My study of Darwin in this class has taken a new path. I’ve always thought of Darwin as an explanation of the physical world. But because technology is so prevalent in our class, I’ve begun to look at his work through that aspect. I’ve gone back and forth several times over the last few weeks on whether or not humans are effecting evolution for the better or worse. I’ve thought about the angle that more people are living and we have more of our species and therefore our species is dominant. But I can’t ignore the fact that there also is a component about competition between members of the same species. I feel also as though human intelligence has been the species greatest asset. I come to realize because of explanations by Darwin, that intelligence has become the most helpful and the most hazardous aspect of a human’s evolution.

In terms of the medical field, human knowledge has made significant leaps and bounds even in the last thirty years. Humans have become better at surviving and therefore are better at the ultimate goal of evolution, reproduction. They have also become more successful in ensuring that contraception can take place so their genes will be passed on to the next generation. Humans are constantly trying to medically bypass the natural selection of genes by “outsmarting nature.” It is no longer what you are born with but how resourceful you can be. Humans have found ways to make them more attractive, stronger, and more fertile by means personal intelligence or the intelligence of others. So in one sense we have aided natural selection in the respect that we increase our chances of our genes surviving to the next generation, and have found ways to make sure that certain traits are selected for. However we have also taken the job away from natural selection the short term in the sense that we have used our intelligence to live longer, have more children and artificially make ourselves more attractive to our potential mates. For example, we are no longer dying of certain genetic diseases. Certain diseases or “undesirable” traits are being continued to be passed on because medical science is treating them, therefore bypassing natural selection that would have had those genes die before they were able to reproduce. We are selecting to have these genes be passed on and thereby hindering the species. Furthermore, a natural way of keeping population down has been taken away. According to Thomas Malthus, the earth will not be able to support an ever-expanding population. Because the population is living longer and dying less due to medical advances we are changing the face of the evolution of the planet as well as ourselves. We have taken away a fundamental genetic “check” on the population by treating certain diseases. And because our species isn’t dying we are putting additional stress on other species because the planet is not an infinite resource for us to exploit.

Technology has also been a savior and a hazard to evolution. Humans have used their intelligence to build buildings, shape landscapes, and set up permanent residences. Humans have effectively used their technology to forever change the landscape of this Earth. Because of that change they have bettered themselves as a species in the sense that they are able to take most advantage of the natural resources available therefore allowing there genes to have a better chance of getting passed on. However, with this also comes the question of whether technology is our own form of Evolution that will eventually make our species obsolete. As Phillip K. Dick has pointed out, technology can go just as horribly wrong as it can do good. We cannot pretend that we are the only species affected by our interference with evolution. In “Evolutions and the Origins of Disease” by Randolph Nesse and George Williams, they explain the evolution of the HIV virus as it relates to the human race. They explain that we are more prone to treating the virulent strains of HIV that will kill thereby selecting for the less lethal ones that won’t by developing medical defenses and preventative measures. It then becomes about subsistence and the viruses that don’t kill are more likely to survive because their host is surviving longer. They say that, “our collective choices can change the very nature of HIV.” (Nesse, 462) The human race does not often think of how it’s choices effect other organisms. People tend to think that technology is only for humans and that it has no use or effect on other organisms. However if simple choices such as using a clean needle can have that dramatic an effect on viruses it’s terrifying to think what our other more significant choices have on other species. Our instinct tells us that it is better for our species to survive and our intelligence gives us the technology to do so. However, in that use of our technology we have unfortunately wiped out, altered, and hindered other species. Our intelligence is easily our greatest asset. We however have not evolved it enough to know how to use it with out being destructive to everything around us.

Sources:

Dick Philip K. The Philip K. Dick Reader, New York: Citadel Press. 1987.

Malthus, Thomas Robert. "An Essay on the Principle of Population." in Darwin 3rd ed. Philip Appleman, ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001

Nesse, Randolph M and George C. Williams. "Evolution and the Origins of Disease." in Darwin 3rd ed. Philip Appleman, ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001