Human Evolution, Nature, and Culture: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Human Evolution
Mechanisms of Evolution
Living beings are capable of breeding systems. Characteristics and properties pass from one organism to another through the informational molecules contained in the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of the germ cell nuclei of the progenitors.
The Hominization Process
Our species, like all others, is the result of evolution—an accumulation of mutations subject to natural selection. We are the product of a process partially shared with other primates, such as chimpanzees, with whom we share a common ancestor.
Stages of Hominization
About five million years ago, the common ancestor to chimpanzees and humans lived in the forests covering the African territory. It was a primate well-adapted to life among tree branches.
Main Features of the Hominization Process
We can summarize the fundamental features characterizing human evolution as follows:
- Body modifications related to the configuration of the pelvis and legs.
- The creation and systematic use of tools, upon which humans have made their livelihoods depend.
Genetic Unity of the Human Species
Current biology confirms that all human beings belong to the same species, Homo sapiens, because we all share the same genetic heritage: 99.9% of our DNA is common to every human being, although each has their own personal genome.
In humans, we can discuss race, but not pure breeds. The uniformity of the human genome is what makes it possible to speak of a single human species spread throughout the planet, with diverse populations mainly in physical and cultural terms.
Human Nature and Culture
Human Nature and Culture
When we speak of nature, we mean that human beings have innate characteristics—that is, given human nature—matching humanity’s genetic heritage. Human behavior would not be possible without the influence of culture.
Analysis of Human Behavior
Behavior is an animal’s activity in relation to its environment.
Innate Behavior
Innate behavior has a hereditary origin. Reflexes are innate motor responses caused by sensory stimulation. Instincts are innate behavior patterns present in some individuals or species. Instincts differ from reflexes due to their complexity, involving the coordination of various behavior patterns. In humans, there are also conditioned and culturally influenced instincts.
Acquired Behavior
Learned behaviors result from experience and learning. Learning is the process by which an animal acquires new information and behaves more or less permanently when needed.
The Social and Cultural Dimension of Behavior
Aristotle (384-322 BC) defined the human being as a social animal by nature.
Sociability and Society
Sociability is the tendency or inclination of humans to live in groups. Society is the set of human beings who live and interact, forming social structures.
Humans need others to survive; only in relationships with others can they develop. Humans are not born as humans; they become and behave as humans through contact with other humans, developing new behavior patterns.
Society and Culture
Culture is the socially learned way of life found in human societies, covering all aspects of social life, including thought and behavior.
Cultural Diversity
There is only one human species, but many cultures and subcultures exist. The expansion of Western and capitalist technological culture threatens other cultures. Racism is another danger threatening cultural diversity.
Human Nature and Language
When we speak of human nature, we can also refer to the essential features that define us all—what we have in common, universally. Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Ernst Cassirer (1874-1945) addressed this.
The Human Animal as Symbolic
The human animal can be described as symbolic. A symbol is a material object representing the idea of something with no natural relation. The signification of symbols must be learned, and the relationship between the symbol and its meaning is arbitrary; the use of symbols is conventional.
Languages are systems of symbols. Ernst Cassirer emphasized the fundamental role of language in the evolution of our species and in shaping our behavior.
Communication, Language, and Speech
To communicate is to convey information. Every living creature communicates; animals, in particular, do so through various sounds, gestures, and touch. Because humans are linguistic animals, they are able to speak. Language is the human ability to communicate through words.
The Human in the Greek Mentality
The Human in the Greek Mentality
Nothing is as wonderful as the human being. Humans are admirable because they are a special part of nature, yet different from other natural beings.
Human Beings in Plato
Plato stated that humans are beings divided between two worlds: the body, made of matter and mortal; and the soul, belonging to another order, spiritually pure and immortal.
Humans in Aristotle
Aristotle (384-322 BC) held that humans are physical and biological beings. The human being is a substantial unity—one reality in which we can distinguish, but not separate, the two substances, soul and body. Human beings are social by nature and, through reason and language, can establish what is right and wrong.