Steven Kaplan

Political Science Class 231

Spring 2014

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.