An assistant professor of environmental studies program wrote an article titled "Extinction Panic Is Back, Right on Schedule" In the January 28, 2024 edition of the New York Times . His last paragraph reads in part "We are living in the very world that many in the 1920s already saw coming. But we're also doing something they could not have predicted: surviving it. At least for now. “ My response follows.
He acknowledged that we are in an age with the expectation of an apocalypse . We have issues with climate anxiety and quoted an article called "The Morality of Having Kids in a Burning Drowning World" B. We have public health infrastructure problems with worse contagions to come. C. A.I will soon threaten humanity ,by taking jobs, D. Having an imminent population collapse as researchers are studying fertility and population decline . Some call it a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming. E. Will the Ukraine and Middle East conflict trigger World War III with the use of nuclear weapons ? The author adds that the human species could be extinguished by our own selfishness . And , violence may well be the last bipartisan impulse .
The professor described the extinction panic that occurred about a hundred years ago. The 1920’s was traumatized by a pandemic , a devastating world war and new technological developments. Notable quotes about the doom , gloom and the belief that we were headed for self-destruction because of being hardwired were disseminated by Winston Churchill , novelist H. G. Wells, biologist J. B. Haldane, F.C.Schiller, the British philosopher, and the Czech playwright Karel Capek . Additionally, the 1925 Geneva protocol was signed. It was an international agreement banning the use of chemical weapons in combat. These facts supported the author's contention that despite the near hysteria of the 1920’s, we survived .
Is the evolution of the Homo sapiens species , regarding extinction, consider the following : 1. The human brain consists of three parts. The first is considered the Archaic or Reptilian brain which is also found in lizards and snakes with the function of instinctual behavior like defending territory and keeping safe. We can all agree that instinctual behavior is necessary in our survival . . However, more than Instinctual behavior is necessary for human survival .
The second part of our brain , and more evolved,is referred to as the Old or the Mammalian brain as found in cats and dogs. The functions of this "brain" include mood, memory, hormone production and control of the limbic system. The anterior cingulate is the structure primarily responsible for cognitive, emotional and attentional processing with the functions of the hippocampus for memory formation, spatial memory and navigation. And the amygdala is primarily responsible for fear, fight or flight responses and anger. Also, the hypothalamus is a major controlling organ of the autonomic/endocrine system regulating temperature ,hunger , thirst, sexual arousal and the sleep-wake cycle. This part of the brain allows us more opportunities than the "Reptilian " brain for optimal functioning. However, the emotional capacity, in the amygdala, has not significantly evolved and ,at times , contributes to self defeating irrational interpersonal amoral motivational survival behavior.
The third part of our evolved brain is referred to as the New Brain located in the Cortex . Our human brain includes the functions of higher cognition. abstract thought, use of tools, formation and comprehension of language and social behavior. This section of our brain is the most complex object in the universe so far has allowed us to have created the most unimaginable technology with more to come. Perhaps, biological or genetic engineering technology might result with unintended consequences being related to the darker side of man.. Man’ nature can be described as helplessness with a sexual propensity . Has a tremendous capacity for learning , ego needs of dependency, aggression directed toward self and toward others as well as a preponderance of irrational and amoral repetitive behavior.
On our planet, over the past millions of years , we've had several human species. Species are defined as being able to mate with each other , give birth to fertile offspring and share common DNA. About 70,000 years ago ,species belonging to Homo sapiens arrived. For example ,there have been Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus, Homo Neanderthal and others . For approximately the past 10,000 years , Homo sapiens have been premier and the only human species. What happened to all those earlier human species ? How did they become extinct ? And why should the extinction process end ?
At one time, the Homo Neanderthals ruled. They had exceptionally large brains and were able to hunt large predators such as mammoths, sabertooth tigers, etc. They were built stocky, strong, lived in caves and so forth. They were not monogamous. They didn't have one sexual mate, or even one sexual partner at a time. In other words, the Neanderthals were tremendous hunters ,gatherers and polysexual beings . They created wood tools, took what they wanted when they wanted it.
