I think it is evolving, in fits and starts and with many setbacks -- in my own lifetime I have seen huge advances in the way blacks and gays are treated. I think the reason it evolves is that we do sometimes learn from our mistakes, and because new circumstances make us re-think old ways of doing things. But I'm not sure that there's any predictable direction, and there is still always a real chance we'll screw everything up. The Roman Empire fell, and the advances made by the classical civilizations were lost for a thousand years.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Why is civilization evolving?
- Thread starter Brian
- Start date
Whether we like it or not, humankind is evolving and progressing like no other species on earth. Do you think there is an ultimate purpose to this evolution, or do you think it is just a natural progression fueled by the build up of human ideas, knowledge, experience and curiosity over the course of history? Do you think civilization is evolving towards its destruction or its enlightenment/salvation? Or something else? Is there any chance that we will stop evolving and start regressing instead?
Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word evolving. I'm interested in whether there is an ultimate point in human's thirst for advancing their knowledge and insistance on controlling their environment, whether it is leading anywhere or if it is just chance.
Are we any better off as a species than when we were self-sufficient hunter/gatherers who were controlled by the environment, experiencing unexplained "mystical" phenomona, dying naturally?
Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word evolving. I'm interested in whether there is an ultimate point in human's thirst for advancing their knowledge and insistance on controlling their environment, whether it is leading anywhere or if it is just chance.
Are we any better off as a species than when we were self-sufficient hunter/gatherers who were controlled by the environment, experiencing unexplained "mystical" phenomona, dying naturally?
Mr.noitall
New member
It has been said that history repeats it's self because no one listens the first time.
If we look at past civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, Rome they had one thing in common: they came and they went, so I don't see an evolution so much as I see a cycle. A start, a stable period, and a demise.
Of course we live in an age where the world is much smaller, so the question is going to be, can man kind find a common goal? History
tells us this has never happened. Leaders can't seem to have enough power, sooner or later there will be a conflict, what the outcome will be
no one knows.
If we look at past civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, Rome they had one thing in common: they came and they went, so I don't see an evolution so much as I see a cycle. A start, a stable period, and a demise.
Of course we live in an age where the world is much smaller, so the question is going to be, can man kind find a common goal? History
tells us this has never happened. Leaders can't seem to have enough power, sooner or later there will be a conflict, what the outcome will be
no one knows.
Phoenix Quill
New member
In the fullness of time
Some life gives rise to new life
Some life just goes extinct
Change is the constant
Evolution is the constant
To be the progenitors of the fittest is the Challenge.
There isn't really any progress or regress. Evolution is simply change & whatever change best matches the criteria for survival endures.
Some life gives rise to new life
Some life just goes extinct
Change is the constant
Evolution is the constant
To be the progenitors of the fittest is the Challenge.
There isn't really any progress or regress. Evolution is simply change & whatever change best matches the criteria for survival endures.
Phoenix Quill
New member
In the fullness of time
Some life gives rise to new life
Some life just goes extinct
Change is the constant
Evolution is the constant
To be the progenitors of the fittest is the Challenge.
There isn't really any progress or regress. Evolution is simply change & whatever change best matches the criteria for survival endures.
Some life gives rise to new life
Some life just goes extinct
Change is the constant
Evolution is the constant
To be the progenitors of the fittest is the Challenge.
There isn't really any progress or regress. Evolution is simply change & whatever change best matches the criteria for survival endures.
petswodahs
New member
1. I do not believe there is an ultimate purpose; it just happened by chance.
2. We will go toward destruction; that is inevitable.
3. Evolving is a relative term; we are always CHANGING, but whether a change can be seen as evolving is up to debate.
2. We will go toward destruction; that is inevitable.
3. Evolving is a relative term; we are always CHANGING, but whether a change can be seen as evolving is up to debate.
with all respect, it's a limited way of viewing human history. I used to think that too. Then I read The Decline Of The West, by Spengler, and understood the REAL meaning of human history.
There's really no advancement at all. Cultures are living organisms. They appear, live out their life, and then they die. Their lifespan is about a thousand years.
There's really no advancement at all. Cultures are living organisms. They appear, live out their life, and then they die. Their lifespan is about a thousand years.
So many questions
The progression is both natural and purposeful.
Destruction is not assured, and neither is enlightenment, but when one considers the destructive power we wield today, yet there are billions living in relative peace and comfort with lives improving with each generation for the majority I would say we are solidly on the road to enlightenment.
Something else is always possible. Perhaps we will be wiped out by super germ from which we can not recover. Perhaps some other assault will rob us of our cognition, intelligence or language and we devolve into hairless apes.
But I imagine that before any of that happens we will have reached the 'singularity'. A theoretical point at which our machines are smarter than us. There is no predicting the human condition beyond that point. We we be slaves to the machines? Will the machines provide us with new planes of existence that we may not be able to imagine? Will we be the machines?
The progression is both natural and purposeful.
Destruction is not assured, and neither is enlightenment, but when one considers the destructive power we wield today, yet there are billions living in relative peace and comfort with lives improving with each generation for the majority I would say we are solidly on the road to enlightenment.
Something else is always possible. Perhaps we will be wiped out by super germ from which we can not recover. Perhaps some other assault will rob us of our cognition, intelligence or language and we devolve into hairless apes.
But I imagine that before any of that happens we will have reached the 'singularity'. A theoretical point at which our machines are smarter than us. There is no predicting the human condition beyond that point. We we be slaves to the machines? Will the machines provide us with new planes of existence that we may not be able to imagine? Will we be the machines?
S
[SAY-dee] is smiling :)
Guest
I wouldn't say we're progressing...