The Next Human Evolution
Introduction
Several years ago, Charles Darwin’s book on The Origin of Species introduced us to the broader concept of evolution. Most studies of human evolution have often cited that it began about seven million years ago. Scientists claim that this process involved four stages that led to the formation of the modern man – Homo Sapiens, about two hundred thousand years ago. The modern human was considered to have a superior brain with a larger capacity compared to the others. However, archeologists also cite that the early humans had got a larger brain capacity – 1500 cubic centimeters, compared to the current humans – 1300 cubic centimeters. Theories of evolution have often cited that humans were more upright and used two feet to walks – bipedalism. Charles Darwin attributed claimed that human evolution was significantly dependent on what is called natural selection. This implied that it was the survival for the fittest while the weak ones died. (Foley, 1995).
However, over the year, humans have often shown a higher sense of genetic unity, thus, making most people be convinced that they don’t evolve anymore. Most scientists have cited that human evolution is still going on, and natural selection is still playing a part in it. Nevertheless, the current and the next or future evolution is considered to be much more complexed. This is because it entails several forces of evolution, which are like artificial selection and genetic drifts. These have been pushed by the various advances by humans in the field of medicine. The evolution of current and next human evolution is also cultural and behavioral. There are still more factors, such as technological advancement still continues to push human evolution. Consequently, this paper offers an analysis of the current human evolution and what happens next in human evolution.
“The modern theory of evolution – built on a vast array of supporting evidence from diverse scientific fields – is now widely accepted.” (Stock, 2008). Most people have come to agree that the process of evolution is still apparent. In the world today, natural selection still remains to be the primary factor in human evolution. Those who possessed certain traits excelled while those who lacked became extinct. However, over the years, various advancement in the field of medicine has often seemed to push human evolution beyond natural selection. This concept has always been referred to as artificial selection. Most scientists have often agreed that modern human evolution isn’t so major or rapid as the artificial selection is more significant than natural selection. Therefore, many evolution forces – apart from the natural selection will always define the next human evolution.
Natural selection isn’t written off entirely; it still exists and shapes how humans evolve too. This is quite visible in how human DNA has evolved over the past years. In the history of humanity, humans have been faced with numerous struggles with numerous outbreaks of disease. In the process, many have been killed while others who remained developed immunity response towards them. For instance, malaria used to kill a lot of people; but over the years, scientists found that the human body had developed genetic resistance to malaria in most people. Currently, the world is struggling with the Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has claimed affected many and claimed a lot of lives. In most cases, the disease is threatening to those with weak immune systems. Despite being new, some scientists have asserted that humans might have to live with the disease and since they will undoubtedly develop some resistance to the disease.
There are many evolutional characteristics that are linked to artificial selection and are mostly linked to technological improvements. The advancement in medicine has seen the rise of change in normal human biological processes. These changes have significantly gone beyond the normal belief that evolution was significantly influenced by Darwin’s natural selection claims. (Sanchez, 2010). A very good example is the process of birth. For many years, the birth was always done on the natural course – birth canal. However, there were some cases where complications could arise, which might pose a fatal risk to the mother and child. However, the advancement in science and medicine saw the introduction of birth by cesarean section. Of course, this was due to biological features such as Cephalopelvic disproportion, which complicated the normal birth process. Thus, the cesarean section has also, in some way, influenced the change in the human (women) anatomical structure. Most scientists discovered that this artificial process changed the pelvic structure. Therefore, this saw an increase in women with narrow hips.
The evolution of humans in the future is also taking a different cultural and behavioral form. Humans have often been considered to be ‘culturally cumulative’ than all the other species. They have often adopted various cultures since the early evolution period and conserved most of these cultures. Humans are evolving since, through history, a new culture has been developed, and many others are yet to come. The change increase in human intelligence is spurring technology and thus, leading to new cultures. For instance, humans had reached the age of exploring the space and even landing on the moon. Since then, humans made space exploration to be a culture. With the rise in population globally, most scientists have often thought of the possibility of living on Mars. Therefore, in the future, human evolution will lead to such cultures. Another instance is the development of robots and artificial intelligence; in fact, it can’t go without mention that in this age, there are humans who survive on prosthetics. This serves as a cultural factor in future human evolution too.
When it comes to evolution, the behavioral factors play a part too. William & Davison (1991) claimed that; “the origin of modern human behavior is traced to the point at which language emerged, giving rise to the radical change in perception.” As the human continues to evolve, it is evident that there are behavioral changes too. The rise in technology has led to the creation of sophisticated machines and programming languages that have often engaged the brain. For instance, video games have tended to bring about some changes to the human brain as they interact with them. The rising concept of Artificial Intelligence is also dubbed as the next factor in human evolution. Most researchers have often suggested that Artificial intelligence significantly influences the way humans perceive the environment around them. As mentioned earlier, technology seems to be at the center of defining what next in human evolution. Smartphones have served as an example of how they influence human technology. Most scientists and neurologists have suggested that smartphone usage has often been shaping our social behaviors and cognitive responses to the environment around us. Thus, this has influenced the cultural and behavioral aspects of humans. The other factor is the rise of processed foods. In the early periods, the Homo Sapiens had always been advancing in terms of meals. Presently, there is a big change as there is a reliance on processed food. This has often been linked to benefits and health hazards that influence human biology too. Foods laced with chemicals have often been linked with gene mutation and resulting in diseases that shorten the human life expectancy.
In conclusion, the future of human evolution is defined by artificial selection, technology, and also some sense of natural selection. This evolution is one that can lead humans to a dangerous path or to a better path. Therefore, humans should have a limit between the artificial aspects, i.e., technologies that influence culture and behavior, and connect more with nature. This would ensure that humans don’t evolve to ‘cyborgs’ but, instead of enhancing naturalism.
Reference
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