"The Nicest Species"

NMB, Florida September 18, 2001 A.H. Schectman

THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on Issues, Ideas and Reflections on the Times. Published Now and
Then. Opinions Pro or Con Are Welcome.

"THE NICEST SPECIES"

Natalie Angier, writing on page 1 "Of Altruism, Heroism and Evolution's
Gifts" in the New York Times Science Tuesday reported "The Nicest Species"
remark of an evolutionary scientist. I suppose it is true; our species is
the nicest of all although last Tuesday and this Tuesday are a mixed bag.

In dealing with evolution we find a bewildering array of acceptance of the
idea. There are those who deny evolution happened at all. They prefer the
simplistic account in the Hebrew Testament. At the opposite end of belief
are those who claim that we will eventually breed "humans" who are mostly
heads on top of useless bodies. Now, the notion that "altruism", a human
behavior, has had an evolution is an interesting idea. Altruism means your
capacity to think of others before yourself. Your love for humanity in
general outweighs your selfish wishes for yourself.

Homo sapiens have turned out to be pretty inventive and productive. We have
changed the world. And we do care. In this latest tragedy the outpouring of
just wishes for our welfare and prayer for the lives of those who are
certainly gone are truly astonishing. The labor of rescue workers and
firemen trudging up stairways while frantic people flee down them is a
deeply disturbing picture. Those who went up never got there.

I think that all species at one time or another eat their own young. We
Homo sapiens used to sacrifice babies, especially girl babies, to imagined
gods. We also used to drop off our aged, injured and infirm on the way from
one poor piece of land to a better place. They died. Their deaths improved
the chances of group survival. That's evolution for you.

We have evolved to this day when we do not sacrifice our own children (maybe
someone else's). We keep our elderly in warehouses. We flash freeze a few
in a very expensive procedure for future cures. And, now we are
investigating the promise of stem cell intervention in the diseases of some
rich folks. Our financial affairs have evolved to the point where the first
to sell low and he who buys there when the bottom is reached - they are the
ones we look up to as geniuses. Those who are wiped out are just our
present day sacrifices.

Still, all in all, I suppose we are the nicest species (even when the chief
preoccupation a week after that terrible day is profits made in the Stock
Market.) What do you think? Carol's Evaluation: Carol says "I think what I
thought yesterday and the day before - give it a rest."