This image
depicts human evolution. The “it” that the human is referring to is life. The
man asks himself, “What is life all about?” The image is ironic because the
answer to the man’s question is the same as the animals behind him: eating,
surviving, and reproducing.
This image comes
from a book called Sex, Murder, and the
Meaning of Life written by social psychologist Douglas Kendrick. In his
book he exposes the animalistic underside of human nature.
Evolution can
explain why humans exhibit violent aggression such as murder. Killing has
presented such powerful advantages in the cruel game of reproductive
competition. Murder is an effective solution to a range of adaptive problems in
the evolutionary games of survival and reproductive competition: preventing
injury, rape, or death; protecting one’s children; acquiring a rival’s
resources and many others. Strategies that lead to greater reproductive success
are selected for, over eons of evolution, and come to characterize our species.
Murder has become a part of human nature because it is a highly successful method
of absolute elimination of competition in order to eat, survive, and reproduce.
This image is meant to highlight the similarities between animals and humans,
more specifically, the animalistic instincts that humans have.
Many scientists
have proposed the Homicide Adaptation Theory, or HAT. HAT proposes that natural
selection has shaped a number of specific psychological mechanisms for homicide
that have “solved” specific adaptive problems. Historically, killing has
conferred significant fitness benefits. Homicide could not have evolved as a
strategy unless it was ancestrally associated with greater reproductive success
then competing strategies. The function of a given adaptation can be affected
by recurrent adaptive problems in three principal ways: first, by their
presence or absence; second, the amount of a feature of the environment to the
developmental course of an adaptation; third, adaptations come prepared with
different adaptive possibilities in different environments. Each of these
examples describes an innate adaptation.
Works Cited
Bussell, Andrea. "Sex, Murder, and
the Meaning of Life." Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life.
Scientific American Book Club, 9 Mar. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
Buss, David M. "Murder Is in Our
Blood." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2005.
Web. 13
Feb. 2014.
Whipps, Heather. "The Evolution of
Human Aggression." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 25 Feb.
2009.
Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Caitlin, I really like your topic. I especially liked the fact that you focused on the animalistic, and slight morbid side of evolution and the effect it has had on humans. The primal side of human nature is not something many people like to acknowledge in today's world, even though it can be very fascinating. Also, I think you picked a great image. It works great with your argument and evidence and it' s actually kind of funny. I thought your post was well written and organized. I like that you backed up your statement with scientific findings like the HAT theory without getting too scientific, so people with limited knowledge on evolution can still understand it. A minor little issue is that you should make sure you don't confuse "then" and "than." It could just be a typo, so just try paying closer attention to those little details as you write because they can be easily missed. Also, it was slightly repetitive at some parts but other than that I thought it was great.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Julia! I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin, in addition to Julia's writing suggestions, I recommend you refer to your "image" as a "cartoon." Call it what it is. I agree with Julia that I like your topic, and the fact that you are focusing on the ugly side of human evolution. My only concern is your last paragraph. I have read it several times, and I really think that there are missing links. You are assuming that your reader will make connections. You never explain what you mean by "solve," and I think you are misusing the word "conferred." I found the last paragraph difficult to read. If you plan to use this paragraph in your paper, stop by so that I can talk through it with you.
ReplyDelete