What the heck are we?

Question

Ok, I just got through watching David Attenborough's BBC movie Planet Earth (recommend to every person on the planet!) and I'm also a biology major.

After watching this and several other programs and reading several books on evolutionary theory, biology, etc., I can not stop asking myself,"What the heck are humans, as a conscious species, doing here?!"

Ecosystems are intricate and the organisms involved work with the environment to help its and other species while at the same time producing no waste (well, what is produced is reused).

Humans don't do any of this...lol. We produce waste and it's toxic. We live in an environment but consume every resource and are even destroying our own home. It just blows my mind. I don't know if this is a biology question or a philosophy question honestly. Is consciousness to blame? Any theories or thoughts?

Answer 1

I believe that the compact brains of other organisms on this planet allow them to fit conveniently into the circle of life. However, humans, with their large, complex brains, are in a league of their own when compared to other species. Our brains allow us to further nurture ideas and behavior, and our natural ability to learn with these organs of knowledge allows for a huge potential in growth. In other words, we delve into the world of the unknown, nature-wise, as an intelligent species.

If not managed properly, we tend to disregard the other beings we share the earth with, and we use our knowledge for resource extraction in order to survive as a species. In order to keep ourselves going, we consume more and more resources. The ability to be fully conscious of our actions and question those actions as morally correct might have prevented methods that, in nature, help to maintain population at a steady number. The killing off of humans in order to maintain an ecological balance may have seemed wrong to our ancestors, or another possibility could be the fact that the human brain allowed for us to fight for our right to live.

War and disease kills off many people, but our struggle to survive is stronger. As our technology evolves and adapts to new problems, the human population is quickly rising, which speeds up the depletion of Earth's resources. It may sound pessimistic, but the human race can be compared to a virus. If our only significance in life was to keep the species alive (reproduction), we would be a very good example of this phenomenon.

Sorry this post is so long. This is just my opinion.

Answer 2

what r we doing... destroying the EARTH...

Answer 3

we are the most dangerous species on earth. we are selfish and greedy and we only care about ourselves and nothing else..

Answer 4

We're here for a reason, maybe it's balance. Not sure.

Answer 5

I guess you never read the Bible.We are a separate order of creation. all the other life you mentioned is the operating system for this planet. Ants and such are the "clean up squad", that's what they were designed for and to do.

Answer 6

Good question! Scientifically, we evolved into the most DOMINATING species, although I wouldn't say the greatest since we're destroying the earth more than any other species. Drat. If anyone out there prefers the more religious version, God got bored with the relatively peaceful planet and decided to play a 'lil Sim City. He dropped us down to see how much damage we could do. Either way you look at it, we are doing damage. There is a biological reason since it seems we are hardwired to dominate, but there is still that consciousness element. We can make decisions. We can choose the right choices. But we don't.

We really are terrible! :-)