Blog 5

Hello! My name is Alexandria and I am currently a freshman student majoring in psychology at Humboldt State University. I am from Pasadena, CA and decided to attend HSU because of its small class sizes. Plus, I'm in one of the most beautiful areas one can ask for! Other than that, I enjoy listening to music (my favorite band is The Doors), eating, spending time with my friends, and being outside and enjoying nature in general. I currently have many interests including religion, culture, and the theory of Evolution being the main three. Throughout the spring semester of 2012 at Humboldt State, I have researched material, interviewed participants, and wrote about my understandings and conclusions that are related to the contrasting aspects of the theory of Evolution and religion.

So, what exactly is religion? Well, as the infamous Harriet Martineau puts it, "Religion is the belief in an ever-living God, that is, of a Divine Mind and Will ruling the Universe and holding moral relations with mankind." Although Martineau's theory of the definition of religion can somewhat be considered as biased in some circumstances, I believe that this very definition summons up what most of the religions are based on: some sort of God(s) or Divine power. Religion, in my opinion, is perhaps one of the biggest contributors to that of culture(s). Culture can be described as a set of beliefs, practices, behaviors, and/or actions amongst a certain group of people. Think about it. Most of America and Europe are said to be comprised mostly of Christianity or Catholicism, the Middle East with Islam or Judaism, Asia with Buddhism or Hinduism, and Africa with Christianity, Islam, or a native traditional religion. Now, imagine what the Middle East would be like if its main religion was Buddhism. How would the present culture of the Middle East react? What things, behaviors, morals/values, etc., change? What I'm trying to say is that perhaps religion can define a culture in a way, or vice versa. 

Here in my blog, I will be talking about the "religion" of Evolution. I have conducted research on what exactly it is and the various affiliations it has amongst it. I have also conducted fieldwork in which I interviewed four participants of different age, gender, class, race, and religious views of what their take is on the theory of Evolution. After researching about my topic and interviewing my four subjects, I have gained profound culmination.

The theory of Evolution. One small phrase with one huge meaning. The Oxford English Dictionary claims that such theory is “the transformation of animals, plants, and other living organisms into different forms by the accumulation of changes over successive generations” (OED Online). The theory of Evolution has been brought into the modern world a couple of centuries ago, thus being introduced to the world with Charles Darwin and his natural selection philosophy, and has caused hot debates over the years. For religious people, particularly Christians and Catholics, Evolution can be thought of as something that did not occur and is therefore untrue. These religious people believe in the concept of “creation,” which is the thought of humans being created and put on Earth by a divine being, or God. Nonetheless, “creation” and the theory of Evolution both postulate interesting and factual controversies.

A series of events, classifications, and time spans greatly contribute to the theory of Evolution. If you look below, you will see such phenomena.

Ø  The Big Bang Theory: 15 billion years ago

Ø  The emergence of the solar system: 4.6 billion years ago

Ø  The completion of Earth: 4.5 billion years ago

Ø  The beginning of life on Earth: 4 billion years ago

Ø  The first animals on Earth: 670 billion years ago

Ø  The Permian-Triassic Extinction: 250 million years ago

Ø  The emergence of dinosaurs and flowers: 235 million years ago

Ø  The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction: 205 million years ago

Ø  Pangaea occurs: 200 million years ago

Ø  Modern mammals start to appear: 114 million years ago

The “Age of Mammals,” which is also known as the Cenozoic Era, demonstrates the existence of the very first primates. The “Age of Mammals” can thus be divided into 7 epochs:

Ø  Paleocene (65-55 million years ago): During this time, there is some evidence that primates have appeared, but archaeologists and scientists claim that this approach is only a possibility and not necessarily a fact.

Ø  Eocene (55-34 million years ago): The first primates have definitely emerged.

Ø  Oligocene (34-22 million years ago): The first monkeys appear.

Ø  Miocene (22-5 million years ago): The first apes and hominins appear.

