Key Messages
Exploring The Evolution Of Morality, Economy, Language And Technology
The Evolution of Everything is a unique book since it looks at the evolution of things beyond biology.
It’s about understanding how cultures, morality, economy, language, and technology all evolve around us.
You’ll learn that these things don’t usually come from top-down leadership or scientists, but actually develop gradually from the bottom-up.
The author’s research into evolution reveals how many human cultural changes can be explained by this phenomenon and how the Wild West wasn’t as wild as we think, DNA and language have something interesting in common and why money got monopolized.
No matter what you study or investigate, it’s essential to understand that everything around us is constantly in flux due to its ever evolving nature.
Unfold the evolution of everything around you by gaining insight into why and how our culture has changed over time!
The Creationist Mode Of Thinking Vs. The Evolutionary Perspective: Exploring Ideas Before Darwin
The history of Western thinking is dominated by a creationist perspective.
This means that often, we tend to explain the world by seeing it as designed or planned by some higher power.
Plato thought that society functioned according to a cosmic order.
Homer had gods deciding who won battles in The Iliad, and Christian reformer Martin Luther believed our fate was decided by God.
Friedrich Nietzche suggested that powerful leaders had made healthy societies while Karl Marx promoted the idea of having planned state as the best way to move forward both economically and socially.
Despite this overwhelming tendency towards a creationist approach in the Western world, there are still exceptions.
One example is Epicurus who believed that no divinity or royalty was needed to understand life and morality, since physical objects were made up of invisible atoms which followed natural laws rather than God’s laws.
Lucretius too, saw everything as constituted of invisible particles which did not require a creator and had no ultimate end goal or purpose.
In essence, Epicurus and Lucretius were two precursors of Darwin’s theories about evolution.
The Selfish Gene: How Modern Science Disproves Creationism And Supports The Theory Of Evolution
Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking work in the realm of biology forever changed the scientific community’s understanding of humanity’s place in the universe.
His proposed theory of evolution through natural selection removed any notion of creationism and instead presented a structured, evidenced-based explanation for the emergence of complex organisms from simple cells.
Darwin had the idea while on his sailing expedition to the Galápagos Islands, where he observed and reflected upon various animals and plants that he collected along his journey.
Darwin’s theory argued for a mechanism—namely natural selection—in which beings are better suited to their environment have increased chances at survival.
This concept completely upended previous understandings about how life has evolved, which had relied heavily upon creationist notions for interpretation.
But in light of Richard Dawkins’s The Selfish Gene finding that many genes appear to serve no other purpose than just hitching a ride, it reinforced the notion that there is no cosmic designer at play behind our existence; rather, we are merely temporary vehicles used by genes in pursuit of their continued survival.
Therefore, Darwinian evolution not only revolutionized science but removed once and for all any connection between it and creationism as well.
Evolution Is Everywhere: How The Principles Of Natural Selection Apply To Language, Economy And Technology
Evolution isn’t limited to biology and genetics – it can be found in many other aspects of our lives.
We see evidence of it in cultures and economies as well, or even in the ever-changing technology that we use.
Culture evolves through randomness; just like genes, the same goes for information being passed down from generation to generation.
This is seen in language, where words and phrases that are widely used are likely to stay around for a long time, whereas others that fall into disuse will eventually disappear.
Economy follows a similar pattern; Adam Smith first made us aware of the idea that markets could regulate themselves without control from government or other institutions.
Later, economist Joseph Schumpeter examined this further, submitting the argument that markets act as evolutionary systems which test out new products and services to meet human needs, with only “the fittest” surviving in competition with other products.
The concept of evolution applies to technological progress too – similar to biological processes, technology moves from one form of tool to another through trial and error.
Take communication technology as an example: going all the way back to the telegraph until modern day cellphones (which will inevitably evolve into something else at some point).
Religions Are An Evolving Man-Made Invention, Not God-Given Morality
When it comes to morality, most religions believe that it’s something given to us by God.
But the truth is, morality isn’t something alone that we receive from God, but has evolved with society as we interact with one another.
Adam Smith was famous for The Wealth of Nations, but he also wrote extensively on morality and observed how it wasn’t so much taught but rather evolved – an attribute which is developed within our societal framework.
