Question

How does studying evolution help humanity?

Answer 1

It's pretty useful in medicine, I think, because you can predict if/how/when drug resistance will develop.

Knowing how different organisms are related and how different characteristics evolved can also provide very useful information. The apicoplast in the malaria parasite is thought to be a highly modified version of an ancient plastid. Knowing that the malaria parasite evolved from plastid-containing, probably photosynthetic ancestors means that scientists can potentially use certain kinds of herbicides to kill it.

Answer 2

its philosophical question, i think (: its the same how history help humanity (: evolution just shows how did humanity originate such as we are now and what modifications, mutations or another changes can we expect in the future.

Answer 3

Evolution involves the study of genetic manipulation and social psychology.
As calliope has put, it helps in predicting drug resistance of bacteria but more importantly it helps understanding that some genes cause illnesses. If evolution is not studied, we cannot know of the disease's roots causes. Also, the process of studying evolution brings about the discovery of many ways how animals adapt to their surroundings and we then reverse engineer nature's technology to suit our purpose.

Answer 4

@Shadowys Since you mentioned "social psychology", I just want to clarify that evolutionary psychology is at least 90% horribly racist/sexist pseudoscience. Researchers in this field try to use evolutionary theory to "explain" why e.g. women like pink (ignoring, of course, the fact that the women-liking-pink thing is a characteristic of modern Western society, driven largely by marketing.)

Answer 5

unfortunately, that's exactly what is evolutionary psychology. The society tie women down to household chore simply because we come from a hunter gatherer society. Our society have not evolved enough to accommodate the intellectual abilities of an individual regardless of gender.

Answer 6

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Everyone-Else-Hypocrite-Evolution/dp/0691146748/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Answer 7

epjournal.net/2531

http://www.stephenjaygould.org/reviews/pinker_exchange.html

http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/projects/human/evpsychfaq.html

Answer 8

It's not because we come from a hunter-gatherer society, it's because our society (that is, Western society -- I don't know if you're in a Western country, but I am) is based on a patriarchal model, and the wealth available after WWII enabled women to stay home while their husbands worked. Note that women worked both in the home and in the fields/factories/etc. for most of history. Also note that our society has been settled (i.e. not hunting or gathering) for almost all of recorded history.

Trying to look for evolutionary or even ancient societal explanations for modern phenomena is almost always going to be doomed to failure.

The biggest problem that I have with evolutionary psychology is really just that they take some specific thing in modern Western society (e.g. many women liking pink, but you could pick just about anything) and then come up with an "explanation" for why this (and only this) is the natural order of things, based on really questionable claims about our evolutionary history.

Answer 9

Incidentally, Darwin tried to use his own evolutionary theory to "explain" why women were innately inferior to men and better suited to nurturing rather than leading or pursuing anything that requires intelligence.

Answer 10

we are not talking about eugenics, when discussing evolutionary psychology, I would hope...

Answer 11

Eugenics was inspired by the same rhetoric that inspired evolutionary psychologists.

The theory of evolution is really important in biology (it underlies just about everything we do!) but it can and HAS been used to justify some absolutely horrific things.

Answer 12

I come from an Asian country that has part patriarchal and matriarchal roots.
The patriarchal society has roots from the hunter gatherer society. However, in that particular kind of society, the women normally holds a higher position.
In the Asian countries,ancient countries that have warmer climates and higher food bounty are of matriarchal roots but those from the Northern and mountainous areas where food is scarce often end up having patriarchal roots.
You may want to read on how the ancient societies evolved to today's society. Though...do you have the citation for that Darwin one? Never heard of it though.

Answer 13

It's quite amazing how the climate divided the society type in another country, China. The mongolians are well rooted into the patriarchal but the chinese are rooted into the matriarchal even though they call for the patriarchal

Answer 14

albeit, science is not about a matter of societal construct or morals, much as a snake chowing a rabbit with no remorse.

Answer 15

in my study of history, China were ruled mostly by emperors, remotely by empress. The matriarch portion you refer to might be from the teachings of Lao Tzu and Confucius.

Answer 16

though blood-line played a huge factor, men were favored to rule over the land.

Answer 17

Here you go: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Descent_of_Man_%28Darwin%29/Chapter_XIX

"Man is more courageous, pugnacious and energetic than woman, and has a more inventive genius. His brain is absolutely larger, but whether or not proportionately to his larger body, has not, I believe, been fully ascertained."

"Woman seems to differ from man in mental disposition, chiefly in her greater tenderness and less selfishness; and this holds good even with savages, as shewn by a well-known passage in Mungo Park's Travels, and by statements made by many other travellers. Woman, owing to her maternal instincts, displays these qualities towards her infants in an eminent degree; therefore it is likely that she would often extend them towards her fellow-creatures. Man is the rival of other men; he delights in competition, and this leads to ambition which passes too easily into selfishness. These latter qualities seem to be his natural and unfortunate birthright. It is generally admitted that with woman the powers of intuition, of rapid perception, and perhaps of imitation, are more strongly marked than in man; but some, at least, of these faculties are characteristic of the lower races, and therefore of a past and lower state of civilisation. The chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes is shewn by man's attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up, than can woman- whether requiring deep thought, reason, or imagination, or merely the use of the senses and hands. If two lists were made of the most eminent men and women in poetry, painting, sculpture, music (inclusive both of composition and performance), history, science, and philosophy, with half-a-dozen names under each subject, the two lists would not bear comparison. We may also infer, from the law of the deviation from averages, so well illustrated by Mr. Galton, in his work on Hereditary Genius, that if men are capable of a decided pre-eminence over women in many subjects, the average of mental power in man must be above that of woman."

