If we were not given free will, the lack of freedom and choice would render us similar to robots. Augustine argues that evil is a price worth paying for human freedom as that only by contrast can the beauty of goodness be highlighted – this principle of comparison is called the “aesthetic principle” by some philosophers. Without free will, evil wouldn’t exist, and we wouldn’t
Summary of “Why Evolution is true” By: Jerry A. Coyne What is evolution; chapter I explains Darwin’s theory of evolution, which applies to all species, new species are descended from earlier forms. This means that organisms with similar characteristics are likely to have shared a common ancestor sometime in the past. The more traits shared by organisms, the closer their evolutionary relationship. This principle of “common descent” explains why anthropologists are interested in studying nonhuman animals, particularly primates (the mammalian order that includes monkeys, apes, and humans), with whom humans share the closest common ancestor. Some of our important human characteristics, such as a spinal cord encased in a bony vertebral column, and the concentration of nerve cells in a brain, are part of our vertebrate heritage, established in a common ancestor over 600 million years ago.
In the visit to the American Musem of Natural History’s Hall of Human Origin, I’ve known that the DNA is the essential molecules that’s the instruction manual for building each specie, and was amazed by the fact that human and the chimpanzee are 98.8 percent alike. Nowaday we are so much different from them because we were from the same common ancester 6 to 7 million years ago, but the DNA changed from generation to generation.
Fossils and Evolutionary Tree This is the fossil records and results of the human fossils and the monkey fossils. You can compare them. This is the evolutionary tree showing what we supposedly were and how we evolved into what we are now. Natural Selection Natural selection is the gradual, non-random process by which biological traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution.
The article was a difficult read with a target audience of anthropologist or people interested in the topic. Shipman made a simple article into a difficult one by the phases and terms he used throughout the article. Although these two previous opinions bothered me as a beginner on the topic it was well written with few faults, but surely will appeal to the interest of his targeted audience. According to the article humans are similar to apes with similar genetic makeup, but it’s slightly difficult to distinguish because it gives geneticists false thinking of evolutionary changes within apes and humans. It’s because there are various types of hominid and ape ancestries that came from a common stem, as well as so many different factors to consider.
This again, is a something that applies us humans as well. It seems culture is prevalent in chimps and bonobos from the many studies of Primatologists. There seems to be more of a social pattern present than that of behaviors embedded in DNA. The learned behaviors and the passing of time has made these primates more adaptable to cultures that we now know they do indeed
The difference between human skulls and ape skulls is explainednoted. Human brains are much larger than ape brains and therefore any species that are more closely related to apes are deemed not human. Human skulls are larger in order to accommodate suffice a brain that allows humans to carry out tasks far more complex than tasks apes are able to accomplish. While apes are the second most skilled and abled creatures other than humans on earth, they do not have the mental capacity to carry out normal human tasks. This, among other things, isare what distinguishes humans from apes.
Examples of this “tinkering” can be seen in the Homo sapiens or humans. It is said that the evolution of the modern human being has taken place over 6 million years. Because there is fossil evidence that shows physical similarities that links a common ancestor to many primates, humans are considered primates. When looking for tinkering in human evolution, characteristics that stand out are, bipedalism, encephalization, and the various vestigiality in the human body. Figure 1: Phylogenetic tree of the modern Homo sapiens originating from around 6 million years ago from the Sahelanthnopus tohadensis.
Fundamentally, both species have similar capabilities as to what they could physically and mentally accomplish. The Neandertals may have just been more basic in idea, and the progression of time and thought has brought society to where it stands today. Technology stayed consistent through the Middle and Upper Paleolithic time periods. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to fully evaluate the relationship between Anatomically Modern humans and Neandertals. The research, however, has brought great knowledge of their habitats and lifestyles.
In the past, high status and resources meant greater opportunities for reproduction with other successful mates, therefore being a celebrity gives lots of chances for reproductive success. Henrich and Gil-White proposed the prestige hypothesis, which argues it is often difficult to establish which specific behaviours lead to success in a famous individual. This means it make sense in evolutionary terms to copy all of the behaviours of a successful individual. Evolutionary explanations are very hard to test scientifically as we cannot go back in time to see if it is true. As such, it is not a truly scientific explanation for the attraction of celebrity.