There also were alpha males to lead , control and direct . Moreover, in thinking about our animal relatives, such as the chimpanzees, we find the dominant alpha male in their groupings in which other males and females submit. The alpha male stops and controls violence between other aggressors, monopolizes special foods and deals with mating interferences. He's in charge of the females. This alpha male wins his position because he has a large and stable coalition in which they all spend time together, share food together, have mutual grooming and help one another in times of trouble. This sounds very familiar .
What happened to the strong aggressive sexually minded Neanderthals ? How and why did they become extinct? Well, about 10,000 years ago Homo sapiens evolved . The smaller brain weaker Homo sapiens conquered, destroyed and wiped out the competition for food etc. The Homo sapiens were smarter and formed larger groups.
Did all the Neanderthals vanish by genocide? I'm sure Homo sapiens contributed to the genocide of the Neanderthals. On another note, roughly 1 to 4% of our unique human DNA or self replicating material is a characteristic found in Neanderthal DNA. In other words, we share , have borrowed and have carried some genetic information from these primitives.
Likely, our alpha aggression , difficulty with being monogamous and amorality are built into the wiring in our evolved brain . Psychologically, Jung wrote about the collective unconscious . Jung suggested that all humans have an underlying experience in our mind . It’s latent memories of what our ancestors thought ,felt and behaved . It's a collection of deposits of ancestral experiences that's located and not visible in the unconscious. In other words, we are born with predispositions to perceive, think, feel and react according to various collected images , symbols or archetypes.
According to Jung, we have images , memories of the great warrior; the omnipotent , cruel and powerful God, king ,emperor ; the wise old man; the good nurturing loving mother; the bad, wicked, adulterous harlot female and so forth. Jung wrote about a dark side that can become monstrous, dominant and evil . Notably, in our brain , there’s hard wiring with a propensity for impulsive, sadomasochistic, antisocial, emotional and evil behavior despite the more fully and well developed executive functioning in the cerebral cortex. At times , the dark ,evil side of homo sapiens dominate .
Historically, Homo sapiens are the prime rulers of this planet. We've wiped out Neanderthals and are on our way to wiping out the Amur Leopard, Black Rhino, Bornean Orangutan, Cross River Gorilla, Sumatran Elephant and so many more on the endangered species list. We have climate change disasters and have polluted our waters. We've raped the earth of natural resources and have developed "state-of-the-art" weaponry. Many in the world's population are anxious, fearful, and are turning to the "protection" of authoritarian rule. Perhaps, it's time to arm ourselves like the evangelicals for the upcoming "Armageddon" as the nature of man is helpless, sexual , requiring, dependency for survival, with tendencies for killing, hate, sadomasochism and destruction . .Moreover, another threat to Homo sapien survival relates to the future of A. I. , genetic ,and/or biological engineering technology with repetitive compulsive , greedy self serving authoritarians..
PS
As the most dangerous , destructive and deadliest species in history , Homo Sapiens are associated with the extinction of 23 of 24 Australian animal species weighing hundred pounds or more; 90% of Australia's megafauna; and the majority of the local megafauna in New Zealand along with 60% of all bird species. The American fauna was far richer than it is today . At one time it had mammoths, mastodons, rodents the size of bears ,herds of horses , camels ,oversized species like sabertooth cats and,giant ground sloths. North America lost 34 of 47 of large mammals; South America lost 50 of 60; and most of the large animals of Madagascar vanished according to paleontologists and zooarchaeologists with the arrival of Homo sapiens ..Is it the "survival of the fittest" what Darwin meant or man’s repetitive compulsive history ?
Reference
Harari ,Yuval Noah . Sapiens , A Brief History of Humankind.
Institute for Natural Resources. Understanding Dementia.
Jung, Carl. Psychology of the Unconscious.
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