Intelligent Design
Though I do not think Intelligent Design is appropriate to use in a science class, nor do I agree with whose Intelligence the belief is referring to-I do think there is some merit to the idea. The focus is on intelligence. From the few courses I’ve taken, and journals I’ve read, the role of intelligence is understated in most theories on evolution. Near everything seems to suggest that evolution is primarily driven by cause and effect. External stimuli and competition. Intelligence, no matter how small, plays a great role I believe in evolution. Understanding how human beings can evolve in such a relatively short time (or even other animals), merely due to reactions from their environment does seem to be a large time. However if human beings selected their mates along those same lines, the time it would take to evolve is dramatically reduced. It seems that most theories of evolution have the animals behaving as mindless bacteria, and in such a setting you would think evolution would take more time. Yet if the animals, on even an unconcious level, actively promoted the selection of those traits it would not take as much time. Not to mention that even the role of play in younger animals, would have an impact on their ability to fight as they are older.
Too often I find that people break human beings and other animals down into merely complex machines. We respond to stimuli, our environment shapes us. Some people may say that humans can shape their environment, but it seems to be rarely applied to animals. Choices in life, from the smallest animals to human beings, have an impact on evolution and the rate of evolution. I think the role of an animals intelligence does have an impact on the rate and type of evolution.
In previous posts, [see original thought], I have questioned whether there is such thing as original thought. Perhaps I should seperate simple from complex thought. Flight or fight is a simple thought. It is a direct response to the environment. Planning on a fight, or a flight is a complex thought. It is not directly stimulated by the environment, but is a mixture of past experience and awareness of ones abilities. Complex thought may not be original at root, but nor is it a direct response to environmental stimuli.
