Aliens Among Us
DIGRESSION
Some Aspects Of Evolution
"Darwin…recognized that existence and survival were only means
to an end. That end was reproduction" ("The Blind Watchmaker".
Richard Dawkins). Life has no other plan or purpose.
An indication that life is directed simply toward reproduction, is the
observation that evolution could have done a far better job with our physical
structure had it seen any reason to do so. "If a body plan allows
individuals to survive long enough to reproduce [and raise their young
where necessary] that plan will be selected". (Scientific American.
March 2001, page 51)
Not all people are content with the reference to a "life force"
that has no purpose other than to maintain its existence. In 1988 Bill
Moyers had a series of interviews on Public Television with Joseph Campbell,
who was a preeminent authority on mythology. A part of their conversation
went:
CAMPBELL: I don't believe life has a real purpose. I mean, when you really
see what life is, it's a lot of protoplasm with an urge to reproduce and
continue in being.
MOYERS: Not true. That's not true, you —
Campbell replies that we are the products of an evolution that has no
purpose in mind. Humans, however, have potentials, and the function of
each life is to live that potential.
-----------------------------
|
