A new species?

Humans evolved from other primates.

That simple scientific statement seems relatively non-controversial – unless, of course, one rejects evolutionary theory as incompatible with reveled religion, a topic I’ve addressed before. Debating people whose myopic understanding of religion insists upon a literal interpretation of allegedly revealed texts is pointless, regardless of whether one’s conversation partner is a Christian, Muslim, or adherent of another faith.

The more interesting question implied in my opening sentence rarely receives attention. What form of life will evolve from humans? Unless humans destroy earth’s capacity to sustain life (or at least human life) before humans colonize other places in the cosmos, no good reason to presume that humans represent the apex of the evolutionary process exists.

An article in today’s New York Times (John Markoff, “The Future of Artificial Intelligence,” May 30, 2009) raises the possibility of a superbrain formed by linking the world’s computers. Perhaps the next major life form to emerge will be electronic rather than cellular. Perhaps the next major life form will be a cyborg, part cellular and part electronic (artificial limbs have already begun to incorporate some of these features).

My musings on this subject never advance very far. My failure to progress in developing images of a new, more advanced species that succeeds humans as the most powerful, reminds me of a need for humility, the interrelatedness of all life, and the ongoing evolution of human community.

Iraq now has a problem with lovelorn men, their marital proposal rejected by the bride’s family, seeking violent revenge using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and other warfighting techniques acquired during the years of U.S. occupation. (Rod Nordland, “Lovelorn Iraqi Men Call on a Wartime Skill,” New York Times, May 30, 2009) Iraqis are reaping the harvest of repressed anger and violence that they for decades and we more recently have sown in that war ravaged country. Before undertaking major policy initiatives, national leaders will do well to remember our limited knowledge, making decisions with humility rather than hubris.

Pakistan claims to have retaken Mingora, the largest city in the Swat valley, from the Taliban. (Griff Witte, “Pakistan Says It Has Reclaimed Key City From Taliban," Washington Post, May 30, 2009) If correct, that is hopeful evidence that the Pakistan government in spite of sometimes problematic tactics and widespread corruption is making some headway against the Taliban. Americans for too long were indifferent to Pakistan and its people. Their acquisition of nuclear weapons changed that; today, concern grows about nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, American self-centeredness drives that concern rather than genuine empathy for Pakistanis. We have yet to learn, deeply and truly, the interconnectedness of all life. Americans worry that one of our enemies will obtain, through theft or other means, a Pakistani nuclear weapon to employ against the United States. Far fewer Americans worry about the daily plight of the vast majority of Pakistanis condemned to subsist all of their days in grinding poverty.

Morocco provides some encouraging news. Women in that Muslim country are slowly acquiring rights commensurate with those of women, rights commensurate with Islam’s highest ideals. (Robin Shulman, “Moroccos New Guiding Force,” Washington Post, May 30, 2009) Good news of progress toward civil rights and justice rarely makes headlines. People prefer to read bad news, vicariously experiencing excitement and titillation rather than celebrating the achievements of others. Thankfully, even when we have little awareness of it, human community continues to evolve as the circle of cooperation that at first included only immediate kin, then spread to extended family, then grew to include tribe and nation, slowly continues to expand toward global inclusivity. In other words, humans will one day regard the self-centeredness of Americans (and many, many other nations) will, time permitting, as an anachronistic liability.