he is being objective, but there is no way that he can remove himself from his own instinct-soning programming. Ancient instincts and modern intellect are seamlessly intertwined in his brain. The idea

pure objective thought is no more than another example of man's ability to conceive the perfect bird or animalp or the advantages of moving to another valley that he has not seen yet. Man cannot fly to the moon.

wever, he could conceive the idea and then build a machine that will take him there. He is not ashamed in thet of using the machine. Still, when he considers pure objective thought in dealing with personal things, such

his culture, his arrogance forces him to believe that he can 'fly to the moon' without any outside help. He willome quite irritated with suggestions to the contrary (the irritation alone illustrates the degree of his

ectivity). Similarly, there is no reason that man cannot build a machine (perhaps even an organic one) which isable of 'pure' reason. Only a machine designed for the purpose could be completely objective. His biggest

blem will be in defining 'pure' reason. Incidently, this is a machine that we should be working on now with ah priority. Think of it, intelligence without instincts. We need it badly. Elect one for president. Put a bunch

re on the bench.

e long term result of evolution is bare survival. If the organism is in distress, the higher death rate

moves survival impediments rapidly. An organism suffering a high mortality rate tends to become

onger to match its environment. If the organism is better than required, evolution will degrade it, again

tching the organism with the environment. A comfortable organism has a lower death rate and so does


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weed out detrimental characteristics as quickly. The result is a gradual degradation of function until

comfort is removed.

w back to the pike and the martin, with that in mind:

he pike is successful in his environment, he will not develop any further intelligence. He does not need it. Ituld be of no value to him. If the environment becomes harsher, he will either develop offsetting ability or

sh. Still, what is the most likely change? He already knows how to hunt. He does not have a hand to hold aapon and has no need to understand Shakespeare. Bigger teeth, a sleeker body for speed, or a quicker reaction

e would solve his problem far better and quicker than a higher IQ. Look at a pike. He has been gaining thoseures for millions of years. Pound for pound there is not a better killing machine on earth (well, maybe with

n as an exception).

e martin is in the same fix. He is born flying. It does not take long, even with a low IQ, to learn how to fly with

r mouth open and scoop up insects. Only if his environment changed would he need to learn something new.haps a more agile flying style, a different territory, a bigger mouth, or more broods each year would solve the

blem better and quicker than a higher IQ. If he should have a mutation that gave him a higher IQ, what wouldhe value? What would he use it for? If the new-found intelligence is not required, it would not last long.

olution quickly removes unused features. Most animals fit this pattern.

y did man develop the large brain? Why did the other primates not do so? The answer, of course is in histicular environment, how well he matched it, and what the evolutionary alternatives were. His upright posture

both a blessing and a curse. He found himself standing upright on the ground. He could not outrun or out-ht his predators. It would take massive changes in his physical structure to improve the situation. Evolution

ally works in an incremental fashion. Mutations occurred to his entire body and brain. Small changes to hisy did bring about some physical changes. He developed stronger and better shaped eating tools. Still, his

gest problem was the predators, big fast cats and the men in the next tribe. Incremental physical changes did

help that problem one whit. Yet every time the brain grew incrementally (mutations that affected brain size),d things happened. He not only was able to handle his predator problem better, but his cultural life improved.h the free arms and hands to carry things and to handle weapons, his lot improved with each brain size

rease.

other factor in evolution may have been brought into play. It is rare but when it occurs it multiplies the effect

volution. It works in both a negative and a positive way, and aids the organism in its balance with itsironment, in either case. If mutations in a critical area in the DNA causes organism distress, natural selection

l eliminate the mutation each time it happens (through death and misery). A mutation may occur whichtects the organism from mutations in that critical area. This new mutation will prosper in the gene pool. This is

ase where one mutation eliminates or reduces the recurrence of another unfavorable mutation before it

pens. Its result is very favorable to the organism.

