For the average individual to understand the why behind
humanitys conquest of earth and what may lay in store for humanity
in the future it is necessary for said individual to understand
what forces have lead to the development of those features which
have allowed mankind to survive. In short what factors have lead to
the dawn of our social instincts. Our social instincts and the
cultures which have arisen from said instincts are inherently based
upon one fact, that by all rights mankind should have been wiped
off the face of the earth at some far off and forgotten period of
human prehistory, this is not merely an idea but a fact which is
self evident both to the most primitive of societies and those who
have been blessed with great scientific achievements. One need only
look at the otherwise unimpressive nature of the human being,
namely in the individual humans lack of advanced biological
defenses and weapons which so many other creatures can easily be
seen to posses, for seeming confirmation of this fact. The fact
that humans were not wiped out inspite of their biological is due
inherently to the rise of the eusocial altruistic instinct that has
helped to compensate for the biological failings of the average
human individual much as it has done so for insects like the ant or
termite. However by coming together socially in order to compensate
for said failings mankind has laid the groundwork for the
germination of an idea which has in times long passed assisted in
our survival but which in time will only lead to our destruction if
not curtailed. This idea is inherent to the human mindset and the
cultures which have sprung forth from said mindset, is singular and
immutable and has transcended all the various external forces to
which the entirety of humanity has been subject to over the
relatively brief stint of geological time it has been present on
Earth. Namely this idea is that given our relatively unimpressive
form mankind must in some way imbued with something that grants us
exception and dominion over forces which otherwise should have been
our downfall. One need look no further to the basis of all past
human culture the creation myth for proof of this idea of human
exceptionalism. These tales without exception all emphasizes the
idea that mankind was divinely touched by some higher force as
explanation for humanities survival despite seemingly lacking in
the tools which all the other beasts around us possessed. In doing
so these stories both helped to perpetuate human exceptionalism
inspite of the odds while at the same time pointing out the frailty
of the human condition and in doing so helped to promote those
social behaviors which have saved us. In time however these ideas
may in fact lead to humanitys downfall. The idea of human
exceptionalism while so necessary to the dawn of human culture has
lead to mankinds belief of immunity to those biological forces that
in fact lead to the rise of our social behaviors. In doing so we
have allowed our species to expand far faster then is safe and in
doing so have begun to strain the ecology around us. Had we evolved
at a slower pace, closer to that of the other eusocial beings
around us such as the ants mankind might have been able to find a
proper niche by which to occupy. As it stands however mankind is in
a precarious position and if something is not done soon, we may be
done in by our own hubris.
