Have been avoiding tv alot lately. As someone who thinks that people only really need to see the news once a day (and for those who can't get enough of the stuff there is a channel dedicated to it)...and I really don't need news hourly or regular updates throughout my viewing (particularly as the last few months have revolved around the demise and death of a reality tv celeb). I never had anything against Ms Goody, but I didn't need daily updates on whatever was going on there. Anyway, being mostly the depressive end of my illness of late, news stories are not likely to help any move to 'positive thinking'.
Is not just the news, being someone who is home alone alot...the tv could be a source of real entertainment and some education along the way. Mostly, it is not. Endless programmes about making money from your junk, cooking, cooking and more cooking, finding the ideal home, people being jilted at/or killed close to the alter in soaps and then there's the other extremes...exteme fishing, lorry driving, face lifting and the piece de resistance..an opportunity to become Paris Hilton's new bezzie mate (for as long as that series lasts).
Anyway..to the real plot. Yesterday afternoon brain was hammered by a combo of 4 days of migraines (wafer thingees being put to the real test) and then adding another layer of 'numbness in' after going to GPs for blood tests and and ECG. The nurse kindly told me my heart is still working. Hoorah!
Monged out on sofa and left the tv chattering away to itself but brain zoomed back in when the programme about Darwin came on. I understand there is a series. The question was Did Darwin Kill God? Well, am no expert but would assume the answer is no. The religeous people, I guess, would say God is bigger than any one man/woman/anything else and people seem to need their faith..be there a theory of evolution or not.
It was interesting..although it didn't throw up anything that new. The stories of certain people/groups were interesting or novel. Like the right wing Christian, in 1920's USA, who was also a socialist and viewed Darwin's theories as 'anti humanitarian'. Later, circa 1960, the right wing Christian backlash to what they saw as the crude and lascivious moral breakdown of society. This, so the presenter reckons, led to a new breed of Christian. The Creationists. Following Genesis to the letter and showing off a museum of waxwork humans and electronically activated dinosaurs, living side by side. I kept thinking "Why isn't that dinosausar eating that human?". Would have made it a bit more life like to me!!!!
For some balance, the presenter (who was a Christian) went to see a Darwin fundamentalist. The least time of all spent with him and his view was that there is no such thing as intelligent design. It boils down to a selfish instinct to procreate. I can dig that...in its simplicity (particularly as I find alot of things very complex)... but I am not sure that is what Darwin's view was.
I understand Darwin lost his faith when his daughter died. Not surprising that. A relationship with 'the divine' is usually challenged by seeing and experiencing the ultimate suffering in life. Then again some people see 'the divine' as the only way through it and beyond death. Fair enough.
I haven't got enough faith, or evidence, to have a totally pro or anti (some super power out there) view but is more interesting to see how other people and groups have to have absolutes. Even if those absolutes come across as'iffy' to me.
What I can say is that I think Darwin did some awesome work, tracking and monitoring how animals mutated to survive. Not sure humans will be able to put any of that into practise in time to save the world (particularly as it is more about adapting our behaviour in a way we are not used to). Cue debate as to whether other animals are more intelligent because they have had the capacity to change.....or whether our 'selfish gene' keeps malfunctioning.
Anyway, whose to say that if human existance ends on this planet other life forms will? I do not believe the world needs humans to have a bio-balance that works. You only have to look back at the dinosaurs for that..and the world carried on nicely, thank you very much, after they disappeared.
Blimey, that programme got the grey cells working. In spite of all the hammerings. There is some semblance of intelligent life rattling around in me. Well sometimes!!!!!
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*sigh* Perhaps when determinism is proven, it will kill the concept of god, but evolution, that species change and diverge throughout time doesn't contradict with religion. After all, the Catholics are fine with it.
ReplyDeleteI mean, take antibiotics. Since the invention of them, viruses and bacteria has evolved, irrefutably. Otherwise we wouldn't be developing techniques to deal with drug resistant strains. And once you accept micro evolution (evolution within species), I fail to see how one can argue that macro evolution (the development of new species from old species) cannot occur.
Hi MadandWild
ReplyDeleteHave been minus access to pc due to knackered modem.
Perhaps viruses will inherit the Earth. They have fought hard enough for that honour!!! Then again there is an element of co-depency which exists. Hosts and all that.
I think macro evolution (never heard of that term but it sounds impressive) could occur, perhaps humans ourselves have evolved from something else. In my non-knowledgable (and hardly evidence based opinion) I think we have.
I watched a series a few years back about Neanderthal Man. There was a view that Neanderthals and Homosapiens were around at the same time. Using Darwin's theory of evolution, Homosapiens were better structured to deal with a warmer climate and (supposedly) more intelligent. I don't know but we are still here, in Homosapien form, and Neandethals are not. That is unless there are Homosapiens with Neanderthal genes????? Or that somehow the 2 combined????
We could evolve still but I think we need to get our skates on.