The motive for development

What is it that pushed mankind up to the point where it is capable and in some extreme cases willing to destroy the planet on which it lives and the rest of its species?

I have a little theory of my own and it can be described as a rabid desire for control. Control in this case is as much if not more defined as a feeling of, rather than demonstrable, power over our environment and , more crucially our fates.

Mankind is a quite mind bogglingly self important creature. We saw ourselves for millenia as the single most important species in all of the universe, only to find that as a result of getting better amd better at seeing things as they really are instead of some way we want them to look, we have totally redefined our importance from the very zenith of the pyramid, to rooting around in the dust with all the other animals!

Many people were humbled by the realisation that we are just a tiny part of a reality far more wondrous and varied than we'd ever imagined.

Some others respond by ignoring this and concentrate instead on reducing the universe in both scale and age to something more easily acceptable (read creationists or other intelligent design supporters). There is a very good reason why they did this. Its very scary to admit how random and unfocussed the universe is as well as the realisation that nothing we do really affects much on such a stupendous scale.

There is the third response, even more scary than those in denial who, in response to the vastness of existence decide they will be validated in their own self importance by the exercising of control over both people, and nature itself.

We all display some of this tendency - its there every time you make an assumption or form a first impression. In many people the desire for control leads to obsession and in some cases serious danger. What sort of person would ever fire off a nuclear first strike or commits genocide? Not someone who has accepted their insignificance, for sure. These are the people who cannot accept that they are the same as everyone else except for one genetic differention among millions. They are the people who believe that any one man can be considered 'better' than any other.

However, this clearly is a double edged sword, because this need for control is the same need that drives the desire for understanding and learning. A universe following an understood set of laws is less scary than one where all is random and unfocussed.

This relates to my earlier point in 'a mental exercise' regarding human forebrain development Why did we create languages and science with this new biological tool? Why aren't we still in Africa eating carrion or scavenging fruit? Because we found we could control our environment - through tools and communications and this satisfied a need in the species that drives us even now.

Survival is itself an act of control over our environment. We control our climate, our food availability, our learning to the point where randomness is the least likely outcome and the sign of things going wrong.

But we should always remember the desire for control is a double edged sword and be watchful for signs of arrogance. The universe won't miss us if we mess up.

A

p.s. I realise i used the word randomness a lot without making it clear what i mean. In a purely scientific universe there is little that is random on a non atomic scale at least, but much of what happens is caused by so many and so detailed factors it is little use to think of them as other than random. See? I just exercised control over language. Hurrah!