Evidence of mankind's animal origins and continued domination by his animal nature

In response to the Guardian article, "America's anti-enviromentalists" by Kenneth Rogoff

To those Americans (and others) who still have difficulty accepting Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and what it has to tell us about our own human origins in the animal kingdom, may I suggest that modern man's behaviour (most clearly seen in America) offers the best possible evidence for it.

We are behaving just as any other population of dumb animals - or bacteria, for that matter - would, increasing our numbers and impact on the environment with little or no consideration of sustainability, until finally, its ability to support us will be exhausted and our population will crash - from perhaps 9 billion, or whatever it manages to reach, to less than 2 billion.

If we were MORE than just animals, deserving of the name, Homo sapiens, given to us by 18th Century science, we would give sustainability the highest possible priority, in order to ensure the survival and well-being of our children and future generations, rather than allowing Mother Nature to regulate matters in her usual ruthless way - which is what is set to happen in the course of the coming decades.

Unless, that is, we can prove ourselves after all to be MORE than just animals (not simply as individuals, but en masse). But before we can do that we must first recognise that our economy and way of life are (naturally enough) deeply rooted in our animal nature, which free-market capitalism has developed to exploit and depend upon.

More at http://www.spaceship-earth.org

Link to Kenneth Rogoff article " plus all comments at The Guardian.

To: Comment at the Guardian Re: Evidence of mankind's animal origins and continued domination by his animal nature Date: Sunday 5 November 06

In response to the Guardian article, "America's anti-enviromentalists" by Kenneth Rogoff To those Americans (and others) who still have difficulty accepting Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and what it has to tell us about our own human origins in the animal kingdom, may I suggest that modern man's behaviour (most clearly seen in America) offers the best possible evidence for it. We are behaving just as any other population of dumb animals - or bacteria, for that matter - would, increasing our numbers and impact on the environment with little or no consideration of sustainability, until finally, its ability to support us will be exhausted and our population will crash - from perhaps 9 billion, or whatever it manages to reach, to less than 2 billion. If we were MORE than just animals, deserving of the name, Homo sapiens, given to us by 18th Century science, we would give sustainability the highest possible priority, in order to ensure the survival and well-being of our children and future generations, rather than allowing Mother Nature to regulate matters in her usual ruthless way - which is what is set to happen in the course of the coming decades. Unless, that is, we can prove ourselves after all to be MORE than just animals (not simply as individuals, but en masse). But before we can do that we must first recognise that our economy and way of life are (naturally enough) deeply rooted in our animal nature, which free-market capitalism has developed to exploit and depend upon. More at http://www.spaceship-earth.org Link to Kenneth Rogoff article " plus all comments at The Guardian.