Human evolution - fast or slow or both? (updated 20 December 2014)

One of the tenets of neo-Darwinism is that Homo sapiens evolved gradually from higher primates over millions of years.

Palaeoanthropologists and archaelogists build up elaborate models of various species that, from fossils, look close in bone structure to modern humans and also associate these with various artifices (tools, primitive musical instruments, jewellery etc.), cave art, burial customs and evidence of hunting or gathering habits. (When you compare paleontology and paleo-anthropology with physics you realize just how inexact are these fields.)

I am not a professional scholar but my understanding is that the standard model of evolution has Homo sapiens emerging up  to around 1 million years ago.  Yet I feel there must be something wrong here. If people like us were thinking, acting, innovating and philosophizing that long why have we not already gone to other worlds long ago, or explored the limits of the universe or unlocked a wealth of secrets of the natural world? Why did it take so long to develop language, abstract thought, science and mathematics and to invent technology in a whole different ball park from that of any other species?



Socrates

The earliest signs of civilised societies appear to date back to only around 10,000 BC, if not in Mesopotamia (approximately today's Iraq, in the area of the Tigris- Euphrates river system) then somewhere in that region  (possibly Iran).  Since then we have developed at a huge rate. What were our ancestors doing for the hundreds of millenia  prior to that? Even 100,000 years is a long time in human history – 10 times as long as from the first real evidence of civilisation until today. Were we just clubbing each other, sitting round camp fires cooking meat and telling each other stories for a million years and then suddenly there was a quantum jump into a totally new mode of existing and evolving?

Nobody, to my knowledge, has explained how new species appear. All we know is that phenomenonally complex, integrated, sophisticated, intelligent, purposeful processes occur at the DNA level and somehow this is connected with speciation and interaction with the environment.  We also know, from the fossil record, that new species  appear suddenly, not gradually, and that these, while sharing certain traits, are  different in architecture and functional organization from any preceding species. We are very different even from the other primates (elaborate tool making, art, language, symbolism, abstract thought, irony, humour, mathematics, literature, quantum mechanics, cosmology, biology, geology, non-survival directed curiosity, constant innovation, town and city planning, space travel, aviation, internet, iPhones, radio, TV, YouTube, nuclear energy etc. etc. plus worship of our Creator, free will, concern for the well being of other people, of other creatures and of the whole planet).

 So from where I stand it looks as though Homo sapiens sapiens (the second sapiens has now has to be added, presumably to distinguish it the species what had previously been classified as a truly human ancestor) modern upright smooth-skinned man with a voice, self-consciousness, conscience, abstract thought and tool-making manipulative hands, rather than ape man, emerged suddenly probably not more than fifty thousand years ago.  So the move from 


to


was not a gradual advance but a discontinuous one. There was a quantum jump when modern man appeared in the last 50,000 years.  Agriculture and civilization rose rapidly from what seems to have been continual pervasive tribal and family violence, replacing it with a way of life that was  less uncertain and frightening because order was maintained by brutal laws. Then in the first century AD the power of spiritual peace began to bring about a better world wherever Christ was not rejected: punishment became less harsh, society became more fair and rulers less violent. Around 1600 knowledge and technology in Christendom grew exponentially. The 20th century showed what happens where Christ is deliberately rejected (e.g. Maoism, Marxism and Nazism enacted a degree of violence and inhumanity not seen since pre-Christian paganism. The 21st century could be about to make the same mistake as Christ is made politically incorrect in western nations and brutally attacked in the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan.)

 Could evolution be analogous to technological evolution? Yes, there is natural selection but the system which is being selected by the environment, has to be viable for testing by the environment, a functioning organism. Just as a new iPad has to be a viable functioning piece of technology before it is launched into the competitive environment. Moreover, the biosphere itself has to be in symbiosis with each new species. Like a new invention, a new species (immeasurably more advanced in structure, materials and function than any man-made system; this applies even to the first living bacterium) requires  creativity, intelligence and will power from some entity somehow somewhere. 

Of course, you could take the irrational way out and put it all down to chance, the old standby which explains everything and nothing and has zero predictive power or practical application.

John

author 2077 Knights of Peace

Ridding the world of violence: not the whole answer

In the novel 2077 I introduce the idea of a dedicated quasi-military but unarmed organization called the Order of  the Knights of Peace. They are able to overcome those who resist arrest or ‘impoundment’  but only with special technology which does not inflict injury or cause death  to the enemy. Even when  Knights are in physical danger they must risk injury or death to themselves rather than to an opponent, something which could result in their dismissal from the order..

Looking at the sorry state of the world today I feel such an organization is  sorely needed. Although we do not have the extensive arsenal of peace technology available in 2077 we are beginning to move in that direction.

