ORIGIN OF HUMANS…HOW AND WHY WE ARE LIKE THIS

 

To understand what it is to be human, it is essential to understand human past, and how we became to be what we are today.

    Where to start …?.” From the beginning”, you could say, but there is not a line which we can call “beginning”. It´s all one event, a continuous time that carries on forever as one …

“According to the Out-of-Africa model, developed by Chris Stringer and Peter Andrews, modern Homo sapiens evolved in Africa 200,000 years ago. Homo sapiens began migrating from Africa between 70,000 – 50,000 years ago and eventually replaced existing hominid species in Europe and Asia. Out of Africa has gained support from research using female mitochondrial DNA and the male Y chromosome. Researchers concluded that all were descended from a woman from Africa, dubbed Mitochondrial Eve. Out of Africa is also supported by the fact that mitochondrial genetic diversity is highest among African populations”.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution#Out_of_Africa)

“- As the gaps are filled by the palaeontologists, the story is likely to change, but in broad outline, today's scientists believe that from their beginnings in Africa, the modern humans went first to Asia between 80,000 and 60,000 years ago. By 45,000 years ago, or possibly earlier, they had settled Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia. The moderns entered Europe around 40,000 years ago, probably via two routes: from Turkey along the Danube corridor into Eastern Europe, and along the Mediterranean coast. By 35,000 years ago, they were firmly established in most of the Old World. The Neanderthals, forced into mountain strongholds in Croatia, the Iberian Peninsula, the Crimea and elsewhere, would become extinct 25,000 years ago. Finally, around 15,000 years ago, humans crossed from Asia to North America and from there to South America”.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/human-migration.html#ixzz1grbVqcmq

    This early man was moving north slowly, they went up beyond the Nile and establish in what we call Middle East, in that flat fertile land bath by the Jordan River. These lands were perfect for settling in and have an easier life, and farming goats. It made the population grew and established around one another in the area, creating the first known settlement-town (maybe the early Jericho). It was the perfect location to experiment with agriculture. Archaeologists have evidence that ancient people grew fig trees in the Jordan valley about 11,400 years ago, making the fruit the earliest domesticated crop. Carry on growing and having goods, so the “trade” started. These people start to spread around into another free fertile land to exploit it and become wealthy too. So the trade between different settlements start, cultural evolution carried on growing too, and new kinds of cereals, new species, new material, newer and better tools arise.

 …New technology to make life easier and easier, developing agriculture and farming. The raising of the population was a fact, with a safer life and more than abundant food. And it seems that, since then, we are carrying on doing the same thing!

    So, for all this development, the early human needed to communicate, he needed to count, calculate and make notes of all these items and goods that he was handling. Every time, it was easier to create abstract figures and numbers in his head. His mind was ready to explode into an endless dimension of “abstract reality”. He could create “things” in his mind and take them as real physical things. He could imagine 8, 10 … or 30 cattle without having them in from of him, and count them, and name people who wasn’t there, and think in bigger houses to make when he will have more wealth… he was ready to play a new mind’s game, “concepts”. Not one animal could do this before.

    That simple animal that was depending 100% from mother nature for everything, who was dancing with the pulse of nature, who was taking just what he needed to survive …that animal started to walk away from nature, started to live his own mind-reality. An abstract conception of life, and he lost the contact with the ground which brought him up. It changed from an instinctual animal into a cultural one.

     Possibly in the valley of the Jordan River (actual nations of Israel and Jordan), the human had experienced the inflection point of the change for his future and the future of the planet.

    His behaviour and his relationship with the land swapped from being ruled by instinct to culture, learned from the other members of the group, becoming detached from the land … far from the pulse of the earth. Until then, nature has provided animals with instinct to manage their behaviour. However now, this new specie is managing itself, with a “non-from” nature behaviour.

    Animals are reign by instinct, which is defined as: “A pattern behaviour in each individual of the specie that makes all of them do what is necessary for them to adapt and survive in their environment, and this behaviour will repeat in each of the individuals: Hide bones, run with a specific technique, jump branches, show to the other bees where is the new flower, track a spoor, navigate through the sky or through oceans like albatross and whales…and each individual will repeat the (behaviour) in the same way, generation after generation”. In this way the specie will survive through time, and nature is kept in balance. This information or behaviour is imprinted within the animal.

There is different kind of instinct: the basic ones i.e. the behaviour of a dog when he feels danger, for instance showing his teeth and preparing in attacking position, the more complex ones i.e. the navigational skills of the Albatross…

** But humans are different from the rest of the animals in some prospect. Human babies come into the world with basic drives such as hunger and thirst, but they do not possess instinctive patterns of behaviour to satisfy them. They don’t carry a natural instinct which will help to live in their environment. In other words, they are without any imprinted knowledge.

