Quote from: RagingDragon on May 25, 2012, 07:21:00 PM
Now did any of that make any damn sense?
Yes, a very clear explanation of your thoughts on these matters.
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I have several thoughts on this. To begin, the first scientific question that needs to be asked is "why Homonids?" The answer to that, according to modern science, is through the mechanisms of genetic drift, mutation, and natural selection combined with environmental stimulus. To put it bluntly, "it was random." Even this basic pillar of biological knowledge presents some interesting questions, such as:
Why homonids, and not a reptilian form of conscious, tool-using, tribal life? Or aquatic? Or avian? What occurred that brought about the proper environmental stimuli, and physiology, to allow for the development of the forebrain and our eventual leap to true self-awareness and cognitive, abstract thought?
Can we gleam a theory from this that only the homonid lifeform is capable of achieving this psychological state, thanks to the development of things like thumbs, tongues, and even tools that other species wouldn't require, environmentally speaking? Land-walking, tribal groups of bipeds have thus far been the only link in our evolutionary chain, but does this betray some sort of undiscovered set of rules, or is it, again, simple luck?
Could birds and fish and frogs and insects ever have entered an environment that provoked these traits, and then been lucky enough to reproduce the proper mutations with enough time to not be wiped out by an extinction event?
As far as I know, modern evolutionary biology doesn't exactly offer us any other answer than "random, thanks." All of my other questions have been answered the same: random.
As unappealing as the answer may be seem to be, from a
purely scientific explanation, Evolution via Natural Selection has absolutely no preferred "outcome", or "goal". Re-wind the tape of Life, and re-record it, and it is conceivable that some form of intelligent Life might have emerged hundreds of millions of years ago...or millions of years from now,...or perhaps never. Assuming intelligent life did arise, whatever form it takes, it is a vanishingly small probability that anything resembling primates/homonids/humans would ever reappear. This is a simple consequence of contingency, and the incredibly huge number of possible pathways that evolution can take. Of course, some people believe (like myself) that while scientific theories accurately describe our physical Universe, there is also a deeper Agency at work, which cannot be apprehended by science. However, this is a scientific discussion, and religous beliefs and/or explanations are not relevant.
I would caution the use of the term "random", as a catch-all term to explain Evolutionary processes. Certainly, one component of Evolution is, in a biological sense, "random", and that is mutations (see clarification below)*. However, the mechanism of Natural Selection is decidedly not random...it is deterministic. Natural Selection acts mechanistically upon the variation that organisms possess, (due to random mutations), and actively selects (deterministically) those variants that are fortuitously better adapted to changing local environments...thereby conferring, on average, differential reproductive success for the better adapted variant. These variants will then pass along these favored traits to their offspring, by inheritance.
*The term "random", when used by evolutionary biologists in the context of mutation, is not quite the same as the pure mathematical meaning of "random". In the evolutionary sense, "random" mutation means only variation that is not inherently directed towards adaptation...
not that all mutational changes are equally likely. A subtle, but critical point, and one that is widely misunderstood by not only the general public, but even amongst scientists unfamiliar with evolutionary biology.
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Let me be more specific: most of my unanswerable questions that have arisen through the course of my education have been related to homosapiens and consciousness. Biologically, evolutionary theory is very sound and the biggest mysteries remain at the beginning, during extinction events, and now with us freak-ass human things. To summarize: humans create all sorts of evolutionary loopholes and unanswered questions, we throw a big ass wrench into the cogs of what would otherwise be a natural, biological system that follows observable rules over a given amount of time. Basically, we've completely changed the rules.
These are all good questions, and deserve continued research and scrutiny. Again, focusing my comments on purely scientific explanations, there is not anything inherently "special" about Homo sapiens. An Anthropic principle can be put forth to explain our perception as being somehow "uniquely special". The only reason we can sit back and contemplate our special position as intelligent, cognitive, self-aware creatures, is simply because, to our knowledge, we are the only fully "conscious" creatures able to sit back and contemplate such things. A bit circular, I realize, but Anthropic principles tend to be. If we weren't here, we wouldn't be able to have this discussion, so to speak. Of course, the "uniqueness" of our consciousness...and even the very definition of "consciousness" is a matter of some debate. For example, a fundamental cognitive test is the capability for self-recognition, which is determined via the MRS (Mirror Response Test) protocol. To date, humans, great apes (especially chimpanzees/bonobos), and elephants have the confirmed ability to pass the MRS. Additionally, there is very strong evidence that dolphins (perhaps most cetaceans) as well as at least some birds (corvids, i.e. Magpies) can also pass the MRS. The existence of self-recognition, in turn implies a degree of self-awareness, intentionality, and cognition.