I agree with the principles of evolutionary theory. Evolution and anthropology could never be more related before. Let´s use the case of the settlers arriving to the ¨New World¨, to give an example. Before blending the two different cultures, the native Americans living in North America were culturally and physically apart from the settlers who again were different from the native Americans and had a different culture and another way of adapting to the environment around them. When the settlers arrived however, the barrier was broken and everything changed. They shared similar ways of living, learned from each other, communicated and interacted with each other and produced offspring. Today, many Americans came from this ¨blending of cultures¨ and we share the same customs, celebrate the same holidays, etc. We have become more of the same, even though great changes took place before. Change is what make us who we are. We are the complex result of change and evolution and the process can be infinite, who knows. We may still evolve and globalize even more, but nobody knows for sure to which point. Evolution is never yet done. From the apes to the homo sapiens was not enough, though. We are still experiencing evolution, and even faster than ever before.
Author: J. Jackiw (jjack[ at ]hawken.edu)
Date: Jun 2, 2002REPLY: What's a Meta for?
If by "change" you mean genocide, then of course you're correct.
The history of the human race is tantamount to the history of
genocide. Our ancestors did not survive simply because they were
smarter or stronger or faster, or more fit, than their natural
predators. They survived because they had evoved a social organ-
ization which allowed them to either domesticate or eradicate
their competitors, including themselves. The preferred method of
human social evolution, therefore, is genocide, and the preferred
instrument of that method is warfare. Your analogy to the
"cultural intercourse" between the western Europeans and the
indigenous natives of North and South America, among others, is,
to say the least, quite apt. I think you need to get your head
out of the clouds of neo-religious metaphysical theory and
realize exactly what it is to which you refer, and understand the
costs and consequences of your reference.