Humanity, Evolution and Our Place in This World

Of all of the species of animal life that have existed on Earth, it would seem that humanity has been the most successful. In the relative short time span that humanity has been in existence, much has been achieved. Great civilizations have risen, fallen, only to rise again. There have been no other species that has achieved as much as humanity has. Humanity has evolved into the dominant form of life on Earth.

When one speaks of evolution and humanity, instantly alarms are raised, senses are heightened and tempers flare. To speak of humanity evolving from a lower life form is offensive, even blasphemous. Unfortunately, to those who are skeptical, evolution is a fact of life. Life does adapt and change to meet the needs of environmental demands. In order for an organism to survive, it must adapt and change.

The evolution of life has been and continues to be a remarkable odyssey. It is primarily considered that all life evolved from single-celled life in some primordial sea, and yet, life still remains at the single cell level. The common misconception about human evolution is that man evolved from the ape, and yet apes still exist. The most commonly accepted scientific train of thought is that humanity evolved from an offshoot of an apelike ancestor, and apes evolved along a different path.

Mammalian evolution is remarkable in that it started primarily after the mass extinction of the dinosaur, an extremely successful species due to their length of time in existence. From one common ancestor, mammals exploded into diversity, changing and adapting over millions of years, adapting to specific environmental concerns. While humanity's development progressed alongside other mammals, one defining moment brought humanity out of the animal roots into the progression to higher reasoning. That defining moment may have been the first use of a primitive stone tool, an event that began the long journey of success that humanity has achieved.

Humanity has moved out of the jungles and into the cities in a relatively short span of time when considering the life of Earth itself. At times, humanity has lived in a somewhat harmonious accord with the natural world, yet has primarily been in conflict with nature, seeking to have supreme mastery. Some members of humanity see themselves and others as the biggest problem that faces the survival of all life on the planet. It is true that humanity has been as brutal in its treatment of the natural world as it has been toward other humans.

Efforts are continually being made to at least show more respect toward the natural world. Humanity still seeks to shed the blood of others. In the past, it was common practice to dispose of human waste and trash in a very haphazard, unhealthy manner, causing more illness. Waste products from industry were casually dumped into waterways, contaminating fresh water supplies. Factories would pump toxins into the air with no regard to the effect on humans, with little or no concern toward animals. Times change and humanity has sought to clean up mistakes of the past. DDT is no longer used as it was in contaminating the ecosystem. Factories are under tighter control to have less toxic emissions. Waste products are treated much more carefully with an attention to less impact on the natural world.

It is interesting to note the phrase "natural world." Some members of the human race see humanity as a blight on the face of the planet, continually destroying and exploiting the natural world. Humanity is a part of the natural world, probably the most vital part of the natural world in that humanity can clean up after itself and seek to preserve more of the natural world.

For all of our great technological achievements, it is very likely that humanity is still relatively immature, especially considering our time on this fragile world. Like children stumbling around, wreaking havoc, humanity has brought chaos to the natural world and is beginning to accept responsibilities for its actions. There is a more harmonious balance that can be achieved with nature and humanity is seeking out that balance. Unfortunately, a harmonious balance with each other seems more difficult to grasp.

Humanity has evolved and achieved a great many things, gaining more and more control of the natural world and also a better understanding and respect toward the natural world. While the topic of evolution is a difficult one to speak of without finding spiritual questions, evolution should not be looked down on as a shameful or sinful view of humanity's creation, it should be looked at with an immense amount of pride. While the physical form may have evolved, along with the physiological capabilities of the mind, the essence of the human mind and its origins is still a mystery. Perhaps that is the "image of God" placed in each and every one of us. That gift, along with the ever changing, ever adapting nature of humanity, will allow humanity to achieve even greater levels of existence in the future.