" It accords in a striking manner with this view of the modification and re-inforcement of many of our mental faculties by sexual selection, that, firstly, they notoriously undergo a considerable change at puberty,*(2) and, secondly, that eunuchs remain throughout life inferior in these same qualities. Thus, man has ultimately become superior to woman. It is, indeed, fortunate that the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes prevails with mammals; otherwise, it is probable that man would have become as superior in mental endowment to woman, as the peawingspan is in ornamental plumage to the peahen."

"It must be borne in mind that the tendency in characters acquired by either sex late in life, to be transmitted to the same sex at the same age, and of early acquired characters to be transmitted to both sexes, are rules which, though general, do not always hold. If they always held good, we might conclude (but I here exceed my proper bounds) that the inherited effects of the early education of boys and girls would be transmitted equally to both sexes; so that the present inequality in mental power between the sexes would not be effaced by a similar course of early training; nor can it have been caused by their dissimilar early training. In order that woman should reach the same standard as man, she ought, when nearly adult, to be trained to energy and perseverance, and to have her reason and imagination exercised to the highest point; and then she would probably transmit these qualities chiefly to her adult daughters. All women, however, could not be thus raised, unless during many generations those who excelled in the above robust virtues were married, and produced offspring in larger numbers than other women. As before remarked of bodily strength, although men do not now fight for their wives, and this form of selection has passed away, yet during manhood, they generally undergo a severe struggle in order to maintain themselves and their families; and this will tend to keep up or even increase their mental powers, and, as a consequence, the present inequality between the sexes."

Answer 18

um, You sure about that? The empress behind curtains were of qing dynasty. Unfortunately, I had study three years of history of China before I went to high school. Lao Tzu and Confucius(patriarchal) did not in anyway did matriarchal. The women in ancient china aided their men in household chores, taking care of the rice fields and in children. Men were normally expected to act as soldiers in time of need so basically they are pretty useless around the field.

Answer 19

that's only 1 dynasty over the centuries of warring and exchanges of rulers. Lao Tzu and Confucius helped shape China's deep-rooted morals and principles, that include the role of the high-ranking people, which does not regard any gender.

Answer 20

we are veering away from the topic...

Answer 21

They did not help shape. Their principles were held in high regard by the Han dynasty.
Though....1 dynasty?!!!.......
During that time, all the other books were abandoned and government officials need to be well versed in Confucius works to get a job.
Though I agree...we are digressing...

Answer 22

I don't want to nitpick but check the dates of the dynasties and emergence of the philosophies and principles.

Answer 23

yup. Both great men came out during the 春秋times,very chaotic times, which caused intellectuals to spread the idea of love of the fellow men and after they died, their principles were almost destroyed during the purge of the qin dynasty but they were revived during the Han dynasty.

Answer 24

And for intellectual cultivation, may I suggest Steven Pinker's works on evolutionary psychology. I previously indicated some links, but I want to stress out it's proponent's mostly sought knowledge on the matter.

Answer 25

lol Steven pinker I like this guy!

Answer 26

how about some emerging studies on the influence of diet in evolution.

Answer 27

@calliope , your statements are false.

Answer 28

ev·o·lu·tion [èvvə lsh'n, və lsh'n]
(plural ev·o·lu·tions)
noun
1. biology theory of development from earlier forms: the theoretical process by which all species develop from earlier forms of life.
According to this theory, natural variation in the genetic material of a population favors reproduction by some individuals more than others, so that over the generations all members of the population come to possess the favorable traits.
2. biology developmental process: the natural or artificially induced process by which new and different organisms develop as a result of changes in genetic material
3. gradual development: the gradual development of something into a more complex or better form
the evolution of democracy in Western Europe

4. pattern caused by movement: a pattern formed by a series of movements
5. physics giving off heat or gas: the emission of heat, gas, or vapor
6. mathematics finding root of number: an algebraic operation in which the root, e.g. the square root or cube root, of a number is found. See also involution (sense 6)
7. military military exercise: a military exercise or maneuver carried out according to a plan

Answer 29

At least try it yourself,and we can proofread it for you. Otherwise, were just spoonfeeding you and its just cheating. Wel, heresa a website that may help. This way it may not be totally cheating.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=how+does+studying+help+%3F&oq=how+does+studying+help+%3F&gs_l=hp.3..0j0i30j0i8i30l2.7197.7197.2.7416.1.1.0.0.0.0.165.165.0j1.1.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.IE7GZC8-K3s&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=d3ddaee4ee84f1b4&bpcl=35466521&biw=1140&bih=537

Answer 30

Im sooo sorry!

Answer 31

It doesn't!!! evolution isn't true, it's just a bunch of junk, we were created by God, and there's no other explanation that would explain our life!!

Answer 32

lol brookster..i have the same faith.Its still possible that evolution occurred. But who would have made it occur. GOD?? Anyways...lets leave religious issues out of it. It could be a school assignment and she may not even believe in evolution either.

Answer 33

Dont mean to be rude, so please dont take any offence to this @brookester6

Answer 34

can you please help me on my question. See if you understand this

Answer 35

after her

Answer 36

What a stupid question to ask :(

Answer 37

Its a bit phylosophic question but studying of evolution help humanity to know the that who you are now and who you will be in future because if you study genealogy and all of other gentics you will find what did you know before and know so you can make an imagination or a think how will be the future of humanity i hope you understand the phylosphy of my answer too,because you must know your past to find yourself in your future