Chapter 18 – The Nature of Things

It is clear that humans have inherited the genetics of a long line of predecessor animals and express themselves accordingly. Comparisons with numerous other animals reveal our animalistic nature. And yet, humans have evolved to a point of possessing a brain that has taken most of them far from their initial animalistic world to an ultramodern state of existence. Many of the circumstances that plagued them as animals have all but been eliminated in many places in the world, at least for the time being. But while they continue to function animalistically toward many environmental pressures, there are new problems, problems that bring new types of stress (distress) to them and the world around them. A look at their dominant and aggressive nature, in terms of their genetics, chemistry, widely divergent alternate approaches to a moral, amoral, or immoral life, brain chemistry, reaction to variations in nutrition, everyday interactions with other conspecific individuals, religion, politics, and warfare, reveals that humans are indeed animals of extreme complexity and capable of expressing themselves in widely divergent ways. A large and complex brain, accompanying technological skills, and complex interactions with one another have allowed humans to build a civilization so complex, demanding, and sometimes threatening that it may be difficult to maintain intraspecific and interspecific homeostasis in both the biotic and abiotic world. Some investigators strongly feel that our chances for rectifying the harm that has been done to the planet are very slim. Even if we could learn to cure our environmental ills, with the population at an all-time high, we may wonder where and how the human population will live if it is ever faced with catastrophic planetary events. Numerous underground retreats are discussed, some of which can house numerous people for an extended period of time, but many of them will be inhabited by a select part of the human population. There are steps we can take toward halting population growth and even decreasing it, but it must be implemented with some degree of responsibility on behalf of world citizens. If all of the strategies were to be put into effect, global populations would most likely peak and subsequently undergo a gradual decline, resulting in a more sustainable Earth. But that is the rub: people must take overpopulation and its negative impact on Earth seriously before we can see promising results. And while citizens may be convinced, politicians must be made aware as well, and implementation may be negatively influenced by religious and cultural beliefs. What has been said in each chapter is based on what science and the extraordinary people who have carried out the investigations feel is the truth. Antiscience sentiments issue from a variety of people and organized groups. In spite of the numerous scientific accomplishments of the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, general philosophical expressions against scientific studies have stemmed from both ancient and contemporary individuals. Due to the collaborative work of thousands upon thousands of scientists throughout the world, we have answers to many of the questions that have been asked through the ages, especially since the middle and late 1800s. An enormous range of scientific literature has been and continues to be published. Scientific journals communicate and document the results of research carried out in colleges, universities, and various other research institutions, serving as an archival record of science. Many additional magazines are written in a more popular style which bring scientific information to the general public. While we may recognize our importance as individuals to humankind, to ourselves, and to those we love and care about, our presence and status on Earth is biologically nothing more than a stage of evolution, caught in a span of time (a Goldilocks moment) that seems (in our mere lifetimes) to be undergoing little change. Yet, over greater spans of time, as with all living organisms, we have undergone enormous change and will continue to change or become extinct, and we will never escape from our biological roots because we remain as biological entities. In the end, no matter how we take care of our species, our planet, and our Earth-bound coinhabitants and how we adjust to changing conditions, it will be natural selection that will determine our ultimate fate.