In common with other mainstream members of society we, continue to lament, the widespread continuance, of reprehensible, selfish human behavior totally, devoid of considerations of empathy and charity. Should such observation, require contemporary, illustration, we might easily, cite, Russia’s cruel incursion into Ukraine, the warlike, the saber-rattling actions of North Korea, in its bellicose display of rocket barrages into the Ocean, and on the domestic scene, the egregious, ignorance and racial mindset of Trump and his large swath of cultish devotees.
For some time, we resignedly attributed the regrettable panoply of Man’s inappropriate behavior to the possible, innate, protective persona of Man. Those of us, imbued with the more traditional, positive, perceptions of mainstream America, conceivably, have been devastated, at what appeared to be an existential defect in the extant persona, or ultimate essence, of Homo sapiens, which conceivably, might, portend its ultimate, self-destruction.
We are pleased to declare, to the reader, that we have arrived at an alternate, more promising, and empirically, plausible, theory, which we present to the reader for his thoughtful consideration.
We will posit that every enlightened thinker is in accord with the scientifically confirmed “Darwinian Theory of Evolution.” The entire universe of renowned scholars in the disciplines of, anthropology, sociology, biology, chemistry, geology and medicine, have ratified the empirically, demonstrated, eons-long, steady development of improved and complex function, from simple-cell organisms and primitive flora, to the contemporary stage of capabilities of the sentient human being and the present, aesthetic wonder, of a magnificent chrysanthemum.
Empirical evidence has reliably, acknowledged, that it was evolution’s slow, plodding, journey from ape-like, brachiating biped, to today’s, functional and mental iteration of a sentient, Homo sapiens. In this essay, we have chosen to confess to established academic heresy, by positing that Man’s contemporary iteration might indeed, not be the ultimate one, biologically intended, by a still ongoing process of human evolution. We will elucidate our radical and optimistic theme, in the paragraphs that follow.
Fundamentally, we would dare to pose our thematic question, as to what reductionist or egotistic, basis exists, for man’s fixed and declared assumption that evolution has (already) run its course? On what guiding principle can we not look forward to its future dynamic developments? Evolutionary dynamics, has to date, wondrously, produced a superior functioning, sentient human being; nevertheless, why assume that the present state of his evolution, viz., the nascent capacity for enlightenment and psychic growth (for example, empathy, judgment) has attained its potential zenith? Is it not conceivable, that, at present, that Mankind may only be at a brief “whistle stop,” in a biologically, determined journey, to its ultimate and potential, evolutionary destination? To be clear, we suggest that humankind’s evolutionary advances to Man’s present physical configuration, do not, necessarily, comprehend its full, potential development, as to the refinement of his inner persona and the sanctity of his moral compass.
As a contextual, illustration, one might imagine, a prehistoric scene, in which, two, growling Neanderthal men, are, hungrily, fighting over a carcass of a killed small animal, as compared to that of two, non-growling contemporary, husky, workman, hungrily, and sociably, eating their lunch at noon break, or perhaps, an elderly, senior citizen being assisted across a busy street, by a younger person, contrasted with the ancient practice, of the Norse culture, to abandon the elderly, on the glacial ice, to die. Picture the well-attended, spectator-blood sport of gladiators, fighting to the death, as compared with today’s non-contact rule in basketball. Consider the recent rise of charitable programs, soup kitchens and public health programs, in historic contrast, to the mandatory incarceration of paupers and debtors, in the days of Victorian England. Think of the speed at which modern medical science, dedicatedly, produced an effective vaccine against covid, contrasted with the hapless chanting of medicine men of the first Americans. These illustrations are emblematic of an inarguable, developing evolution of man’s spiritual recognition of a humanistic, moral responsibility, to help others.
The Dark Ages practices, of cruel and barbaric religious persuasion, have, over time, morphed to that of more peaceable, evangelical propaganda; today, mentally unwell individuals are properly perceived, as “ill,” rather than possessed by demons. These are empirical examples of an improving, humanistic, persona, reflective of a developing, empathic awareness of others, which we maintain, thematically, is properly, ascribed to the dynamics of a still ongoing (psychic) evolution, of humankind.
Notwithstanding contemporary reports of humankind’s acts of cruelty, unrestrained ambition, and absence of moral compass, it is our newly attained, belief, that the present point of evolutionary improvement may be characterized or perceived as reduced speed at an evolutionary, whistle-stop; yet, is eternally, pursuing its way towards its natural destination. The relevant proviso, however, is that pending arrival, at that destination, those thoughtless humanoids who are heedlessly, engaged in their irresponsible and atavistic tendencies, do not, prior thereto, effect the destruction of the Planet, and its naturally, evolving, dynamic processes.
-p.
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