Natural selection, survival of the fittest and........war?

Since the beginning of life on earth, one lifeform has been pitted against another. The simplest first cells ate one another. Plants eventually formed and the more complex cells fed on each other. The animals that followed feed on plants and each other.

Humanoids form and evolve to the eventual homo sapiens. Looking back throughout mankinds history, we see how tribe has warred against tribe for territory and food stocks. City-states warred with city-states for local or regional economic supremacy, and eventually countries developed and the competition and war only increased.

I would like to suggest that warfare is a logical and natural result of our evolution and the ingrained drive for survival imbued with good reason into all living creatures. War is therefore natural. Is survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom not?

While we may see ourselves as being "above" that type of thing in this day and age, time after time man proves we in fact are not.

There have been at times, very good, and some would even suggest moral reasons for going to war. It is hard to watch your people starve due to poor harvests or whatever reason while your neigbours wealth abounds and tummies are full. When your pleas for help go unheard, emmence political pressure can drive you to act. This in itself can save lives, if only of your own people, and further the goals and perhaps the lifespan of your race.

Obviously many wars today are not waged for these reasons, but always, always they are waged to provide some gain for some group of people, be it ethnic group, country, or TPTB.

If you could train a rabbit to use a handgun to fend off larger predators, do you not think it would use it?

Originally posted by nightbringr
I would like to suggest that warfare is a logical and natural result of our evolution and the ingrained drive for survival imbued with good reason into all living creatures. War is therefore natural. Is survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom not?

While we may see ourselves as being "above" that type of thing in this day and age, time after time man proves we in fact are not.

I would agree that war is a natural occurrence and to be expected. But, as a result of evolution? I don't think so. Evolution to me implies growth. War is just more of the same. Sophisticated primitivism. Nothing has changed except the outward form of things.

Originally posted by nightbringr

I would like to suggest that warfare is a logical and natural result of our evolution and the ingrained drive for survival imbued with good reason into all living creatures. War is therefore natural. Is survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom not?

I actually agree with your whole post.

Natural selection, indeed. We see it not only in making warfare, but also in the way humans interact with each other, on a personal level in society.

I would feel sorry for any aliens that come to our planet because the human race would eventually conquer them as we've conquered everything else. It's what we do and were good at it.

To think humans are peaceful is a fallicy and the entire universe will one day bow before us.

Originally posted by kro32
I would feel sorry for any aliens that come to our planet because the human race would eventually conquer them as we've conquered everything else. It's what we do and were good at it.

To think humans are peaceful is a fallicy and the entire universe will one day bow before us.

war is mostly a criminal enterprise, sometimes to survive.

but how could humans who are from this physical dimension conquer "spirit" beings?

our science is so primitive, many of our laws and theories are recent, electricity, electronics, flight, nuclear, radio.

and our understanding of these change constantly.

if the humans conquer the world it will be as dogs(wolves) have conquered the world of the humans.
they became family.
the lovable little characters are rather well taken care of and have great influence on us.
we love our little baboo.

and humans are funny to watch, with all their ridiculous emotions, attitudes.
much funnier than cats and dogs.

reply to post by citizen6511


War is not a criminal enterprise it's used as a means to gain more power whether it be through land or resources or control of people.

Originally posted by kro32
reply to post by citizen6511

 

War is not a criminal enterprise it's used as a means to gain more power whether it be through land or resources or control of people.

Exactly. It's in the human biological make-up.

Even chimps make war: articles.latimes.com...

I think our clever little hands have given us tools that make the fittest not those who would survive at any cost but those who weigh the costs of their actions before using the tools at their disposal

Originally posted by kro32
I would feel sorry for any aliens that come to our planet because the human race would eventually conquer them as we've conquered everything else. It's what we do and were good at it.

To think humans are peaceful is a fallicy and the entire universe will one day bow before us.

Yet how do we know aliens themselves would be peaceful?

They would have had to have passed the same trial by fire we have to make it to the top of the food chain on whatever planet they came from, and perhaps have many of the same drives, especially survival, that we have.

One of the greatest minds of our time, Stephen Hawking, believes there is no reason to beleive they would come in peace.

War is a natural progression, towards the destruction of the whole human race; and the rest of the worlds enviroment.

"Power without love, can only lead too destruction."

I have though about it. When I was younger I was really into war, this is kind of a natural result of my country's fobia and our education system (at least I've had time to really know history ) But as I grew older I became a pragmatic. I can understand people fighting with each other. Those are our basic insticts, which allowed us to overcome all odds, and that part of us is never going away. If it did - we'd be in big trouble. In times of serious crisis our instincts will kick in and our bodies will try to preserve themselves, generally without our consious consent

But war on a large scale is repulsive. Poeple are forced, pushed against the enemy, sometimes being threatened themselves by thier on countrymen (when Russians were fighting Germans, there were politics based officers who were ordered to shot anyone trying to flee the battle field). To ensure general cooperation propaganda must be instilled. People must be controlled, because in the end, if not controlled entirely, people tend to work out their differences.

The older I am I the more I see the natural way for humans is cooperation. And that of course doesn't sell arms So an aura of fear is needed, so the old show can go on.

I see things this way: lower lifeforms tend to keep to themselves. Female spiders eat male spiders after the act. They care for the eggs for a short time and then leave them be.

Higher lifeforms tend to take care of themselves, their spouse and their children.

People in their early stages took care of themselves, their spouses, children and their little society.

The natural progression, it seems to me, that people take care of other poeple, regardless of colour, nationality or ideology. The universe is a vast and dangerous place. Cooperation, it seems for me, is the best way to secure our survival, until the inevitable death of the cosmos.

If we survive till then