As children grow up and experience life, they learn which actions evoke the best responses and sympathy from those around them and this in turn evolves into a common moral code.
The same applies to religion, too.
It’s not something passed down by God but rather an invention made by man that has evolved over time according to worldly beliefs and human interaction.
For example, Ancient Greeks and Romans believed in several gods while Christianity only believes in one god; likewise there was a shift from gods who were capricious and whimsical to holy figures that are perfect yet disembodied.
So, while religion may be seen as a set of instructions or teachings handed down divinely to us through Gods—it too has evolved with mankind as our values have shift over time along with the conception of what a deity would look like or act like in each individual faith based on their social developments.
It’S Time To Stop Thinking That Culture Creates Our Personality And Embrace The Evolving Nature Of Education
Our conceptions of personality development and education are shaped heavily by creationist thinking.
Traditional psychological wisdom states that a child’s personality is only determined by their upbringing, ignoring any evolutionary influences.
Similarly, many educational systems follow the assumption that an adult’s instruction is required to impart knowledge onto children.
However, research has proven these two ideas false.
For example, even when twins are raised apart they possess strikingly similar personalities – indicating an evolution-based factor in behavior.
Additionally, experiments have found children acting instinctively towards toys labeled as either gender-neutral or gender-specific without prior experience or external prompting – showing that behavioral differences between sexes evolve from within.
Education doesn’t necessarily have to conform to these traditional notions either.
In fact, evidence suggests that self-directed learning systems can be more successful than instruction-heavy systems – like the Montessori program which has created numerous successful entrepreneurs in modern society.
Overall, it’s clear that creationist thinking often misinterprets the true process of personality and education formation – meaning we should be open to evolving more innovative teaching approaches rather than adhering to antiquated ideals.
Innovation Does Not Need Top-Down Creation To Thrive
The authors of the Encyclopédie had a point: innovation does not need to be dictated by today’s powerful leaders or governments.
Rather, it can arise from the bottom up on its own—without the influence of other people or organizations.
As an example, take Morning Star Tomatoes.
This Californian company has been experimenting with self-management for decades now and has enjoyed tremendous success—with a huge increase in profits and innovation coming about without any central planning or leadership.
So even in an age where Bill Gate’s, Steve Job’s, Jeff Bezos’, and Mark Zuckerberg’s are given nearly godlike powers for their leadership and achievements; true innovation is still possible without them.
Further proof lies in the unexpected way that laws evolved in the nineteenth century American West—where customs developed from the people with no formal law enforcement system in place.
This shows that when left to their own devices, people can come together to create systems and discover innovations on their own; there’s no need for leaders or governments to “create” those things.
We Must Fight For A Free And Evolving Internet Before It Becomes Too Controlled By Governments
Money and the internet are both evolutionary phenomena.
In the 19th century, Sweden had a free banking system with multiple banks issuing their own banknotes without any central authority controlling it.
Canada followed this example in the 1930s when they experienced no disruption to their banking after the Great Depression despite not having a central bank.
Today, with the emergence of air miles, mobile phone credit and Bitcoin on the internet, we’re seeing further development of new forms of self-organizing money systems.
Thanks to its decentralized programming and hobbyist groups, the internet has also evolved rapidly in an unpredictable yet functional way with no core or hierarchy – until recently, where censorship by governments is putting it at risk of becoming centralized again.
It’s important that we advocate for an internet free from control in order to prevent money from suffering a similar fate as it did in centuries past.
Wrap Up
The Evolution of Everything by Matt Ridley is a comprehensive look at how evolution shapes all aspects of life, and what we can learn from it.
Ridley makes a strong case for why we should take an evolutionary perspective when examining our culture, economics, technology, morality and religion.
He backs up his arguments with data and interesting stories about how evolution has been driving progress in all these areas.
The book provides readers with a fascinating insight into the ways that evolution drives progress in many different areas, showing us how complex systems arise out of simple beginnings.
Through this lens, we are encouraged to think differently about stagnant cultures or beliefs and to consider new possibilities as to how we can use our understanding of evolution to improve our lives going forward.
This book is a final summary of just how much impact the theory of evolution has on everything around us.
