The purpose of this essay is to present a detailed discussion on arguments for and against on whether the variances among human beings and animals only result from evolution by natural selection or not. Evolution is the process by which something gradually changes to a more complex form. Natural selection is one of the primary mechanisms of evolution and stands out to be Charles Darwin's theory of elaborating the occurrence of evolution. In natural selection genotype variations leads to increased chances of an organisms survival preservation of procreation and multiplication from preceding generation to the next generation. The environment and genetics are crucially essential factors behind successful evolution (Dobzhanky 1993, p.127-1290). It is a historical progression, and a means through which creation process is continued by nature.
Human beings belong to the kingdom Animalia with other primates. The distinguishing factors between animals and human beings are therefore not on the foundations of limited principles but degree basis. Genetics and physical body morphology are the prominent features distinguishing animals from human beings. The statements used in supporting the arguments are based on fossil records, comparative anatomy, and development. According to Carrolls 2003, (p.850) qualitative and quantifiable characteristics that differentiate beings from primates includes large brain, bipedalism, small canine teeth, language and progressive tool making skills as discussed below.
Locomotion
Bipedalism which is locomotion by use of two legs is the background to human’s differentiation from animals. Human bipedalism went through two different adaptive phases including the shift to habitual bipedalism and fully obligate bipedalism. Some animal primate's practices bipedalism but they are yet to evolve full bipedalism because their bipedalism is still at the chronic stage. Human beings evolved to being bipeds as an adaptation feature to the environmental and climate changes in the forests their former habitat. Consequently, bipedalism was of an added advantage to humans as they freed their hand for advanced tool making, could monitor their predators and escape as well as it helped them regulate their temperatures to suit the climate changes.
Communication.
Human beings are capable of communication by use of languages. Evolution of languages radically changed the human society. Languages evolved by natural selection as an adaptation to the environment. Although animals still communicate, they have no language. As stated by Ingold 1994 (p.20-22) animals communicate by use of sounds, body odours, signs and signals humans are outstanding creatures in that they communicate by use of languages. Human language is notable in that it is characterized by the fact that it has grammatical structure and it is nature specific. Human language could either be verbal or non-verbal and thus it's a clear illustration of the differences between human beings and animals as it is acquired via natural growth from parents to offspring.
Human Dentition.
The sizes of human teeth give apparent differences between them and animals. According to Emes 2011 (p.37-47), the teeth and the jaws of humans are smaller compared to those of great apes. Human mastication system was succeeded by other human anatomical characteristics like brain size and bipedalism. Proper alignment of teeth in humans as a result of evolution was of great importance during language evolution as it aided speech development. Human dentition evolved as an adaptation to the changes in diet, and it was characterized by a reduction in the size of the jaw into a thinner and less extended compared to those of other primates.
Culture.
Although other primates like the chimpanzees show an expression of culture, their cultures are not as sophisticated as human cultures. “Many human cultural traditions show an accumulation of modifications over generations in the direction of complexity” (Boesch and Tomasello 1998, p.602). Human beings show a progressive accumulation of cultural evolution which distinguishes them from animals with their cultures being intricate as part of them. Over time, human cultures have been altered to suit conditions to meet social needs. Thus human cultures are not static but dynamic. Human beings are social beings and due to the evolution of brain and bipedalism among other biological and anatomical features morality came as a by-product of the evolution of cultures. Settled habitation of humans calls for peaceful coexistence and hence culture and molarity are important determinants of peace in society.
The skull and body morphology
The relative rate of skull growth and maturation are among the large appreciated differences between apes and humans (Carroll 2003 p.851). More recent human species exhibit outstanding features which differentiate them from animals including relatively larger body masses, larger brains, and longer legs. The skull of modern human beings is larger those of other primate hominine and with a different shape exhibiting a large facial surface area compared to the skulls of adjacent relatives the chimpanzee. These morphological differences between humans and animals are purely products of evolution after the evolution of bipedalism.
Larger brains and Advanced tool making.
The evolution of brain and advanced tool making evolved as an added advantage to bipedalism. The freeing of the hand as a result of bipedalism made human beings able to create advanced tools which could enable them to adopt the changing climate changes. Darwin’s 1882 (p67-128) states that significant brain advanced tool making and bipedalism were linked to the freeing of the hands enabling humans to make tools which made him intelligent as he was adopting to the environment. Humans have the most extensive brain in proportion to their body sizes compared to the other animals. Eventually, human brains have evolved leading to complexly advancement in the degree of sophistication and relative increase in size. The invention of science and technology among other significant improvements which are not present in animals thus social tools and brains differentiate them from animals due to evolution by natural selection.
Contrarily to the earlier discussion, variances between animals and human may not necessarily be as a consequence of evolution by natural selection as some characteristics of human beings are developed to cater for situational changes. For instance, Morality is a distinguishing character between human beings and animals, and it’s not a result of pure evolution by natural selection. Molarity is instead a by-product of evolution as it came out of the evolution of cultures and permanent settlement so that it could act as a determinant factor for the dos and the don’ts of the society. Molarity is the set of societal rules, customs, beliefs and traditions which specify proper acceptable forms of conduct. It is a creation of human beings to adopt the social, political, economic and cultural spheres of human life which came as a result of a permanent settlement.
The role of creation.
There has been an existence of a supernatural reality whose role in creation could not be underestimated. According to Dobzhansky 1973 (p.127), things were made the way they appear today by a supernatural flat few centuries ago. Therefore we cannot argue that the differences between human beings and animals are as a result of evolution. Human beings were created as a special being, with the above distinguishing characteristics henceforth the authority given to human beings by the supernatural reality to take care of the other creatures were pure because they were created differently from the other animals. Human beings were created with a higher cognition compared to animals, and the differences between them and animals are probably as a result of involving their cognition which they cannot forgo its use.
Conclusion
In my point of view, the variances among animals and humans are purely effects of evolution by natural selection since there is enough prove from the existence of fossil records and reports on comparative anatomy and development which provides complex evidence to validate arguments as discussed above. It is true that bipedalism, human cultures, skull and body morphology, human dentition, language, larger brain and advanced tool making are consequently as an outcome of evolution by natural selection. Although we cannot forego the role of the Supreme Being in creation due to the presence of the mythical stories as well as biblical accounts surrounding the idea of creation the stories are just an illusion. The existence of fossil records and records of comparative anatomy are the strong foundations of validating our arguments. These evidences are present in museums showing the order of changes humans went through subsequently to present humans.
References
Boesch, C. and Tomasello, M., Chimpanzee and Human Cultures Current Anthropology 39.5 (Dec, 1998): 591-.
Carroll, S.B., 2003. Genetics and the making of Homo sapiens. Nature, 422(6934), p.849.
Dobzhansky, T., 2013. Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. The american biology teacher, 75(2), pp.87-91.
Darwin, C., 1888. The descent of man and selection in relation to sex (Vol. 1). Murray.
Emes, Y., Aybar, B. and Yalcin, S., 2011. On the evolution of human jaws and teeth: A review. Bulletin of the International association for paleodontology, 5(1), pp.37-47.
Hohmann, G. and Fruth, B., 2003. Culture in bonobos? Between-species and within-species variation in behavior. Current Anthropology, 44(4), pp.563-571.
Ingold, T., 1994. Introduction to social life. In a book Ingold, Tim (ed.): Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Humanity, Culture, and Social Life.
