On Human Nature

In the final chapter, Edward O. Wilson addresses the existence of hope made possible by the sociobiological processes discussed thus far. The first admission in elevating sociobiological study of human nature is that the combination of various fields of knowledge has allowed for “a deeper and more courageous examination of human nature” (195) than ever before. The previous eras of philosophical and anthropological investigation were not fruitless, but they are now outdated. The second admission is this: Decisions about the future of human nature will need to be made based on scientific findings, and this power is a substantial one.

Human nature as it exists presently is “a hodgepodge of special genetic adaptations to an environment largely vanished, the world of the Ice-Age hunter-gatherer” (196). The world of modernity is changing at a more rapid pace than ever recorded before in human history. Humans’ current genetic traits were naturally selected based on value systems which they generally no longer hold. As Wilson points out, “the new ethicists will want to ponder the cardinal value of the survival of human genes in the form of a common pool over generations” (196-97). Human nature directs individuals toward a selfishness and tribalism that benefit those closest to them alone.

However, with this knowledge now in humankind’s possession, the choice can be made to favor genetic diversity “as a cardinal value” (198)—in which the future of the species will become more statistically assured via a wide gene pool from which to draw. Combined with this diverse gene pool is the benefit of “democratically contrived eugenics” (198) that would replace the uncontrolled movement of natural selection. In the process of natural selection, genetic traits are passed from one generation to the next in a random, unplanned manner. With new scientific knowledge, human genetics can be specifically targeted for multiplication. Again, Edward O. Wilson doesn’t necessarily concern himself with the potentially ableist, racist, etc. implications of this conclusion.

As it stands now, “the high culture of Western civilization exists largely apart from the natural sciences” (203). However, academics, scholars, and theologians of the new world will be forced to admit that “scientific naturalism is destined to alter the foundations of their systematic inquiry by redefining the mental process itself” (204). It is not that art, literature, or religion will be destroyed and pass out of human memory—with Wilson conceding that naturalism is not to be understood as “an alternative form of organized formal religion” (206)—but they will be redefined and reoriented. From this point on, the human species is in control of its own destiny as never before. While the biological, natural evolution of the species seems to have come to an apex of sorts, the cultural evolution is only beginning.