Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The divide between science and religion
The influence of religion on science
The divide between science and religion
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The divide between science and religion
How could something so intangible, actually be something that exists? Much of religion is based purely on blind faith. There are certain things at the person must automatically accept in order to believe in God. The person would never receive proof for his existence. A good example for ex-istence would be the president of the United States. A person knows the president is real, be-cause they have seen the presidential candidates appear on TV and give speeches. They have also most likely gone to the polls and cast their vote for president. People do not waste their time wondering if the President is a real person, and only a hoax conjured up by the media. When per-son goes to church, God does not stand up front and address the congregation. …show more content…
However, science has proven through archaeological discoveries that the earth is in fact far older than a few million years. There is also scientific evidence to prove that the human race was not created but in fact evolved from early primates. Here is where the problem really begins. There cannot be two distinct ways that the human race was created. Either humans evolved from early primates, or we are all descendants of Adam and Eve. Archaeologists have uncovered proof of evolution through the skeletons of our early primate ancestors. Extensive research has been done on the subject of evolution; all the while, no one has been able to locate the Garden of Eden. The only form of “concrete” proof would be that the Bible says that is how it happened. For those who believe in what the Bible says the answer to how the human race was created is very simple. In addition, those who do not believe what the Bible says, the ones who are firm believers in evolution, the answer is also very simple. Of course, you will never be able to get one of these groups to agree with the other. If God exists solely on the condition that a person believes in him, does that also mean that He would not exist if someone did not believe in him? Things that exist do not do so on conditions of whether or not someone believes in them. If one day through some bizarre notion, if a person were to lose all faith in chairs, would they fall down the next time they went to sit? The answer of course is no, the person would not fall flat on the ground simply because they do not believe in the chair. We know this because the chair is a tangible object, able to be touched and moved by any human. The chair does not exist on the condition that someone believes in it. This is how we know that the chair exists. Regardless of a person’s opinion on the subject of chairs,
A Primate’s Memoir, written by Robert Sapolsky, documents the author’s time in Kenya while he studied the various behaviors of a troop of baboons. One of the key aspects of the book was the social rank that developed within the troop. Female baboons have a social hierarchy that is fairly cut and dry. The eldest baboons in the troop are considered the higher-ranking females, and as the baboons get younger, so to follows the string of dominance. The ranking for males was essentially from the strongest baboons to the weakest baboons. The baboon at the top of the social hierarchy was considered the alpha male. This social rank has huge implications for the troop in regards to which baboons mated with each other. If another baboon wanted to become the alpha male, then he would have to challenge the current alpha male to a fight, and win. The baboon’s distinct personality mixed with their instincts are the primary factors for where one lands on the social hierarchy. Another key aspect of the book was the strategies that took place when the baboons wanted to mate with another baboon. Similar to humans, the baboon males tried to impress the female baboons in a way that would make them want to mate. The rank of the male is considered to be one of the greatest factors contributing to what mate they end up with, because there is nothing more impressive than becoming a high-ranking baboon. Also, there were instances of lower-ranking baboons strategizing and forming teams with other baboons to become a higher ranking baboon for the mating possibilities. The baboons in the group are considered a patch-work of different troops, as it is common for one baboon to move to different groups frequently.
It is said that the humanoid existence begins in Africa. It is no coincidence that Africa is also the home to Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, and Bonobos, Pan paniscus. These are humans’ two closest living relatives, both sharing almost 99% of the human genome through common descent. While humans were said to have separated from Chimpanzees around 5-7 million years ago , Bonobos separated from its Chimp cousins around 2 million years ago . Bonobos inhabit a single part of Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo South of the Congo River, unlike the Chimpanzee, which inhabits Across West- and Central Africa, with remaining populations distributed over several countries. While these two apes where once thought to be the same species, up until the beginning of the 20th century , there are many differences socially, as well as physically, that make Bonobos more than a Pygmy Chimp. With disparities in morphology, behavior, perhaps even emotions and cognition, and known as the “make love, not war chimp” , how can this ape be so vastly different from its notoriously violent Pan cousin, but yet share the same amount of similar DNA to Homo sapiens? And what does this mean for the studies of human and past humanoid behavior?
There are at least 145 living species of the suborder Anthropoidea . Over 90% of them are monkeys. The remaining species are apes and humans. The anthropoids (members of the suborder Anthropoidea) have been the most successful primates in populating the earth. They are generally larger, more intelligent, and have more highly developed eyes than the prosimians.
After millions of years that humans separated from their relative primate how is that humans became bipedal. So many changes have happened to the human body to decide to stay on the ground and abandoned their lives in the trees. Primates evolved different body structures according to their lifestyle and the ecosystem in which they lived. As Charles Darwin natural selection stays; it could be as a result of new environments, the need for food and shelter, which forced humans to adapt and survive. Although, most of primates’ anatomy reflects habits of movement, it could be easy to see the external differences but there are many differences that have been intensely studied and researched.
Ever since the Pleistocene era, human societies have expanded rapidly, developing innovative ways to defend their territories and migrate across the land. Consisting of an aggregate of humans living together, these societies became more powerful as time progressed by consuming more meat (megafauna). Supporting this development, the more mammals that humans would eat, the more protein their bodies would absorb. When humans consume high amounts of protein, they develop stronger muscles, which leads to the stimulation of brain activity. By way of further explanation, amino acids from the proteins are used to make the neurotransmitters that allow your brain cells to network and communicate. Amino acids that come from the protein you eat are the building blocks of your brain’s network. They can excite or calm your brain as well as nourish your brain throughout its lifetime. Also, they allow the body's own proteins to be used to support life, particularly those found in muscle. This led humans to develop intelligence and create a wide variety of tools. These tools are what the early hominids used to develop their culture into that of hunter-gatherer-fishers, making humans a more dominant mammal within that ecosystem.
