Has evolution gone terribly wrong?

[Tomk80]

It is viewing mankind as an evolved species that is able to control it's destiny and is not doing a very good job, imo.

See, that's already where you go wrong. Controlling it's destiny is irrelevant in the case of evolution. Successful species will thrive, but this has nothing to do with the species "controlling it's destiny". There is no foresight in evolution, just which organisms are best adapted to the currently existing conditions.

However, as evidenced by many of the responses here we actually may be doing just fine. Evolution seems to have an ready answer for everything, and that we are ok. If any improvements are to occur they will have to take place in the evolutionary future (living in Wisconsin I could use more body hair, or even fur).


That's my benevolent response to opinions that don't address my actual question. I just smile (sorry, I didn't mean to 'big grin').

Could it be that your actual question is not clearly worded? Or perhaps that your actual question doesn't even make sense in the light of what the theory of evolution explains?

 

[Loudmouth]

It is viewing mankind as an evolved species that is able to control it's destiny and is not doing a very good job, imo.

What do you mean by this?

If any improvements are to occur they will have to take place in the evolutionary future (living in Wisconsin I could use more body hair, or even fur).

You already have the evolutionary adaptation for weather in Wisconsin. It's called a big brain that allows you to make warm clothes.

That's my benevolent response to opinions that don't address my actual question. I just smile (sorry, I didn't mean to 'big grin').

Your question is based on a false premise. You might as well ask why evolution gave us feathers.

 

[Split Rock]

I object. A universal truth must be universal.
My dog has no fight or flight instinct. She never fights and had to learn to run away on rare occasions.
But she only takes a few steps back at most.
I guess that's why she is my best-y dog ever. But neither one of us is exceptional in any other way. I blend in just as she does.

So the fight or flight example is baloney. If my dog doesn't have it then it must be missing from other species as well.

I object to your objection.
I contend there is no universal truth that is truly universal.
However, if you and your dog do not have the fight or flight response then you are both likley freaks of nature. My advice is to stay away from roadways, stoves, hot irons, and trains.

 

[Split Rock]

I think almost everything we do is instinctive. Just because we are consciously aware of something doesn't stop it being instinctive. Using language is the most obvious example of instinctive behaviour, but everything from little girls endlessly giggling at anything and everything to males endlessly trying to boost their positions professionally and socially is instinctive. People are very rarely aware of the reasons they are driven to do things. It's just human programming in action. We don't actually do anywhere near as much logical thinking as we imagine. Most of it is daydreams and worrying and wish fulfilment based around our instictive desires and drives. It isn't independent thinking so much as a system to ensure our biological programming is carried out as effectively as possible. That is why we spend 95% of our time daydreaming about food or the opposite sex, or worrying about our children or going over recent conversations in our heads or imagining future conversations, or imagining winning the lottery and going on holidays in the sun with lots of wine, food and sex. Actually using our brain to think logically/scientifically takes much more effort, which is why we avoid it if possible. This is why people at school tend to find the arts easier than the sciences, and why maths is regarded as a subject for unusually geeky weirdos.

Anyway, tangential ramble over. Back to the thread.

I say that we rely less on instinct because human behavior, despite your examples, is very plastic.

 

[Jamin4422]

if you and your dog do not have the fight or flight response

Actually if your in Alaska and getting charged by a 800 pound black bear either fight or flight could get you killed. That is not instinct though, that is learned as cubs when they are growing up to hold your ground. Do not back down and do not get to aggressive.

 

[RickG]

Actually if your in Alaska and getting charged by a 800 pound black bear either fight or flight could get you killed. That is not instinct though, that is learned as cubs when they are growing up to hold your ground. Do not back down and do not get to aggressive.

Black bears don't get to be 800 lbs., not even in Alaska. Also, black bears usually turn tail and run unless they are guarding something. In my younger days I used to hunt black bear in the north Georgia mountains. They are very hard to get close too, I was never able to harvest one, probably for the best.