e reverse of that action is also beneficial. If a mutation in a particular area is favorable (say, one that causes an

rease in brain size), natural selection will allow that mutation to remain in the gene pool each time it occurs, ifneeded and utilized. The brain will grow incrementally each time the mutation happens. Since mutations are

e and random, brain growth would be quite slow even if greatly needed. Nevertheless, if a mutation occurredch encouraged such mutations so that they would happen more often, the rate of brain growth would be

elerated. This could explain the more rapid brain growth starting at the juncture ofafricanus and habilis. Still,


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coding of an accelerator mutation is itself subject to mutation. If brain-power was really making a difference

n, then this new mutation would be detrimental and be quickly eliminated. Yet if the organism wasmfortable, the accelerator would soon disappear from the gene pool since it would not affect survivability. The

er probably happened about 100,000 years ago when the human population started expanding rapidlyowing ability greater than needed). An expanding population is a good measure of organism comfort.

rimental mutations will accumulate in the gene pool at such times, and favorable characteristics will beraded.

olution, through the liberal application of death and hardship, had built a strong body and a sound mind by the

e of the appearance ofHomo sapiens sapiens. Both were designed for entirely different environments thanerienced by man today. We live longer today for three reasons. One is our health care and diet. The second is

our bodies were constructed to last thirty years under brutally harsh conditions. Removal of those harshditions allows a longer life span. Third is our culture. We cheat evolution of the deaths that it needs to cleanse

gene pool. In the short run we will live longer. Eventually mutations will erase these benefits. Evolution seekshave us hanging over the edge.

modern society, survivability is no longer dependent on the condition of the mind. In fact, the more successfuld to have fewer children. Mutations that distort the function or size of the brain are no longer removed by

ural selection from the gene pool. The enormous size of the population slows the spread of adverse mutationsoss the gene pool, but if no one dies of their adverse effects before he has his offspring, alleles from adverse

tations will accumulate.

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The Evolution of the Brain

y mutation must be applied to a DNA coding that already exists. It can not be applied to coding that does not

st. Is this a silly statement? Not at all. It leads to the way that evolution changes an organism. Mutations areays applied to the existing DNA coding. Evolution makes something new out of something that already exists.

bear becomes distressed in a given environment, it does not sprout wings and fly. Instead, such things asger legs or claws will be tested. Also, evolution often does not fix the thing that causes a problem, it patches

problem by doing something unrelated. If an organism suffers a mutation that shortens its life so that it hasficulty rearing its children to childbearing age, that mutation will start being culled from the gene pool. Before

mutation has been completely removed from the gene pool, another mutation may occur which shortens thetation period or child development period. If this shortens the child caring requirements enough so that the

rtened life is no longer a problem, then both mutations would be acceptable as permanent residents in the genel.

e must remember that every cell in the human body can perform any function. Two copies of the entire

ome are in every cell. A cell that is in the liver chooses to do that function. The cells in bone or in the brainose to do those functions. When a mutation happens, it is either to the inner function of a cell, or to the size


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shape of the overall cell structure (such as a skull, heart, etc.).

e brain did not start with man, there were many examples of single cells that had simple versions billions of

rs before the first hominid appeared. Photosynthesis requires light. If a cell that depended on light drifted tooin the water or drifted under a land overhang that obscured the sun, it was in deep trouble. Some developed a

ht sensor and a method of swimming. For the system to work, they developed a central control system thatuld judge the amount of light and if it was insufficient would turn the cell toward the light source and swim in

direction. It would keep swimming until it was bathed with sufficient light. This was all done within a singleorganism. That early cell had memory (what am I supposed to do?), and reason (which way do I swim?).

ly animals developed cells that connected their various muscles to the central control area. Commands frombrain drive the muscles through these nerve cells. Every cell in an organism carries all of the information in its

