rezider
29th July 2015, 11:49
Hello,
I was reading Dialectics of Nature by Engels recently and his article on evolution, The Part Played by Labour in the Transition From Ape to Man, got my attention.
He proposes a very interesting mechanism behind human evolution. His idea does, in fact, have a solid foundation to have played a crucial role in our development. We even witness the importance of labour today. And it does, without a doubt, shape the way society works and cooperates. Example: capitalism mostly promotes individualism; socialism promotes collectivism. Both systems provide different benefits but in the end 'history, as Hegel puts it, is the progress of the consciousness of freedom.' So human history will progress in a certain direction.
Like Hegel, Marx believed that there is a kind of logic to history - a way that it is determined to unfold - greater freedom and a society free of conflict, a state when dialectics will no longer be needed... in a sense. Well, of course if we press the 'Nuclear Bomb Button'... we won't be going anywhere. Nevertheless, as Marx said, 'Philosophers have only interpreted the world in different ways; the point is to change it.' This brings me back to the question I want to ask. What are your thoughts on humanity's ability to extend its senses with tools: telescopes, hammer, radio, cars etc.? (Putting aside the fact that our brains had to evolve before we were able to even ask questions.)
As I view it, because of our consciousness that separates us from other animals we were able to make the first tools and, ultimately, they (as a representation of our labour) became an indivisible part of natural selection, thus allowing us to extend our senses to the point where we no longer had disadvantages compared to other animals. Of course, without our tools we are still fragile little humans. But imagine the future: we don't feel the need for our weak bodies, so we replace them with technology and only our brain remains (Arthur Clark talks about this in his book 2001: A Space Odyssey), we can control weather and terraform planets - masters of the universe. Or so we would think. Just as we can't deal with natural disasters now, maybe in the future there will be something else we might not be able to deal with. But let's not get carried away...
I was reading Dialectics of Nature by Engels recently and his article on evolution, The Part Played by Labour in the Transition From Ape to Man, got my attention.
He proposes a very interesting mechanism behind human evolution. His idea does, in fact, have a solid foundation to have played a crucial role in our development. We even witness the importance of labour today. And it does, without a doubt, shape the way society works and cooperates. Example: capitalism mostly promotes individualism; socialism promotes collectivism. Both systems provide different benefits but in the end 'history, as Hegel puts it, is the progress of the consciousness of freedom.' So human history will progress in a certain direction.
Like Hegel, Marx believed that there is a kind of logic to history - a way that it is determined to unfold - greater freedom and a society free of conflict, a state when dialectics will no longer be needed... in a sense. Well, of course if we press the 'Nuclear Bomb Button'... we won't be going anywhere. Nevertheless, as Marx said, 'Philosophers have only interpreted the world in different ways; the point is to change it.' This brings me back to the question I want to ask. What are your thoughts on humanity's ability to extend its senses with tools: telescopes, hammer, radio, cars etc.? (Putting aside the fact that our brains had to evolve before we were able to even ask questions.)
As I view it, because of our consciousness that separates us from other animals we were able to make the first tools and, ultimately, they (as a representation of our labour) became an indivisible part of natural selection, thus allowing us to extend our senses to the point where we no longer had disadvantages compared to other animals. Of course, without our tools we are still fragile little humans. But imagine the future: we don't feel the need for our weak bodies, so we replace them with technology and only our brain remains (Arthur Clark talks about this in his book 2001: A Space Odyssey), we can control weather and terraform planets - masters of the universe. Or so we would think. Just as we can't deal with natural disasters now, maybe in the future there will be something else we might not be able to deal with. But let's not get carried away...