Post by vchavez28 on Jan 25, 2015 6:45:57 GMT
1. Why is the theory of evolution so important in understanding how human beings behave?
There is an instinctual feeling that exists with us today to reproduce and since more individuals are produced than can survive, there is a struggle for existence. In the film ‘The Genius of Charles Darwin’, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins speaks about the amount of suffering in the natural world where we still see natural selection in full force like Africa. Most animals die young and those that die without offspring are cut short of their next generation and therefore their lineage is left behind. According to natural selection, a tiny variation could make a crucial difference in an animal's survival. The surviving animals are more likely to reproduce and carry on those variations to its offspring's. DNA and the theory of evolution go hand in hand because we have adapted the way we behave to our environments. It is in our DNA to respond the way we do to situations and our environment. The film also shows how it still affects human's behavior today but in an evolved way, the example being economic systems with the struggle for power, money, knowledge etc. and points out our evolved morality by kindness for strangers that now goes beyond close group members and family.
2. Which questions do you think evolutionary theory cannot answer?
After reading more in depth about evolutionary theory, I've noticed it's had a difficult time answering questions about how consciousness arose from matter, why human awareness is so unique and understanding different states of awareness. ‘The Darwin-Wallace debate’ video explains where Darwin and Wallace disagreed when it came to the evolution of the mind. Wallace thought it couldn't be explained with evolutionary theory while Darwin saw no problem with evolution being the answer that could explain awareness arising from matter. We have never found that piece of evidence to show that unconscious processes, over time, could produce self awareness. We have recently started turning to different areas of science to better understand the mind and consciousness, theoretical physicists and neuroscientists are currently attempting to answer these questions. In the Book ‘The DNA of Consciousness’, the author Andrea Diem-Lane, reflects on her conversation with the Nobel Prize winning scientist Francis Crick, where he argues that neuroscience and the study of the mind is the key to life’s greatest mysteries. There is also an article from ‘New Scientist’ in the book about Neuroscientist, Karl Friston and his colleagues proposing a mathematical law that is based on the existing theory known as the “Bayesian brain”, which states that the brain is a probability machine that constantly makes prediction about the world and then updates them based on what is senses. There is so much mystery when it comes to human consciousness and the human brain and we still have so much to learn about ourselves.
There is an instinctual feeling that exists with us today to reproduce and since more individuals are produced than can survive, there is a struggle for existence. In the film ‘The Genius of Charles Darwin’, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins speaks about the amount of suffering in the natural world where we still see natural selection in full force like Africa. Most animals die young and those that die without offspring are cut short of their next generation and therefore their lineage is left behind. According to natural selection, a tiny variation could make a crucial difference in an animal's survival. The surviving animals are more likely to reproduce and carry on those variations to its offspring's. DNA and the theory of evolution go hand in hand because we have adapted the way we behave to our environments. It is in our DNA to respond the way we do to situations and our environment. The film also shows how it still affects human's behavior today but in an evolved way, the example being economic systems with the struggle for power, money, knowledge etc. and points out our evolved morality by kindness for strangers that now goes beyond close group members and family.
2. Which questions do you think evolutionary theory cannot answer?
After reading more in depth about evolutionary theory, I've noticed it's had a difficult time answering questions about how consciousness arose from matter, why human awareness is so unique and understanding different states of awareness. ‘The Darwin-Wallace debate’ video explains where Darwin and Wallace disagreed when it came to the evolution of the mind. Wallace thought it couldn't be explained with evolutionary theory while Darwin saw no problem with evolution being the answer that could explain awareness arising from matter. We have never found that piece of evidence to show that unconscious processes, over time, could produce self awareness. We have recently started turning to different areas of science to better understand the mind and consciousness, theoretical physicists and neuroscientists are currently attempting to answer these questions. In the Book ‘The DNA of Consciousness’, the author Andrea Diem-Lane, reflects on her conversation with the Nobel Prize winning scientist Francis Crick, where he argues that neuroscience and the study of the mind is the key to life’s greatest mysteries. There is also an article from ‘New Scientist’ in the book about Neuroscientist, Karl Friston and his colleagues proposing a mathematical law that is based on the existing theory known as the “Bayesian brain”, which states that the brain is a probability machine that constantly makes prediction about the world and then updates them based on what is senses. There is so much mystery when it comes to human consciousness and the human brain and we still have so much to learn about ourselves.