A for the entire organism. Each cell is a universal cell and can provide any service in the body of theanism. Evolution constructed the nerve cell from the standard cell. It also constructed nerve cells that connect

various sensors (ears, eyes, nose, skin) to the central control area. These nerve cells carried sensor informationhe brain. Further cell adaptations in the central control area provided functional links. If the ears hear a loud

g then tell the leg muscles to jump the other way.If the stomach says it is hungry, go bite something. We referhese permanent fixed processes as instincts. Still, the DNA cannot foresee all possible contingencies. It must

w some leeway. No animal is totally instinctive. All animals have some memory, some reasoning ability, andme decision making ability. We differ only in degree. The first hominid had all of the neural elements that we

e today, as do the chimp and your pet poodle. The mutations that built our brain from that first hominid werere about quantity, shape, and organization than in substance.

e thing we must remember is that africanus had a 450cc brain. We now have a 1350cc brain. That

canus brain is still in there. Evolution patches over. It does not do housecleaning. Another thing tomember is that evolution has a zero IQ. It was not being intelligent when it formed the rest of our brain.

was much more interested in the sex life of our DNA.

en that is not the whole story. Africanus was largely instinctive. Most of the add-ons to his brain have beenllectual. Those original instincts were strong and uniform. Evolution saw to that. His world was brutally

form and required full time participation. Any deviant individual behavior would affect the birthrate.olution would not tolerate it. His instincts were well maintained.

elligence is always at odds with instinct. If the instinct provided proper survival action, there would be no needintelligence. Indeed this is the case with all of the other animals. There are literally thousands of species that

vive quite well with little intellectual ability. Intelligence is supposed to override instinct to provide action thatmore suitable. That is why we got it in the first place. By controlling our instincts we could provide action that

anced our survivability. A little self-discipline provided great survival dividends, and it worked. Man has

quered the world. He is the fat cat. He is on top of the heap. Yet now, peak intellectual performance and self-cipline are no longer requirements for survival. Man has become self-indulgent and has reverted to satisfyinginstincts.

at is why today we act like africanus though we have a 1350cc brain. Africanus would object loudly to that

ement, because that statement is not quite true. We would not live an hour in his environment. We haveerted to his instincts, that is true, but those instincts are now perverted. Through discipline, man substituted

lligence for instinct over a long period. During that time the instincts suffered mutations. Since both the


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ginal instincts and their mutations were being overridden by intelligence, the instinct mutations were not

sidered detrimental by evolution and so accumulated in the gene pool.

have now reverted to a set of perverted instincts and now cater to those perversions by calling them

mal. We excuse behavior now that would horrify africanus.

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Conclusions

NCLUSION 1. The mechanism for reasoning is instinctive (mechanical, fix-wired, genetically

ermined in function).

gument:

e consideration of alternative actions and the selection of the most appropriate is not unique to man. Memory isunique to man. Learned elements of culture (behavior) are not unique to man. All of these exist to some

ree in most animals. What man calls intelligence is actually an extension of memory, some portionscialized, to a tried and proven reasoning mechanism, one shared with many other animals. This additional

mory allowed complex parameters and algorithms to be brought into the analysis and decision function. Thequeness in modern man's intellectual powers lies in his ability to multiply the effect of his intellect through

ernal memory and communications.

ormal brain, a gift of millions of years of evolution, is able to learn complex reasoning processes.generative genetic mutations to this reasoning mechanism are not subject to correction through training.

NCLUSION 2: The mark of evolutionary success in a given set of hominid genes, is to become a

ndparent.

gument:

y if the hominid result of a given genome configuration lives long enough to care for and help its offspringil they can bear young, will that set of genes be considered for a place in the gene pool. If there are no

spring, the gene set is a failure from the standpoint of evolution. If there are offspring but they do not havespring, then the gene set is an evolutionary failure.

NCLUSION 3: Man is not an intelligent being. He is, instead, an instinctive being with intelligence.


