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1-Page Summary of The Evolution of Everything
Overview
Evolution is a process that occurs in many areas of life, not just biology. Our culture, economy, technology and even our religions are subject to the forces of evolution. It’s important to understand this concept because it can help us see why things change over time and how we can benefit from those changes. We typically think about evolution as referring to biological processes like genetic mutations or species adapting to their environment through natural selection; however, there are also cultural aspects of evolution that play an important role in society. Typically these topics are considered top-down creations by leaders such as scientists, priests and businesspeople; however bottom-up evolutionary processes occur more often than most people realize.
The author believes that evolution can explain all cultural changes.
You will also learn that DNA and language have a lot in common, why the Wild West wasn’t so wild after all, and how money got monopolized.
Big Idea #1: Western thought is largely shaped by the belief that God created the world.
When we think of evolution, we often think of biology and Charles Darwin. But the word “evolution” doesn’t just denote genetics. Originally, “evolution” meant “unfolding” and described how things gradually changed without a plan. And yet, the history of Western thought has been dominated by creationist thinking – explaining the world through design and planning.
Plato thought that a society should be designed in the same way as nature. He believed that societies were mimicking the cosmic order of things, which was planned by God. Homer had gods deciding the outcome of battles in The Iliad. Later on, Martin Luther stated that our fate lay in the hands of God. Friedrich Nietzsche thought healthy societies were made by powerful leaders who planned things out for their people. Karl Marx believed that a planned state was best to ensure economic and social progress.
The list goes on. Again and again, we see top-down descriptions of how the world is designed or should be organized. However, there are a few exceptions to this creationist mode of thinking. Just take the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. He believed that the physical world, including society and morality, emerged spontaneously without divinity or royal power to explain it. Everything was made of invisible atoms which followed natural laws rather than divine laws.
Epicurus was a Greek philosopher who stated that the world is made up of invisible particles. He believed that it had no creator and life has no end or purpose.
Epicurus and Lucretius were precursors to Darwin. We will explore this in detail later on.
Big Idea #2: Darwin’s theory of evolution replaced the idea that species were created by God.
Philosophers and poets, such as Epicurus and Lucretius, inspired the question of who designed God. Later on, Enlightenment thinkers like David Hume asked this question too.
Charles Darwin eliminated creationism from biology and replaced it with a theory of evolution through natural selection. He came up with this after his sailing expedition to the Galápagos Islands, where he collected various animals and plants, and carefully observed them.
Darwin’s theory of evolution suggested that organisms could change over time, and they would become better suited for their environment. This process is known as natural selection.
Today, many people believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, since we can now read genes and their functions, it raises the question: what is each gene for?
