Human Evolution – Past Success; Future Doubt

Humanity – we’re doing alright. In fact, we’re probably doing better than alright. We’ve been around a while and, generally, our existence has not been too much in doubt. This is because, over the years, thousands of years, we have put ourselves in a strong evolutionary position.

As a species, at some point in our development, we would have had to decide on the evolutionary path we would pursue. It wouldn’t have just been a singular point in time, nor one decision, but a series of actions at different moments. These choices would have been largely unnoticed, unconscious and unremarkable. As they happened, they would have seemed inconsequential. Yet their execution would be the basis for our future, the very determinant of our long-term survival prospects.

Those choices would have been made in response to the environmental forces being exerted upon us at the time.

Undoubtedly, the most momentous decision humanity has ever made was to pursue a societal existence. We put our faith in society as the means of ensuring our survival. It is what we have used to defend ourselves against threats to our existence.

And, so far, it’s been pretty good for us.

In fact, humanity is beholden to society. Societal living saved us from a desperate and futile battle for survival against Nature. In that struggle, we would have faced environmental adversaries we had no realistic defence against. As we would flounder, other species would have come to dominate.

Society came to our rescue. By living together, we could protect and support one another. Food, heat and shelter – the requisites for survival – became less difficult to source. Survival became less of a battle.

This meant that, within humanity, our genes had found a safe haven – or as safe as could reasonably be expected. Reproduction, mutation and adaptation could proceed unfettered. Our genetic futures were assured.

More than this, our genes also realised that their genetic strength could be enhanced by the further development of society.

With society as a staunch stronghold against the natural environment, it was a logical progression to think that the greater the influence and governance of society, the better the defence. And, for the most part, this has been true. It has meant that as society has grown, humanity and humanity’s genes have been less controlled, less threatened and less affected by the natural environment.

In fact, with a dependence on each other as our primary survival tool, we have created a new Living Environment – that of society.

Humanity’s prevailing environment is no longer the natural world. Nature has been eclipsed. We are more in contact with and relate to society than we do to Nature. And so we are now more likely to be evolving towards a societal environment rather than towards the natural environment.

Although we may not be fully aware of it, society has become the basis and bearing for humanity’s ongoing evolutionary change. Society is our new adaptive director and regulator.

This new evolutionary emphasis will have consequences.

Living a societal existence does generate its own problems and vulnerabilities. Humanity faces a range of risks and threats arising from the pursuit of this developmental course. These can take a number of forms:

• Mixed Messaging. Our break with Nature is not – and can perhaps never be – total. As a species, we may therefore be confused by the uncertainty of not knowing what our most effective evolutionary direction actually is. Torn between a societal and a natural environment, we will not know which one we should genetically adapt to. As such, we will get pulled in two directions.
• Unnatural Behaviour. There is a continuous challenge to uphold society that arises from the varied behaviours required in different environments. Our innate instinct – how we behave in a natural environment – is to be quite self-centred. Our first thoughts will always be towards our genes – towards ourselves and our family. They, after all, are our raison d’etre. To therefore live a more communal, cooperative life – as required by society – challenges our normal, instinctive behaviours. In a societal existence, we can’t behave as the selfish individuals that Nature would have us be. Sometimes we find it difficult to maintain this behavioural restraint, as we struggle to quell our natural instincts.
• Man-made Construct. As society has developed, its relationship with Nature has changed. Initially, society was a defensive measure for protection against Nature, but now it has become much more offensive, seeking to take on Nature. In order to overcome our earlier subservience to the vagaries of Nature, society has assumed a greater presence, until, in many areas, it has usurped Nature, becoming our Living Environment. The trouble is that this is an environment we created. So, as we genetically evolve to this new environment, we are adapting to a world of our own making. This could well have negative implications. It rarely works out for the best when the rule-makers are also those playing the game!

• Diversionary Temptation. Society has proven to be quite distracting. It means that we are not entirely focused on our Genetic Priority – doing what is in the best interests of our genes. Society lures us away from our genetic responsibilities. This is because, when we opt for a societal existence, not only do we have to make certain individual commitments to society, such as offering a contribution (for instance, working) and having to agree to obey society’s rules, but society provides us with all sorts of diverting temptations – property ownership, absorbing entertainment, and innumerable recreational activities. Sometimes, it seems, we would much rather do what is in our own individual interests – finding pleasure and satisfaction – rather than doing what is to our genetic advantage. Society’s diversions may lead us to seek personal fulfilment rather than focus on advancing our genes.

• Incongruity. A key element of survival is that a species must be in tune with its environment. As society has become our prevailing environment, we must consider whether humanity is adapting – physically, mentally, emotionally – to it. Are we, as individuals, keeping pace with the level of change which is happening in society? Are we still in harmony with our environment? Any failure in this regard could generate discord between us and our environment, leading to incompatibility and alienation.

These weaknesses in our relationship with society suggest that there may be a frailty to our future and that we may need  to be more considerate of our behaviours. We have to recognise that there will always be genetic consequences of our actions, and that these may carry substantial risks if we lose sight of our genetic focus or become too detached from the natural world.

Having embarked on this evolutionary course, we have committed to our future. Societal living was, is and always will be our evolutionary salvation. There is no going back, no changing of direction. Our evolutionary die is cast.

For other interesting blogs on this subject area, check out Articles or the Article Index