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gument:

obvious from the nature of evolution and man's evolutionary history that what man terms intelligence was an

-on to an instinctive creature. This new factor improved man's ability to survive to become a grandparent byviding a wider choice in behavior and adding intellectual control over his instincts. Modern man, as was his

estors, is driven by his instincts. He has, if he chooses to use it, intellectual control over his behavior. Inient times the environment forced him to exercise this self-discipline. It was the thoughtful action that allowed

m to survive.

cient man's instincts were his reason for living. His reasoning allowed him to live.

e removal of the dangers of environment from modern man (by his own inventiveness and direction) has

ulted in two destructive forces, either of which alone will destroy the species: 1. The halting of gene poolansing by the environment results in species degeneration in mind and body to eventual species collapse, and

The discarding of self-discipline as a way of life, which in time will degenerate man's culture (behavior) to thent of behavioral chaos.

NCLUSION 4: Since the beginning of man, the female and the male have had differing roles.

gument:

morphism, one sex smaller than the other, is an indication of differing roles. In animals where the role is theme, the size is usually the same. The larger and stronger hominid male bore the rigors of the defense of the

e. The smaller female bore her children and maintained the camp. During the period of the hunter-gatherersentially the last two million years) the male was the provider, the female was the family care giver. Since

se factors are no longer a requirement for evolutionary survival, mutations are equalizing the sexes (equaleneration), the males are becoming more feminine and the females more masculine.

NCLUSION 5: The human female dictates the sexual activity.

gument:

e hominid female is the only one in the animal kingdom who has hidden her fertile time so completely that

n she is not aware of when it is. Raising a human child is a long term process. In primitive times, too many

dren caused a too high death rate. Other animal females attract males when in season. The human femaleded to control the spacing and number of her children. The lack of physical sexual signs required the male toays be ready in case he would be allowed. This allowed the female full intellectual control of her sexual

vity. She used sex to bond the male to her so she could depend on his help. If he should be killed or crippled,used it to attract a new help-mate.

argely monogamous society is required for the survival of the human child, if the environment is severe. Not

n cases where food is plentiful. It appears doomed in modern society, even though there are benefits


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eeding the need to survive.

NCLUSION 6: Man is and always has been a tribal animal.

gument:

ming a cooperative tribe was essential four million years ago. The hominid was not intellectual at that time.e formation of the tribe was the result of genetic modification. It was and is instinctive. Hunter-gatherer

ieties are tribal. These hominid societies began two million years ago. After four million years of tribal living,safe to assume that all mankind is tribal by instinct.

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References

For a more complete and illustrated

description of the evolution of man

tp://www.gurusoftware.com/GuruNet/Personal/Topics/Evolution.htm

The Course of Human Evolution

P

G

The makeup of the individual, our current status,and our evolutionary possibilities


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by Roy Posner

[We would like to acknowledge the teachings of the Indian sage and seer Sri Aurobindo for providing the foundation for the material below. We would also like to acknowledge thegroundbreaking work ofThe Mother's Service Societywho have extended these foundationprinciples into various fields of life, as expressed in the many ideas that follow.]

CONTENTS:

y The Four Planes of the Universey The Vertical Planes of the Individualy The FourthVertical Plane: The Spiritualy The Horizontal Planes of the Individualy Ascent of the Individualy The G/M-S-C Scaley Additional Thoughts

IntroductionIn this extended article we trace the course of human evolution; including our makeup, ourcurrent status, and our evolutionary possibility. First, we will discover the principles ofconsciousness that have emerged since the birth of the universe. Then we will discuss themakeup of the individual human being who emerged in the universe. There we will discoverthat the makeup of the individual human consists of planes that closely parallel the originalprinciples of the universe. Then we will more closely examine these planes of the person,breaking them down into their more subtle sub-components. Finally, we will discuss how anindividual human grows, develop, and evolve amongst these levels; and we will address theissue of where humanity is headed in the future. Along the way we will also introduce thespiritual planes of life for the individual; the key to his ultimate progress, accomplishment,

fulfillment, and joy in life.

Let's then begin with an understanding of the four major principles of existence in theuniverse; which will help us understand the basis of who we are.

The Evolution of the Human

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Transcript of The Evolution of the Human