Ø  Pliocene (5-1.8 million years ago): Hominins stem from Africa.

Ø  Pleistocene (1.8 million years ago-10 thousand years ago): Hominins are all around the world.

Ø  Holocene (10 thousand years ago-present): Agriculture emerges and transforms.

It is believed that evolution is not linear, directional, and goal-oriented as well as it not justifying the production of “better” organisms, but that of mere change and transformation of species. Our evolutionary classification can be stated (in descending order) like this:

Ø  Kingdom: Animalia (plantae)

Ø  Class: Mammalia (warm-blooded; mammalian traits)

Ø  Order: Primate (humans, apes, monkeys)

Ø  Family: Hominidae (humans and great apes)

Ø  Sub-Family: Homininae (humans and chimpanzees)

Ø  Tribe: Hominini (humans and ancestral bipeds)

Primates are said to have first lived in trees, or “arboreal.” They had traits such as complex vision-dependence (making them visual-manual foragers), creative grasping techniques, and great intelligence. A primate’s diet consisted mainly of plants, seeds, and nuts. After many years, primates evolved into the ever-infamous standing position. There are many theories that conceptualize as to why this came about. The most famous theory, and one of my favorites, is that primates evolved into the standing position all in the sake of reproduction means, thus allowing the primate to “showcase” their sexual bodily organs more precisely. Over time, primates thus evolved into even more distinct species after becoming bipedal and spreading all over the world (which also greatly contributed to a primate’s expanding diet of protein intake), creating a more complex system of classification. Such classification terms (in ascending order as primates appeared) include:

Ø  Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Ø  Ardipithecus ramidus

Ø  Australopithecus afarensis

Ø  Kenyanthropus platyops

Ø  Australopithecus africanus

Ø  Australopithecus garhi

Ø  Australopithecus robustus

Ø  Homo habilis

Ø  Homo ergaster

Ø  Homo rudolfensis

Ø  Australopithecus boisei

Ø  Homo heidelbergensis

Ø  Homo erectus

Ø  Homo sapiens

Ø  Homo neanderthalensis

Needless to say, our long lineage of ancient ancestors proves to be fascinating and educational.

After research, I then moved on to select my four interview participants of different race, gender, class, religion, and occupational status as well as creating the questions that I would be asking them, at which I typed up and printed out:

1.      What is your race? Gender? Class? Religion? Occupational status?

2.      What are your views on the theory of Evolution? What do you think is true and untrue of the theory of Evolution? Have you done any research on the theory of Evolution? If so, what do you think of it? If not, why not?

3.      What do you think of all the archaeological findings of various fossils/remains of "primates?" (Lucy, Turkana Boy, etc.)

4.      Do you think your perception of the theory of Evolution will ever change? If so/not, why?

The results came in within two weeks. Needless to say, I was very impressed at the answers to my questions that were given.

Subject 1:
Name: Rebecca Arden
Race: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Socioeconomic Class-Standing: Middle-Class
Religion: Christian
Occupational Status: Financial Aid Counselor at Pasadena City College

Rebecca Arden has stated that she is not convinced that we as humans didn't necessarily crawl out of the ocean; however, she does find the subject matter interesting. She claims that she thinks that man was here in a fashion similar to Neanderthals. Ms. Arden goes on to say that she believes that we as humans have evolved into what we are now due primarily to diet and nutrition, climate change, and natural resources. She also says that the only research she has done on the theory of Evolution consists of reading science Internet websites, articles, and blogs and that she has not merely researched the subject matter further because it has not interested her enough compared to other facets of science that have.

Ms. Arden goes on to explain how she thinks how the archaeological findings/remains (Lucy/Turkana Boy, etc.) backs up her thoughts of how man has always had a similar shape and function as ‘Lucy.’ She concludes the interview sheet with claiming that the theory of Evolution, like all theories, is just that and is open for interpretation and change once new evidence has been discovered.

