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I recently read a mind-popping piece in the Atlantic by Melvin Konner about the evolution of early humans and primates.1 It’s an incredible saga well worth repeating here. I follow up on that by predicting an evolutionary revolution on November 5th!
Darwin gives us a hint at what Konner is proposing when he wrote that if you want to understand human behavior, look to baboons, not philosophers. That’s in keeping with the long-held notion that our behavior is governed by our genes.
As proof of that, Konner cites field studies showing that chimpanzees, our near relative, are violent by nature: “Males often coerce and beat females, and would sometimes gang up and attack a chimp from another group.” Recent books like “Demonic Males” drew “a dire portrait of humanity (the male version) as inherently violent by evolutionary legacy.”
However, the idea that all primates are violent by nature has been upended by research on bonobos, our other closest relative. “No more removed from us genetically than chimps are, they are a radical contrast to them, often called the “make love, not war” species.2
Based on this research, Richard Wrangham, a leading anthropologist on this subject,3 has upended conventional thinking: he has amassed convincing data that human aggression is largely determined by social learning in our environment – not our genes! He says the die was cast early in our evolution when we discovered how to use fire, extending day into the night.
“Given how important we know conversations and stories told around the fire are to human hunter-gatherers, it’s easy to see how this process could have accelerated the evolution of language—an essential ingredient for less physically aggressive interactions.”
Then, Wrangham uses a variety of animal studies to demonstrate how humans have successfully tamed animal species by human-directed selection over many generations. “For instance, in a fox study begun in Russia in the early 1950s, the pups in each litter least likely to bite when approached by humans were bred forward.” The results were dramatic in progressively lowering aggression.
Next, he applies this knowledge to bonobos, a close relative of Chimps, who separated into their own species 1 to 2 million years ago. Because bonobos were isolated in a remote crook of the Congo River, they were“protected from competition with either chimps or gorillas. In relative safety, that gave them the luxury of decreasing their own reactive aggression.”
Wrangham defines “reactive aggression” as attacking another animal that gets too close, as opposed to tolerating contact long enough to allow for a possible friendly interaction. Over generations, these changes in social structure reduced violence in the same way the Russian experiment tamed foxes.
Over time, in this more trusting environment, female bonobos took over, forming strong coalitions “…that keep a lid on male violence. Males didn’t attack them, and even male-on-male violence was extremely limited. “
Maybe that’s how evolution works for the greater good of the species.
And it could be happening again, according to Harvard psychologist and famed intellect Steven Pinker. In his book “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” he presents a strong case that “humans are now living in the4 most peaceful era in the history of our species.”
Interestingly, the history of America coincides with that of the bonobos: We have thrived in relative safety in a stable society since our founding, protected by two oceans that isolated us from much of the chaos and danger plaguing the rest of the world. Under this scenario, as with the bonobos, women have gained power until, on November 5th, they will be able to overthrow the orange-haired chimp.
I think this is an example of the evolutionary power of natural selection: It’s Mother Nature’s way of saving the world.
xxx
1 https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/how-humans-tamed-themselves/580447/
2 Ibid
3 Ibid/
