John Donne (1572-1631) reckoned that “No man is an island
unto himself”. There is the African saying that “it takes a village to grow a
child”. Confucius and the Jesuits reckon that if they have control of a child
for its first five years they will give us the man. It is self-evident that newly
born human beings are dependent on family and community. However, recent work
in the brain sciences suggests that the human brain does not fully mature till
about 25.
Our ancestors spent millions of years as hunters and
gatherers. There were not many divisions of labour so it was possible for
individuals, especially the older ones, to have accumulated all the knowledge
needed to survive and prosper.
Then, about 150,000 years ago, language began to evolve and it contributed to the development of
settled agriculture and many new divisions of labour. Some types of labour came
to be of higher status than others – especially rulers.
Language advanced through metaphor and analogy. (The unknown is like the known.) The developers
included philosophers, poets, craftspeople, tax collectors, soldiers, and entertainers.
The early mindbrain saw patterns, and assumed intentional agents. The pattern
in the house was deference to the father; in the village to the tribal chief;
in the city to the king and in the heavens to omniscient gods who worked in mysterious
ways.
The hierarchical system is still alive. I am ruled and
regulated by family, by community
council, by Aberdeenshire council, by the Church of Scotland (declining), by
the Scottish government, the UK government, the media, (increasing), the EU, the
UN and God (declining).
It might be the case that there is a gene for religion. It
could operate the same way as with language. There is a hard wired module to
learn a language (nature) but the particular language depends on the culture
into which the child has been cast (nurture).
Scientific students of the Abrahamic religions tend to view God
as an unpredictable, grouch, and father
figure. That at least is my somewhat old
testament impression.
There is the notion of the elders and betters who are the
good and great. There is papal infallibility and the divine right of kings.
Those at the bottom of the hierarchy are instructed about god’s will by those
further up. And this has included the drowning of witches and the burning at
the stake of those who question the authority of the ruling elite. Thus arose the Spanish inquisition and varieties of thought police.
I became an atheist before I was 25. I am presently 69.
It
became obvious that, after the big bang,
nothing comes from nothing: but
an enormous amount evolves unplanned by
natural selection. Watch
the videos by
David Attenborough to have jaw dropping insights into what it takes to be a
living thing – find food and avoid being eaten so as to raise a large family.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough.
Nature is often red in tooth and claw, especially amongst carnivorous
predators that have evolved as killing machines. As a human being I have the
teeth and guts of an omnivore. When I was a child I visited the local slaughter
house with my father who was a butcher to trade. The cows that were being
slaughtered gave the impression of being terrified but this was quickly ended
by a stun gun which was referred to as a
humane killer.
As a Zoology student I was responsible for the death of many
animals, and as a Biology teacher for many more. These days I have vague leanings towards being a vegetarian because I
can always find plant food in the Coop. I also seem picky about the animals
that I do sometimes choose. It is something to do with consciousness.
Most
invertebrates and fish lack self awareness. We humans do not eat amphibians and
reptiles – other than frog’s legs. We do not eat predators and seem to prefer domesticated herbivores (eg
cows and sheep).
Pigs are omnivores like us.
Aha – a matrix that needs working
Living – non living
Self aware- robotic
Domesticated - wild
MORE ON FEEDING
