Journal and Remarks

“This book might interest you,” prefaced my visitor. “I’ve read your recent writings. This Journal and Remarks chronicles some related thoughts of my own. For historical context, at the time we sailed, the sun never set upon our empire.”

“182 years ago,” I noted. “You, more than any other human, at any point in time, shaped how we currently understand biological life. I am deeply honored to meet you, Sir.”

His handshake was warm and kindly. “Please call me Charles.”

“I’ve contemplated your observations for all of my educated life,” I continued. “May I combine your hypothesis — with recent fossil and forensic genetic research, contemporary explorations in the field of Psychology, and the teachings of Aristotle?”

  • Evolution selected for us to use our senses to perceive the world around us: physical objects, other living creatures, relationships. (stimulus)
  • Evolution also selected for us to have emotion, which is a near-instantaneous chemical survival mechanism triggering flight/fight/freeze/fuck reactions. (response)
  • Evolution also selected for logic, which is the introspective tool we use to determine if our internal perceptions match external conditions. (cognition)
  • If our internal perceptions match external conditions mostly consistently, then we learn to trust our own judgment. (meta-cognition)
  • Because, ultimately, each of us is a potential DNA replicator responsible for our own personal survival and decisions. This is the evolutionary purpose for autonomy.

“Precisely!” Darwin exclaimed. “There have been many instances in history when only a small cohort, or sometimes just a single individual, survived a mass extinction event and lived to contribute genes. Consensus is not analogous to safety, at any scale. Autonomy is an evolutionary failsafe.”

“Trust evolution. Trust your judgment.”

PHOTO: Original leather bound edition of The Voyage of the Beagle from Charles Darwin’s personal initial publication. Holding this book in my hands, knowing it had been touched by him, changed my life in a way I do not have words to describe…a sense of awe. (collection of a friend)