Thesis Statement: Despite the rampant protests of animal welfare organizations on encaging primates in zoos since primates typically show abnormal behavior, zoos in the National Capital Region claim that human interaction and enrichment programs help alleviate the stress and trauma primates experience.
Due to all of Jane Goodall’s consecutive studies and patience, the world wouldn’t have as much insight into a primate’s life as of today. Early in her life she always had a fascination of animals, especially chimpanzees. She began her journey as a young British woman with determination and ended by traveling to Tanzania, Africa. It was there when she became more in depth with herself and the chimpanzees. Living in the jungles, Goodall documented the everyday lives to our closest relative. She carved the need to conserve the earth into the world with her logical advances and new discoveries. She had touched the hearts of many animal-loving people and received many awards and achievements for her cause. From the early 20th century to current time, Jane Goodall has influenced the world by her engaged dedication to the observations of chimpanzees and through the scientific studies from her books, articles,
Do non-human primates have communication, language, both, or neither? By definition, communication is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information (Snowdon). Communication is very closely related to social behavior since they are both referring to the ways animals interact with each other (Quiatt and Reynolds 1993). Conversely, language is defined as a system of communication using sounds or gestures that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules (Haviland et al. 2010). Non-human primates and human primates are similar in many ways, and communication is no exception. They both have various types of communication senses and styles. Human primate communication senses consist of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. Non-human primates mainly understand the world through sight, but smell, taste, and hearing are important as well (Quiatt and Reynolds 1993). Human primates are capable of speaking a language, while non-human primates use different vocal calls to communicate. In essence, the difference is simple, human primates have language while non-human primates do not. Even though non-human primates do not have language, they do have communication.
Our earliest ancestors are primates. They are our closest relatives which is why we can see our behavior’s and practices in them. If we observe them we can get a better understanding of them and us, human beings. But unfortunately we all don’t get the chance to see a Primate right in our backdoor. So the best thing I could do for my observation was to visit them at the zoo.
Throughout situations and research conducted by not only Robert Sapolsky or Jane Goodman, but from many other credited sources, we can blatantly see the, if not identical, similarities between the two species of humans and baboons. The most apparent likewise characteristics of this can be read and documented in Professor Sapolsky’s book, A Primate’s Memoirs. Sapolsky, who spent hundreds if not thousands, of hours studying these Savanna Baboons, sheds a vast insight into ideas of social dominance, mating strategies, instinctual prowess, community settings, hygiene, and reform of an entire generation; many of which can be unknowingly seen directly in the common occurrence of a humans daily life.
It has been believed that culture is unique to humans and no other groups of animals have culture, but recent evidence refutes this ideology. Before getting into the meat of the argument, it is important to first address the issues regarding the ambiguity of the term, “culture.” What is culture? Many scientists may argue that culture is the way of life for a group of individuals, this definition includes the values, beliefs and traditions of the group (Sapolsky, 2006). Other scientists may argue that culture is the transmission of habits and information by social means (Sapolsky, 2006). Despite the different specifics of what culture is, almost all scientists would agree that culture is transmitted socially through social learning that promotes the transfer of information between members in a group (Boesch and Tomasello, 1998). Based on these notions of culture, it can be justifiably stated that primates have culture. Primates exhibit food preparation techniques, use of tools, communication skills, and most importantly, behaviors of social learning. An exemplar of primates’ capabilities for culture is Koko, the lowland gorilla. Koko, in captivity, was able to learn American sign language, demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to deceive.
Viewing and observing primates at the zoo and using them as a research subject is crucial to help with the understanding of how humans came to be. Since humans and primates are onwards of 95% genetically similar (Why are Humans Primates), observing them is a great tool to better understand humans and the relationship we share with primates. Though some research done on primates has questioned the morality of such a thing, by not observing our closest ancestors, we would not have many of the answers about humans that we have today. Non-human primates can teach us many things about ourselves, from evolution,to behavioral and social characteristics.
years, and that it was created as it is now just six thousand years ago? Creationism should
In today’s society, many topics create a very substantial amount of controversy between different groups of people. From abortion to the healthcare reform, there are countless topics of discussion. One of the major and ongoing controversial topics in the religious community is the Big Bang theory versus Creation. One side of the controversy is, predominately, the scientific community, with the other end obviously being the religious community. Genesis 1:1-2 says: “First this: God created the heavens and earth—all you see, all you don’t see.
“One cannot get from it a scientific explanation of how the world arose; one can only glean religious experience from it.” (Ratzinger, p. 4) This means that science cannot prove that God is not the creator because there is no other explanation to the perfection of everything. Humans were created to have use of this earth as we wanted always remembering to be obedient to our creator. I think that a difference from animals and humans is that we have intelligence to everything. Humans think before doing a big decision and no animal ever thinks a decision that could affect their life. Animals have limited knowledge to everything as they do not have this ability to do things knowingly. Animals do as they do because they react to their instincts. This can also tie in to language and speech because us humans communicate through talking. That is how we are able to get one idea across to another person because of this understanding that we have with one another. I do not believe that animals understand what we humans say because if that was possible they would eventually be able to respond even with as much evaluation that has occurred. “Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28). God gives humans dominion over all the animals meaning that God created animals to be controlled by us and for our purposes. Humans will always