** However, humans are genetically predisposed to rapidly learn language and other cultural traits. New born humans are amazing learning “machines”. Any normal baby can be placed into any family on earth and grow up to learn their culture and accept it as his or her own. Since culture is non-instinctive, we are not genetically programmed to learn a particular one...so, we can adapt into a new culture. And this means the more important point: we can choose our behaviour...(**. Repeated text from the first chapter).

    "Mammal’s brains are unique in that they have an additional layer not found in other animals. This extra layer, called the ‘neocortex’, surrounds the paleocortex. This outer layer is believed to help override biological behaviour with learned behaviour, and at least in the case of humans, instinctual reactions can be overridden with calculated actions. As the brain size of different mammal increases, the neocortex does not become thicker but instead increases in surface area. The surface area of a monkey’s neocortex is hundreds of times greater than that of a mouse, and the surface area of a human neocortex is hundreds of times greater than that of a monkey. This increase in surface area is achieved by folding the neocortex, which gives the human brain its distinctive convoluted appearance.

    As far as computer analogies are concerned, respectable cognitive psychologists say that the human brain operates like a massively parallel computer, which is continually trying to comprehend our situation by comparing our current perceptions to memories of similar or related experiences in the past. We then respond in whatever way we have learned to. If we have no previous experience then we simply learn from our mistakes". (http://www.evolutionary-philosophy.net/psychology.html).

     "The basic theory behind the out-dated Standard Social Science Model is that the human mind begins as a blank slate, having no internal, predesigned nature. Experiences are created only as the result of culture encoding itself onto the human mind. Reducing the human mind to nothing but that of a blank monitor screen or computer hard drive needing the software called "culture" is the foundation upon which present day psychology, anthropology, sociology and the wider western culture of the past century have existed upon. The present model thus reduces us as human beings to nothing but that of what has been most recently created -- computers, designed for the purposes of processing information. In this view, human behaviour is disconnected from any evolutionary or biological foundation. The "programmers", those who use culture to program the mind as an industry, are those who have most benefited from this unnatural hierarchical structure. The ones who deviate from the programming are most likely told to get therapy and stick with the program or suffer the consequences of social alienation". (http://www.brainchannels.com/evolution/mind.html).

Culture is the tradition and the wealth of the people, of the tribe, no matter how big it is. Culture is the adaption of our history and it’s blended with the actual tendencies. Culture is the knowledge of our society. Culture north Namibian tribes is the technique to find water in the desert, it is the language, it is their cuisine and the way they dress. Even, how they interact in their society (friendship, marriage, parents roles..)

It is normal to have roles and responsibilities being a part of a society, even bees have roles and rules in their society. The problem becomes a problem when society is not good for the individuals or the group anymore.

Culture has a reason to be and a function. It’s a common shared knowledge to help a group of individuals to exist, share and grow.

From this change in the human species, nature is not in control anymore of the behaviour of this animal. Nature cannot balance the actions or effect of this animal in the environment, nature cannot make sure this specie interact with the animals who share the same ecosystem. The natural balance, the natural equilibrium of planet Earth, which manages the survival of the whole living organism, has started its end.

 

 CONCIOUSNESS     

What do we really mean by consciousness? Knowing and perceiving an action, having awareness of the surroundings, sensations and thoughts, been aware of what one is doing. An animal cannot be conscious, it is not aware of its actions; it does what it needs to do or what it feels to do. At the same time, it is does not feel guilty of it, nor responsible. It is flowing in nature, killing animals that it has adapted to hunt as a hunter, to swim, to fly or to run as it is adapted for it, drop as it feels, playing around, making nests or whatever it wants to do, it is totally “free” to do whatever it wants to do because intrinsically its actions are controlled or commanded by nature through instincts. And nature keeps all in balance.

    Instincts, animals, and the environment had developed at the same time. Evolution was modelling, adapting and balancing them at the same time in order to co-exist. As two good dancers that keep in balance and harmony at all time, there is no real gap between them, they move and evolve as one organism, flowing in movement. In nature, that is how new species develop and how their instincts develop within their environment, all as One.

    The earth is an organism, an alive group of living groups which interfaces and co-exists. Somehow, thousand millions of animals are living together for several millions years so, the method works!! … Instincts in relationship with the environment.

    Then, humans are free from instincts, and free to do whatever they want …but…there is something else…humans have consciousness, humans are conscious animal!!. Even if we don’t see it (because it’s inside our head), it’s there!!. It’s like instincts, you can’t “see” them because they are imprinted inside the animals’ brains, but there they are.

    Conscious of what we do. It’s quite easy. We “know” what we are doing. So, if we know or see that we are doing is wrong or bad, we can stop and don’t do it anymore. If we know or see that what we are doing is well or good, we can carry with that. Well, that’s probably what nature expected from us when we gained consciousness: to balance the lack of natural instincts.

