Evolution of Humans in the Future - Term Paper Example

Evolution of Humans in the Future- Possibilities, Prospects, Possible/Probable Limitations Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Prospects for Human Evolution in the Future III. Possibilities for Human Evolution in the Future IV. Probable/Possible Limitations to Human Evolution in the Future V. Overall Predictions Works Cited 1 2 I. Introduction This paper discusses the prospects, possibilities, and limitations of human evolution moving forward, with an eye towards making predictions based on existing literature from futurologists and the academic and credible popular literature as can be found online. The literature defines human evolution as that six million-year process wherein modern humans evolved from ancestors that were basically apes or ape-like in their biology, and that implies that in terms of biology/physiology and behavior, modern humans evolved from apes, with prospects for continued evolution being traced back to this long evolutionary process with ape-like roots. It is fantastic to note that many aspects of modern humans, including their capacity to form complex cultures and beautiful and complex artifacts of art and beauty, were the product of evolution over the span of just 100,000 years leading to the present, even as the ability to walk upright is said to be traced back to a period four million years into the past. Complex brain biology, linguistic skills, and the ability to create and employ tools, are said to be even nearer to the present than the evolution towards walking in an upright manner. In a fundamental sense, human beings are classified as primates, having sprung on evolutionary terms from Africa, from a species from which also sprang the apes, which are the closest evolutionary cousins of humans. A shared ancestral lineage with chimpanzees and gorillas goes back to as far as eight million years into the past. From an early pool of about 20 species of early humans, the modern human being evolved to the present time, with the rest eventually petering out in terms of lineage as they failed to proliferate and died leaving no offspring to continue the evolutionary line. From Africa, early humans moved to Asia about two million years from the present, and to Europe about a million years from the present. Civilizations on the other hand are traced only to the last 12,000 years, prior to which there were none. The trajectory of human evolution over the millennia suggests that humans evolved to develop capabilities to adjust to the changes in the external environment, as evolution has favored that adaptive trait in early humans and allowed for new ways of living for present day human beings (Smithsonian Institution; Stringer; Behrensmeyer). II. Prospects for Human Evolution in the Future The Harvard futurologist Juan Enriquez outlines prospects for human evolution that includes the creation of a new species coming from the base of human beings at present, to be aided by developments in regenerative science and robotics, among other things, all coming together to allow human beings to engineer themselves and to improve themselves on the level of the DNA, in a spiral of evolutionary changes that in the long term will result in new species of humans that are vastly improved biologically and in many other respects. Human beings will have better vision spanning a greater section of the visible and invisible wave spectrum of light, and as well be able to extend the powers of hearing beyond the normal human range, to the hearing range of animals such as bats and dogs, and the creatures of the deep and beyond. The difference in these alternative scenarios for human evolution is that the human beings of the present time have the power to direct the course of their own evolution, in an intentional manner so to speak, rather than in the usual manner of evolution as it has occurred, which was the product of the environment, of random genetic mutations and natural selection processes. In the alternative evolutionary paths, the genetic mutations are engineered on purpose, and human selection rather than natural selection takes root to fashion new human species for specific purposes (Enriquez; NPR). The case for a human-directed evolution of his own species, to birth new species of human beings making use of technologies at his disposal, is compelling. Enriquez details progress in organ regeneration, for instance, opening up new avenues for organ and body engineering, with implications for the future evolution of human biology. Already the predictions extend to humans evolving vision and hearing that are beyond the capabilities of our present organs of sight and hearing, and the key to this evolution is the present species’ growing abilities in regenerative biology fused to advances in robotics and the allied biological and engineering disciplines (Enriquez; NPR). In a book, futurologists Enriquez and Gullans further develop the thesis of the inevitability of human evolution beyond the present species, towards new species, traced from the past trajectory of human evolution and the on-going evolution of many other life forms on earth. The balance of the evidence seems to be that far from having reached an apex, after which human beings will not evolve anymore, the data suggests that human beings will continue to evolve, from here