Subject 2:
Name: Rita Evans
Race: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Socioeconomic Class-Standing: Middle-Class
Religion: Protestant
Occupational Status: Retired from the District Attorney Family Support Division of Kern County

Rita has asserted that her view on the theory of Evolution is just mere theory, claiming that the Big Bang Theory sounds very accidental. She believes that the sequence after the Big Bang Theory mostly follows that of Creation, saying that she does not believe in the transformation of animals, plants, and other living organisms, which was defined by the Oxford English Dictionary earlier. What Ms. Evans does know about the theory of Evolution does not cause her to be more curious or want to delve more into the study of the subject matter simply because of her passionate beliefs of Creation, claiming that Creation came about for a purpose.
Ms. Evans goes on to say that she finds the archaeological findings/remains as very exciting and interesting. Lastly, Rita has concluded the interview with declaring how her perception of the theory of Evolution will not change. She says that she believes that there were huge expanses of time between the days of Creation (as in day of or era) and not necessarily a 24-hour period. Rita believes that the theory of Evolution is all about happenstance.

Subject 3:
Name: Jose Ramirez
Race: Mexican
Gender: Male
Socioeconomic Class-Standing: Undefined
Religion: Taoist
Occupational Status: Freshman Student at Humboldt State University

Jose claims that we are animals that have evolved and developed over a huge period of time. He believes that we as primates have developed into what we are now today simply by the means of the use of natural resources and diet/nutrition. He elaborates on the fact that he has not done any research on the theory of Evolution because he knows what he is and that researching the subject matter would only be a waste of his time. Mr. Ramirez justifies his thoughts about the archaeological findings and remains of fossils by saying that they help back up the scientific theory with evidence or proof. He concludes the interview with stating that his perception of the theory of Evolution will not change. Jose goes on to say that we have always been primates with a long lineage of ancestors.

Subject 4:
Name: Nicholas Murphy
Race: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Socioeconomic Class-Standing: Middle-Class
Religion: Atheist
Occupational Status: Freshman Student at Humboldt State University

Mr. Murphy claims that the theory of Evolution is accurate and that he accepts it as a fact. He has not done any research on the theory of Evolution other than looking up the subject matter through the Internet. He states that he is not interested in researching the subject matter further because he is not concerned about how he got "here." Nicholas goes on to say that he finds the archaeological findings and remains of fossils as great and fascinating. He says that the archaeological findings help us understand the origins of our people, which can be a useful resource when providing evidence or proof.

Lastly, Mr. Murphy claims that unless science reveals some vast overarching flaw in the theory of Evolution, he will continue to believe in the theory. He believes that he is a realist and that the theory of Evolution seems most reasonable.

After interviewing four subjects about what their take is on the theory of Evolution, I have come to a somewhat conclusion and understanding. It seems as if younger adults in today’s society acquire more religious freedom. They are more prone to develop their own thoughts on religion and the meaning of the theory of Evolution. Why is this? Perhaps it has to do with time, generation, and technological advances within society. Was the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and the 1970’s a precursor to religious freedom and choice? In my opinion, yes. Do all of the technological advances of computers, cellular phones, and Apple products today emphasis the individualistic thought or persona? Again, in my opinion, yes. Let’s look back at least five decades ago in American society. Aspects such as moral responsibilities, family roles, hard work/education, and religion (Christianity, which was most prominent) were most valued. As the counterculture hit, freedom and choice were most valued, and perhaps rebellion. With the emergence of electronic and digital innovations (and not to mention reality television shows) in the 21^st century, users attain even more individualist creativity and thought and personal choice. In conclusion, it is my belief that older adults mostly hold more religious beliefs (particularly in Christianity or Catholicism) whereas the recent generation does not. 

References:

"evolution, n.". OED Online. December 2011. Oxford University Press. 17 February

2012  <http://oed.com/view/Entry/65447?redirectedFrom=evolution>.