    Another definition of “Consciousness”: a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and one's environment. In common parlance, consciousness denotes being awake and responsive to one's environment. To be conscious is to step back and watch ourselves, our behaviour, the things we do, the things we say, even our mental formations (positive or negative thoughts).

 It is the counterpart. Everything has to be balanced in order to stay and to last.

So, humans are responsible for all the harm they are doing to the earth since its “development”.

    [Excuse me for giving so many definitions, but our mind works on concepts, so through concepts we have to explain this “happening” which is going on and we are unaware of it].

    All groups or societies have to have rules in order to co-exist, rules of conduct in order to survive, improve and protect the specie and the place where they live.

1- In animal groups, instincts are the ruler of the behaviours. They have developed within evolution at the same time with the environment and the individual organism. There are many examples of instincts working as a social rule in animals: i.e. the way that emigrational birds fly on specific formations; i.e. the way those big emperor penguin create an animal fort against the Antarctic wind storms (showing their bodies to the frozen gale force winds and how the swap positions after few minutes in order to prevent from getting frozen). Bees are a good example of complex social structures and behaviours. Wildebeest are on the migration trips along thousands of miles: they know where to go and how to stay in groups. In lion’s groups when a lioness is growing her cubs and she dies, another female from the group will raise her cubs and protect them from hazards and other lions.

2- In human groups, some rules are necessary to use and protect their environment. Rules help them grow as a specie and even protect them from each other. Are there any common rules in humans along the planet? …sorry, Greediness is not accepted as a rule!, and anyway, doesn’t follow the aims.

    Because humans were not born with social instincts, because humans were not born with moral rules, because they were not born wise, and because they are really greedy and self-oriented, humans are the more savage animal. (i.e. You will never see any animal executing another animal because of its beliefs, or land mining school areas,….nor going against their members, nor against their own land). That is stupid, even more for an intelligent animal as we think we are.

 

THE MISSING LINK.

     Because humans grow without any imprinted rules or moral in their brains; they kill and steal by the name of a God, they kill and steal by the name of a Nation, they kill and steal by the name of development, they can even kill and steal in their own name … destroy all wildlife, contaminate the waters & air and make 50% of the global population to be in state of misery. Probably it is for the same reason, just greediness.

    Humans have been living like wild horses without reins, they can go in the right way, but also they can turn mad and destroy everything around and it is what happened to humans. We grow as a society without trails, without right values (just material and profits ones) and it cannot work, it did not work and for sure it will not work because it is turning into a total chaos.

    But it should not be so difficult to fix this problem, to resolve it and to change these facts. We are very intelligent, and we have a mind well orientated into resolving “problems” and we even have methods of how to fix situations. So let’s go and try one of these methods:

1- Find the origin of the problem, the cause or the defected piece.

2- Find what will fix the situation, find a solution, a new working piece.

3- Apply this solution, change the defected piece or behaviour.

    Now it could be easy to see the problem, now it is easy to see what we missed and make us lost in the flow of life, and make us fight and battle against each other. We ignore and hide this loss of connection with life, we hide this loss of wisdom, and we concentrate in our material and short time goals: i.e. a bigger house, a bigger car, bigger boobs, a bigger company, more and more belongings, more and more power, more and more will to control things, more and more fear to fail, to don’t be…stress and fear that fill up our lives and stop us enjoying the continuous present time.

    We are empty, we were born empty and from that moment of parturition mostly, all we learned is “sick”, it’s not right. All what we have learned since we were babies is not orientated to be happy, it is not orientated to free people, it’s not orientated to make us conscious human beings. It does not orientate us to be wise, it does not orientate us to be in control of our life and destiny, it does not orientate us to be in harmony and help the planet. The mother earth carries on with life and evolution from the last two billons years.

    Now it is easy to see that what makes a person “a person” is the culture he or she learned, the education he or she had, the environment where he or she grew, what his or her family tough him or her, what the institutions told him or her, what he or she read in books and saw in TV...If you were born in a materialistic and profit orientated society, that would be own culture and the way you see things, i.e. the “glasses” that you are going to see life through. It is going to be your filter of reality and it is going to lead your thoughts and actions in life.

    Now, it can be easy to see that the solution is to change our culture, our selfish and ignorant way to see life. Ignorance is not-knowing, ignoring that our bad actions will bring bad consequences around us.

    Now, it can be easy to see that the solution is to grow as wiser people, able “to see”, in order to stop being ignorant. Now it should be easy to see that solution is to be aware; aware of what really is going on around us, to be aware of the fact that nature will help us to connect with it.

     Now, it can be easy to see that the solution is to be conscious of our action’s consequences, conscious of our goals, of our thoughts. Conscious of  the fact that there isn’t a line or boundary between us and the rest of the life, conscious of the fact that we belong to this ecosystem, to this big and beautiful organism…the earth. Once we really understand this, deep within us, we will stop to “mess around” and we will be able to enjoy each second of existence without worrying for all these material drives.