on partly as a result of the unrelenting progress in the abilities of man to recreate his own physiology, to improve his own chances of survival, to adapt to the environment, to re-engineer and refashion his biology to make it stronger and to make it more sensitive to more sensory inputs from the external world. The prospects therefore are of human beings being able to perpetuate the species and to direct his own evolution from here on, towards new and better versions of the current biology. Many strands of evidence point to this growing synthesis of the various biological, engineering, and other scientific disciplines by man to be able to extend his mastery over the external world and over his own biology and the biology of organisms that are vital to man’s own survival and evolution (Enriquez and Gullans). III. Possibilities for Human Evolution in the Future Another futurologist discusses the future of human evolution beyond physiological and biological evolution and towards an evolution in terms of the consciousness of future human beings. Lombardo argues that in fact, evolution on this plane, on the plane of consciousness, is on-going, and there is a case for seeing that progress in society, in the arts, in religion, in the understanding of man’s place in the universe and even of his understanding of the metaphysical aspects of his existence, can be construed as manifestations of an on-going human conscious evolution. One can therefore situate future human evolution in terms of progress in consciousness and in the awareness of the purpose and reason for the universe’s existence, and for the place of man in that overall scheme of things. For instance, human evolution has been marked by a progress in the understanding of human mortality, and in the future evolution will move towards heightened subjective awareness of internal human realities such as consciousness, what consciousness is, consciousness in relation to identity and sense of self, and consciousness in terms of human progress in the arts, in society building, in science, in religion, and in other intelligent endeavors. One can stretch this line of thinking to include progress in the evolution of human consciousness as having aspects of progress in environmental consciousness and the impact of human activities on the sustainability and balance of the external natural environment (Lombardo). IV. Probable/Possible Limitations to Human Evolution in the Future The literature suggests that human evolution can be thought of as occurring on the physiological and biological level as well as on the level of psychology, religion, culture and consciousness, with no real limits in terms of the scope and depth of the probable routes of evolution that can transpire. Limits to biological evolution can include that the base or foundation of evolution is the present physiology of human beings. Moreover, caps on future human evolution, if self-directed, are in the areas of the limits of human science and knowledge in general (Enriquez; NPR; Lombardo). . V. Overall Predictions There are two strands of evolution that are poised to determine the trajectory of human evolution moving forward. One strand is biological/physical, and this strand is dependent on progress in human technologies such as in regeneration, robotics, engineering, tissue science, and the related human technological disciplines. The other strand has to do with human software, so to speak, in contrast to the hardware which is human physiology. So ultimately the software side involves probable routes of human consciousness evolution. It is easy to see that on the side of physiology, even current technologies are allowing for human beings to regenerate parts of their physiology, and to extend the sensory powers by rehabilitation, augmentation, and the boosting of natural capacities for the five senses. Already these changes, coupled with progress in the engineering disciplines, promises to transform the species on a physiologic basis. Moreover, from the perspective of human consciousness evolution, the predictions are in the area of progress in self-consciousness and group consciousness, with implications for the other soft aspects of human beings, including society, arts, and religion. This latter evolution is not easily measured, in comparison to which human biological evolution would be more easily investigated using present scientific tools, methods and techniques (Lombardo; Enriquez and Gullans). 3 Works Cited Behrensmeyer, Anna. “Climate Change and Human Evolution”. Science 311. 2006. Web. 30 October 2014. Enriquez, Juan. “The next species of human”. TED. 2009. Web. 30 October 2014. Enriquez, Juan and Steve Gullans. Homo Evolutis: Please Meet the Next Human Species. TED Books/ Google Books. 25 January 2011. Web. 30 October 2014. Lombardo, Thomas. The Evolution of Future Consciousness: The Natural and Historical Development of the Human Capacity to Think About the Future. AuthorHouse/Google Books. 2006. Web. 30 October 2014. NPR. “Juan Enriquez: Are We Evolving into a Different Species?” TED Radio Hour. 2014. Web. 30 October 2014. Smithsonian Institution. “Introduction to Human Evolution”. Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. 2014. Web. 30 October 2014. Stringer, Chris. “Modern human origins: progress and prospects”. The Royal Society/NCBI. 2002. Web. 30 October 2014. Read More