The Taser is one example, although it is far from the cocooning baton used by the Knights, and imperfect in that it can cause injury if wrongly used. Tracker dogs for sniffing out explosives could be regarded as the forerunners of the GM bees of 2077. Small drones for spying on terrorist groups could be predecessors of the spyflies in the novel. Decryption and computer analysis is already being used to tackle the organization and information flow of terrorist groups like IS (which I prefer to think of as Imbeciles of Satan rather than Islamic State, lest I, a follower of Christ, offend my Moslem friends). The science of sociodynamics of 2077 does not, as far as  I know,  have a precursor today but if applied to suicide bombing the aim would be to track down and arrest the ones who incite young people to carry out such attacks.

But the violence-inflicting democracy-hating groups  and armies of today still have a large strategic advantage whether in combat or in attempts to defend their actions, which is why I set the novel so far ahead, giving the technology and methodology time to catch up. In the story there are a dozen or so techniques available to the Knights.

While writing the book over 5 years, during which my worldview was gradually changing from a  narrow science-centred materialism to a  broader, Christ-centred one which encompassed both science and religion, I began to realise that, no matter how powerful the technology,  these ‘peace enforcing’ methods would not solve the long term problem of evil and its consequences.  Which is where the 'Divine Light' comes in.  Violent charismatic, domineering individuals ('dominophiles') are located and  spiritually transformed. Not indoctrinated but taken to a higher spiritual level through free will decisions.

The end point would be a world in which  violence could not happen.

But would this necessarily be a good idea? Imagine that all weapons, even medieval ones like swords, knives and axes, could be removed by magic. No one would even think about changing the social or religious order by force. The French Revolution, the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward, Nazism, Stalinism etc. would not be options.

Yet it is a sad fact that much of the social progress of the world has involved violence. Suppose violence was removed from the equation entirely. How would injustice be corrected?  Suppose the peasants  being exploited in France before the French Revolution  had no means of attacking the upper classes of the time?  

Plato  thought that democracy was flawed because voters would always look after their own material interests. In the West today there is widespread concern about the health and social welfare system as the population ages.  The sanctity of human life has already been devalued by abortion (which I support in certain situations only) and humanists have advocated infanticide up to the age of two, which would amount to the paganism of pre-Christian society.  Senicide has been openly discussed as a way of dealing with the problem of what to do with old people as they became a burden.  What next? In a secular democracy bereft of spiritual values the majority would vote for whatever suited the majority, no matter how minority groups were affected. Germany was a secular democracy which voted in Hitler who helped the majority by gassing or carrying out humanity -benefiting experiments on the minority - troublesome and offensive handicapped people of all races as well as Jews and Slavs. And these minority groups would have no recourse other than to find the odd parliamentary activist to defend their interests or to engage in mass demonstrations or online campaigns ; but such measures only bring about change when there is a large undercurrent of support. The majority are not usually interested in any measure which threatens their own interest.

In a secular democracy there is no way of securing the interests of minorities when their well being harms in some way the interests of the majority. In 2077 this problem is not part of the story but nevertheless the end world envisaged might have the solution. But to accept this you must believe in the Holy Spirit, from which the Divine Light emanates, as the route by which the religions of the world, including Hinduism, Islam, Judaism  and Christianity are brought together under Christ.  Yes, 'Christianity' has to be included in the list. Regrettably, much of institutional Christianity today is no closer to the all encompassing Christ than the other religions.  (Let me make it clear at this point that I attend a church and believe corporate Christianity is an essential  part of God’s plan for the world.)

How then would one help the underdog in a post 2077 democracy under Christ?  The answer could lie in the concept of an inner holy sanctum.

 ‘Hermit Sages’ in 2077 are individuals who have given up all worldly interests and devoted themselves to prayer, meditation and the study of worldly matters while being separated from it and having no material interest in it. Occasionally they would visit the minority groups involved to help establish the nature of their problem. They would also have to consult with the holders of power. But in all cases they would be respected and trusted to guide society in accordance with God’s plan for a better world. The media of the future would keep a close watch on them. The Hermit Sages would not  resent it because they would have nothing to hide and see openness as essential in gaining trust.   Media coverage, much of it by journalists also under the Divine Light, would  ensure that the Hermit Sages of the inner sanctum were performing their role. Where no obvious exploitation of the weak or downtrodden occurred, i.e. where there was no violation of the Sermon on the Mount, voting by an informed electorate would be the standard way of making decisions on the government of society.

Personally, I can’t see any other way  forward.  But first we have to get rid of the ordnance now circulating throughout the world and available to all and sundry without causing escalation by using violence as a solution. We also have to peacefully persuade the world that democratic government backed up by an inner holy sanctum would be the only way to avoid present injustices being frozen in. 

Another anti-violence concept in 2077 involves the Theatre of War, in which robots vicariously fight under international supervision on behalf of nations. This method is used to settle disputes over territory, natural resources etc.

I am hoping that my novel might inspire someone somewhere, or some people somewhere,  to focus on these questions and move the world a fraction forward. It can be no more than a tentative first step.

