Tony At 10: EVOLUTION? BLOG # 2264; FRI SEP 18, 2020

THE COMEBACK:

WE WERE BOTH WRONG!

2 WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT! TAKE YOUR PARENTS FOR EXAMPLE

THE MESSAGE:

Where does the human race stand today? Why are we so divided when it comes to cultures, religions and science? While there are many educated, wise, and empathetic citizens of our world. the fact remains that there is no unity of cause or behaviour. We are forced to encounter so many examples of human hatred, greed and violence in our world. Was it always this bad? Which political system should we follow? Which religion is the true soul saver? What aspects of scientific research are actually an accurate picture of our future?

I have examined a book called Sapiens, put together by an individual who has some reflections and answers to our reality. The author’s name is Yuval Noah Harari.

TONY TODAY:

Harari’s book looks at the history of humankind. It touches on the evolution of archaic human species, in the Stone Age up to the twenty-first century. The text encompasses a framework that includes several references to the natural sciences and how they relate to the social sciences. His theory puts forth the idea that Human development has been shaped by three major revolutions:

The Cognitive Revolution (70,000 years ago).

The Agricultural Revolution (10,000 years ago). The Scientific Revolution (500 years ago).

CAS, (Not Kennedy or Herald)

These revolutions have empowered humans to do something that no other form of life has done. They create ideas that do not physically exist but dominate our reality, namely religion, capitalism, and politics. These concepts have enabled humans to attempt to take over the globe and have put humankind on the verge of believing they can overcome the forces of nature.

In his book, Harari hints that modern protests are doomed to fail. He presents ideas on topics that dominate our daily news presentations and give rise to much disagreement and dissatisfaction.

Some readers may feel that the author oversimplifies realities or is overly negative. Most rich people are rich because they were born into rich families. Most poor people are poor because they were born into poor families. Unjust discrimination often gets worse, not better, with time.

Why are men valued in many cultures more than women? As of 2006, there were still 53 countries where a husband could not be legally prosecuted for raping his wife. When it comes to gender inequality biology enables it but culture forbids it. The idea of “unnatural” behaviours is actually a result of Christian theology, not biology. If it is possible biologically, then it is natural. From a scientific perspective, two men having sex is natural.

All human cultures are filled with inconsistencies. For example, American people value individual freedom and equality; however, these two ideals don't always play nicely. It is part of the human experience to try to reconcile them. These inconsistencies aren't necessarily bad as they force us to think critically.

Religion is a great unifier of humankind, alongside money and empires. The central tension, with accepting monotheism, is how to deal with the fact that there is evil in the world. God is believed to be good and caring. If God is good why would he allow evil things to happen? For me the answer is simple. One has to earn and appreciate the concept of goodness by facing and rejecting evil.

Even the rich and famous are rarely satisfied. The mind naturally craves more in every situation. There are a variety of “natural law religions” that are popular today like communism, capitalism, and liberalism. The search and lust for possessions has developed everywhere and according to Buddhist tradition all suffering arrives from craving.

There is no proof that history is working for the benefit of humans or that human well-being increases over time. Success is obviously good for the victors, but is it good for us all? One difference between religion and science is that science assumes humankind does not know the answers to many of life's biggest questions. Religion assumes that the important stuff is already revealed. Science assumes human ignorance.

Scientists generally agree that no theory is 100 percent correct. Thus, the real test of knowledge is not truth, but how it affects usefulness. Science gives us power. The more useful that power, the better the science. The military arms race drives science forward in rapid fashion. The truth is war prompts many scientific discoveries.

Modern capitalism has exploded the growth of humankind often to the detriment of many. Each year the United States population spends more money on diets than the amount needed to feed all the hungry in the rest of the world. In recent years, more people die from suicide or car accidents each year than from war or violent crime.

If happiness is based on meaning, then increasing our happiness is a matter of deluding ourselves about the meaning of our lives. One benefit of religion is that belief in an afterlife gives meaning to your life in the present. Buddhism has studied happiness for over 2,000 years. It shares many viewpoints on happiness with science. Most notably, that happiness results from processes within the body and not from the outside world.

The Buddhist philosophy of happiness centres around the idea that you are not the events that happen to you, nor the feelings you have. You are not your feelings. They are just feelings. Thus, if you understand this, you can release the need to keep chasing the quest to feel happy or to not feel angry or to not feel sad. In other words, you have to understand yourself.

THE MUSIC:

RICHARD SANDERSON: REALITY

INTERESTING STUFF:

Who said crime doesn't pay?

The family (brothers and sister) of George Floyd opened a Go Fund Me account to "help the family"? It has already raised $14,732,000 and still counting. Yes, over $14 MILLION.
All this is for a corrupt felon who was arrested NINE times, did prison terms three different times totaling roughly eight years; was a convicted drug dealer (and was at a drug deal the day he died); had abandoned his wife and kids 6 years prior; showed recent use of meth and fentanyl in his system; held a gun to the stomach of a pregnant lady while his five buddies robbed her home; and clearly cared nothing about our society or our penal system.

America is memorializing him now by painting murals of the guy on the sides of buildings like he's a hero? Unbelievable!!

THE PUN:

The best way to communicate with a fish is to drop them a line.

THE QUOTE:

"In the past 1000 years, humans have evolved to take over the world and are on the verge of overcoming natural selection and becoming gods. Yet, we still seem unhappy in many ways and we are unsure of what we want. Is there anything more dangerous than dissatisfied and irresponsible gods who don’t know what they want?” Yuval Noah Harari.

THE QUESTION: