The Emergence of Humans and the Origin of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups from Vietnamese Myths

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-234
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Consanguineous Marriage ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Floods And Droughts ◽  
Origin Myths ◽  
Literature History ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection ◽  
Epic Poems

The origin of humans has been at the center of attention throughout most of the history of humanity and remained debatable. Humankind is more interested in tracing back his ancestors than ever. The theory of evolution by natural selection, first formulated in Darwin’s book “On the Origin of Species” in 1859, shows that most species are descended from common ancestors. However, most countries and ethnic groups have their own explanation and interpretation of the origin of humans from the dawn of the civilization in their myths. Particularly, many myths and legends about the beginnings of humans have cropped up and varied across religions, races, ethnics, nations and reflect their daily and spiritual life as well as their beliefs. This paper is devoted to exploring 24 Vietnamese myths concerning the emergence of humans and Vietnamese ethnic groups from the earliest time within a motif-based approach. The study reveals that most collected Vietnamese myths of human emergence are utterly imaginative, artistic and creative with a wide variety of motifs. They bear, however, some similarities in the plot and motif such as: (i) creation of Vietnamese people from eggs, gourds and clay; (ii) natural disasters like floods and droughts and (iii) consanguineous marriage and animal marriage. Last but not least, mythical narration and epic poems play a crucial role in Vietnamese literature, history, religions, beliefs and culture. The author does not aim at comparing origin myths of Vietnam and other countries in this paper but generally introduce the reader to these myths. Received 18th September 2019; Revised 19th February 2020; Accepted 20th March 2020

‘Hurrah for the missing link!’: a history of apes, ancestors and a crucial piece of evidence

2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Kjærgaard
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Origin Of Species ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection

In the nineteenth century the idea of a ‘missing link’ connecting humans with the rest of the animal kingdom was eagerly embraced by professional scientists and popularizers. After the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859, many tied the idea and subsequent search for a crucial piece of evidence to Darwin and his formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection. This article demonstrates that the expression was widely used and that the framework for discussions about human's relation to the apes and gaps in the fossil record were well in place and widely debated long before Origin of Species became the standard reference for discussing human evolution. In the second half of the century the missing link gradually became the ultimate prize in palaeoanthropology and grew into one of the most powerful, celebrated and criticized icons of human evolution.

Considering the Role and Nature of the Scientist

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serap Öz Aydın
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
Science Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection ◽  
Scientific Framework

For many students, preconceived notions about Darwin are among the most significant obstacles in learning about the theory of evolution by natural selection. I present an activity designed to eliminate this obstacle and encourage empathizing with Darwin, utilizing the history-of-science approach. Through the activity, students’ negative thoughts about Darwin disappeared, Darwin’s position as a scientist came to the fore, students’ interest in evolution increased, and they started to discuss the theory within a scientific framework.

scholarly journals Turing Machines and Evolution. A Critique of Gregory Chaitin’s Metabiology

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-150
Author(s):  
Radosław Siedliński
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Turing Machines ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection

Abstract The aim of the paper is twofold. First, it presents the fundamental ideas and results of the “metabiology” created by Gregory Chaitin. Second, it shows why metabiology ultimately fails as a candidate for being a proper mathematical model for the theory of evolution by natural selection. Because of genocentric reductionism and biological oversimplifications, metabiology should be perceived rather as an expression of the philosophical worldview of it’s author.

Getting Beyond the Apemen

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Lesley Newson ◽  
Peter J. Richerson
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
Complex Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection

This introductory chapter explains why a new story of human evolution is needed, and also lays the foundations of the story told in this book. One of the reasons we need a new story is that previous stories have concentrated on what our male ancestors were doing. Since survival is most at risk in the first years of life, it makes much more sense to concentrate on children and their mothers than on adult males. A brief account of the history of ideas in evolution by natural selection and human evolution provides readers with a background in evolutionary processes. Humans are a product of evolution, but we are not like other animals, because we are connected and readily share complex information. We are unique and our evolution was the result of a unique evolutionary process. To understand ourselves in evolutionary terms, it’s necessary to consider two intertwined evolutionary processes—genes and culture.

2. Evolution and natural selection

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-26
Author(s):  
Samir Okasha
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Philosophical Argument ◽  
Modern Biology ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Philosophical Significance ◽  
Argument From Design ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection

In 1859 Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, in which he set out his theory of evolution. The book marked a turning point in our understanding of the natural world and revolutionized biology. ‘Evolution and natural selection’ outlines the theory of evolution by natural selection, explaining its unique status in biology and its philosophical significance. It considers how Darwin’s theory undermined the ‘argument from design’, a traditional philosophical argument for the existence of God; how the integration of Darwin’s theory with genetics, in the early 20th century, gave rise to neo-Darwinism; and why, despite evolutionary theory being a mainstay of modern biology, in society at large there is a marked reluctance to believe in evolution.

What the human annals tell us

1999 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 888-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwen J. Broude
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Reciprocal Altruism ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Mental Processes ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Cultural Data

Evidence reveals numerous cross-cultural universals regarding human mental processes and behavior. Similarly, cross-cultural data are consistent with predictions from theories of kin selection, reciprocal altruism, and sexual selection inspired by Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Thus, the “annals of human behaviour” do provide “example[s] fitting the sociobiological bill,” (Lifelines, p. 202) thereby, supporting sociobiological accounts of human behavior.

scholarly journals Value of species and the evolution of conservation ethics

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 181038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darragh Hare ◽  
Bernd Blossey ◽  
H. Kern Reeve
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Apparent Contradiction ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Conservation Ethics ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection ◽  
Time Required

The theory of evolution by natural selection can help explain why people care about other species. Building upon recent insights that morality evolves to secure fitness advantages of cooperation, we propose that conservation ethics (moral beliefs, attitudes, intuitions and norms regarding other species) could be adaptations that support cooperation between humans and non-humans. We present eco-evolutionary cost–benefit models of conservation behaviours as interspecific cooperation (altruism towards members of other species). We find that an evolutionary rule identical in structure to Hamilton's rule (which explains altruistic behaviour towards related conspecifics) can explain altruistic behaviour towards members of other species. Natural selection will favour traits for selectively altering the success of members of other species (e.g. conserving them) in ways that maximize inclusive fitness return benefits. Conservation behaviours and the ethics that evolve to reinforce them will be sensitive to local ecological and socio-cultural conditions, so will assume different contours in different places. Difficulties accurately assessing costs and benefits provided by other species, time required to adapt to ecological and socio-cultural change and barriers to collective action could explain the apparent contradiction between the widespread existence of conservation ethics and patterns of biodiversity decline globally.

Contributions to the History of Psychology: XCV. Possible Relations between Theories of Evolution and Animal Learning

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse E. Purdy ◽  
Arthur Harriman ◽  
Joseph Molitorisz
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
World View ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theories Of Evolution

It is proposed that the dominance of continuity learning theory as set against noncontinuity learning theory during the middle third of the 20th century rested importantly on its derivation from Darwin's theory of evolution. The kinship is shown in several ways. First, Thorndike and Hull echoed the principle of natural selection in their belief that behaviors underwent gradual modification because acts that were attended steadily by favorable consequences tended to occur with increasing frequency. Second, they denied both nonphysical explanations of behavior and a priori purposes which might guide that behavior. Third, the laws of learning were said to hold for all organisms. It is argued that the continuity approach may have enjoyed success because it was consistent with the Darwinian world view. Had punctualist, rather than gradualist, explanations of evolution come to the fore in the late 19th century, learning theories might have proceeded quite differently with the dominance of noncontinuity approaches.

A Genealogy of Variation

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evolution By Natural Selection

This chapter traces the genealogy of variation, as shaped by Charles Darwin and his legacy of evolution by natural selection. It argues that tracing the history of variation through a naturecultural framework reveals the inherent underlying logic of eugenics. A naturecultural framework allows us to see that evolutionary biologists have long wrestled with some version of what we recognize as the nature/nurture debates. Furthermore, in chronicling this history, the chapter deals with the major figures, including the four patriarchs, or fathers, of the field: Darwin, the father of evolution; Galton, the father of biometry; Malthus, the father of demography; and Mendel, the father of genetics.

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