Post by Mariana Castro on May 21, 2015 22:54:21 GMT
The theory of evolution is important in understanding how humans behave because it provides the fundamental reason for why humans exist and continue to exist. Evolutionary theory tells us that through natural selection, some genes evolve and continue to live while others die off. Life in essence is a competition where the best genes or species or traits survive. Human behavior therefore is controlled or dictated by the need to compete and survive in this unforgiving world. Our psychology, and our philosophical questions and our actions based on our consciousness are all explained by the theory of evolution. In the DNA of Consciousness, by Andrea Diem Lane explains how consciousness arose in the first place and how it serves an evolutionary purpose. She states that consciousness serves as a “virtual simulator” where humans can act out scenarios in their minds without actually having to do them in reality (23). This gives an evolutionary advantage because rather than running towards a cliff, we can virtually simulate ourselves running towards a cliff and falling, therefore avoiding the cliff instead. Knowing this important connection between evolution and consciousness really helps us understand human behavior, and human behavior can almost always be traced back to the need for survival to pass on our genes to our offspring. Furthermore, in the video “Genetic Connection”, it states that “we are the living record of all that came before us” (Neuralsurfer, 2013). This statement is also key to understanding how humans behave and only evolution can provide the background or framework upon which we can begin to understand our living records. Diem -Lane further supports this in stating that “knowing the conditions from where we originally arose is a central key to understanding why we survive as we do in the present" (Diem-Lane, 7). In conclusion, evolution really is the cornerstone to understanding much of human existence and everything that came after. Our technological advancements, our psychological states, our actions, our physiological/biological make up, are all a functions of evolution at work. Knowing the theory of evolution, natural selection, and survival of the fittest is essential to understanding why humans behave the way they do.