The Adventure of Life [antikvár]

Introduction: Youth of LifeThe development of the theory of evolution began with the question, "Where did I come from?" It is understandable that early man believed that he had been "created." How could he have guessed the age of the earth and understood fossils as the history of life recorded in stone. Many still do believe that the earth and life on it have remained essentially unchanged from the beginning. Change is new to man's consciousness. It is, even now, difficult to comprehend time on the scale of millions of years and almost impossible to grasp the few billions of years during which life has developed and progressed.Erosion of the concept of a static world actually began as far back as the early Greek philosophers who felt that life-forms did change and give rise to new forms. But no proof existed until scientists began a systematic study of the layers of rock and the animal remains within. The collapse of old ideas came when Darwin, a religious man, became converted to evolutionism by evidence he saw in living plants and animals. The newly accepted concept of change both of land and life provided evidence from which we could search out our past and proceed with the detective story of man's origin.Having realized that we share ancestors with monkeys and apes and that through our vertebrate relatives we are distantly related to starfish, we were able to delve further into ourselves. The birth of human consciousness is a good example. Evolutionary theory states that alterations in a species are solely the result of blind chancerandom mutations that are most often lethal. We are told by psychologists that we use only a small fraction of the total potential of our brain. Is it possible that the evolutionary process had selected the most intelligent man-apes to survive but that random chance produced a mind with capabilities that far exceeded the needs of the animal at the time? Could our mind really be a preadaptationa quality possessed by an animal not essential now but of vital importance to a future state of development? Or could it be another lethal mutation whose effects will doom the species at a future date? Philosophers are constantly torn between these two views. In periods of depression they see our mistreatment of other men, animals, and our planet, and become convinced that the faculty we call intelligence and conscious thought is a curse destined to bring about our downfall as a species. Personally, I feel certain our struggle to achieve progress and search the unknown is leading us to actualize hidden dimensions of our potential and will ensure a positive future for mankind.Regressive evolution is seldom a success; the system perpetuates those who move ahead. This is an important consideration when discussing our present-day evolution. Man has stopped his own evolution! The environment imposes few restrictions on us today; instead of selecting the most fit to survive, we select the environment to suit our needs. Our medical sciences heal the sick, allowing them to reproduce and pass inborn deficiencies to their offspring. Because of our higher states of consciousness, we consider ourselves humane and cannot supplement the forces of evolution by selecting the best of our species. In fact, our intellect may have rendered us incapable of even judging what is good or beneficial for our species. But it is our understanding of the basic principles of evolution and that same medical science which will permit us to play sorcerer's apprentice and cure the ills of mankind. Through genetic manip-8