John

Author of 2077: Knights of Peace

PS I also wanted to write an entertaining page turner! You will have to be the judge of that. Hopefully professors of literature and critics won't be too hard on me.

The cosmic power of love: a testimony by Pete Sears

This post is  by my brother, a rock musician who lives in San Rafael (near San Francisco), California, USA, about 6000 miles from me in the UK. He wrote it as an email message to his family  on the way to a gig in LA having just read my post 

'ET encounters but no ET life: resolving the paradox'.

I like my brother’s latest blog post. It explains very well what I have instinctively felt for quite some time now. Many will disagree with it of course; but these concepts need to be talked about on this crazy but wonderful jewel of a planet we inhabit.

 The mystery of sentient life, how we interact with our fellow beings, and how we perceive and interpret our surroundings is just too fantastic to be explained by mere chance. How and why the same species is capable of such extreme goodness and selflessness, but is also capable of inflicting almost unimaginable horrors  spawned from blind selfishness and misguided ego is a question that will be debated for a very long time to come. To me, ego seems to be the key...the answer is in there somewhere, and on a metaphysical level. 

One of the most difficult things to do is to give up the ego...to take this path is a life long commitment. Some of you have heard me speak of the mystical life altering event I experienced, alone on a stormy windswept night some forty one years ago...I have been attempting to understand what happened to me ever since. It was not of this dimension, of that I am certain...and the intense light that hovered directly above me emanated pure, unfettered love and acceptance beyond anything I could ever have imagined. 

And power. There was absolutely no doubt that this pure love and goodness was ubiquitous and all powerful...hence the deep bottomless darkness that seemed to be slinking and slithering away below and to the left of me. I won't go into any more details, but will say that the light appeared to me after I cried out into the metaphysical realm for God to help me...I was at a crossroads in my life. 

I couldn't do it on my own. I needed help from the Divine. I didn't instantly become a better person, I just knew that by surrendering my ego and asking for help and guidance from this all powerful, metaphysical force of creation we call God, I would always have this entity of pure peace and love to help and guide me through times of hardship and weakness. Yes, attempting to surrender the ego through prayer is a major key...and a very strong one. I fall short of accomplishing this everyday of my life...but I believe the answer is in trying.

I believe there are many ways God reaches out to us, depending on where and when we are born. One of the most spiritual people I have ever had the honour to call my friend was the Dakota Sioux, Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman...he was vocal regarding those who he felt were responsible for the horrors inflicted on his people so many years ago. He himself had been taken off the reservation as a young child and forced into one of the special schools designed to assimilate Native Americans into the white man's way of life. He was forbidden to speak his native tongue...he was vocal, but not bitter and Floyd emanated a sense of forgiveness and healing, and he was humble but strong at the same time. 

The east Indian mystic Parashana Yoginanda was also, I believe, in touch with the Holy Spirit. Most other major religions were spawned from some sort of mystical experience, but have been corrupted and manipulated by man through the years. However, you will always find those good and humble people within that are truly close to God. 

Jeannette and I worked closely with Catholic Liberation Theologists, who were at odds with Rome in how they viewed the poor and downtrodden of Central America during the 1980s. Father George Dyer and many nuns quietly put their lives on the line to help the Mayan Indians of Central America who were systematically being slaughtered by right wing dictatorships descended from Spanish Conquistadors. These dictatorships represented the ruling families and their offshoots who were trying to preserve their power and wealth using any means possible. They were also supported by US President Ronald Reagan's administration. The opposite of President Carter who had threatened to cut off aid to Guatemala unless they improved their human rights record. Eighty percent of the country's population was and still is comprised of people of Mayan descent living in dire poverty. 

Father Stanley Rothers from Oklahoma was murdered one night in his church. Previously he had been threatened by government right wing death squads for sheltering Mayan Indians in his mission in Santiago, Atitlan, Guatemala. He had consequently returned to Oklahoma...but his love for the Mayas and the danger he knew they were in impelled him to return to his mission in the mountains. This quiet spoken man had found the strength to return to extreme danger, in spite of serious death threats, through prayer and his faith in God. I have since visited the room in the mission he was murdered in...an intensely moving experience, especially after I was shown his blood stains on the wall. He had obviously put up a struggle. The Guatemalan government tried to say he had been murdered by local Mayans in Santiago, Atitlan. But the villagers loved him, and unlike the Maya's who are relatively small in stature, the suspected attacker, or attackers who had been seen in the village earlier that day in their Toyota Jeep were tall. They towered above the Mayans. The right wing Guatemalan death squads of the 1980s usually drove Toyota Jeeps.

 This is where I'm at in my lifelong spiritual journey at the moment...this is of course subject to modification as my trek continues. But I know the power and love of what I saw that dark and stormy night in Westerham, Kent, England...and even though I don't pretend to understand it....nobody can ever take that profound, metaphysical experience away from me.

Pete Sears