Mankind is only a few steps out of the mouth of the cave. Our millions of years’ worth of evolution has created the basal ganglia, the so-called “reptilian brain,” full of aggression, territoriality, a demand for ritual, and a quest for power. The limbic brain — with its warm, nurturing, species-protecting instincts and motivations — -is of more recent vintage, but it is what has allowed us to survive and grow as a species. However, it’s been in a terrible battle with the reptilian brain for a long time, and the former has the weight of experience on its side. Finally, the neocortex — -giving us the power of forethought, organization, the ability to interweave complex strands of facts into meaningful strategies — -is the most recent development, and is a thin overlay on our brains.
When we evidence care for our own house, but show disdain for our next door neighbor whose home is burning down, then we reveal our own short-sightedness and lack of interest in survival. When we say “they should have been more careful with their use of fire,” we may or may not be right, but a forensic analysis of the blame for the fire while the conflagration is raging is hardly the best way to spend one’s time. Instead, you get your hose, and you spray, and spray, and spray. There will be plenty of time for blame-placing later on, if appropriate.
On the stage of our interconnected world, the miseries of a child in Islamabad or Yogyakarta or Manila may seem remote and too far removed from us to do much about. But in this world, the lessons of ecology have profound importance. The flap of a butterfly’s wings in the Amazon forest can potentially start a hurricane that wipes out New Orleans. And that child’s life can have great bearing on the survival of our species.
It is long past time for us to worry less about the latest tech goodies and gadgets, and more about the moral evolution that will allow for human survival. If we fail to address the root causes of indifference to our fellow humans’ plights, we may very well not survive as a human species.
