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Synthesis Paper Gerardo Lemus Human/Nature Dr. Becky Boesch December 7, 2013 In order for humans to get where we are today four factors greatly contributed, these are biological evolution, brain development, language and culture. But in order for the dominos to start falling something had to start the chain reaction and that is biological evolution. Biological evolution is the most critical lens to our human development because it was the first step that led to the other lenses development and eventually led to what modern humans are in the present. Biological evolution was the first domino to fall which led to the complex development of the brain, and with a better brain language was able to be developed, and culture developed alongside language. Biological evolution defined by Ehrlich as evolution that causes changes in our genetic endowment (Ehrlich) is the most crucial lens that had to come into place in order for the rest of the lenses to appear and shape our human development and our natures. Biological evolution gave the ability to survive to our ancestor by natural selection. It adapted our ancestor to their environments because every attribute of every organism is the product of an interaction between its genetic endowment and its environment (Ehrlich). These adaptations helped our ancestors outcompete and outlive other species. They had the capabilities to hold things when opposable thumbs came into existence, so they where able to gather more food than other species. They also thrived more because they where able to run for longer distances when they became

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bipedal, which meant out pacing a predator or prey. These two adaptations- opposable thumps and bipedalism- where important because they allowed for more hunting, but as more hunting happened the more complex tools that where required to do a better efficient job. But tool making wasnt only important for survival it was also crucial for the brain to develop into a very complex organ. The brain developed thanks to the changes in environment/natural selection that our ancestor underwent. Because our ancestors went from the treetops to the savannas and in return our brains adapted to the new environment by enlarging the occipital lobes for better sight, which helped them thrive in that new environment, but as shown in the Secrets of the Mind the development of the brain has been going on for a long time, because the blind sighted mans way of seeing things is very similar to that of a lizards way of looking at things (Secrets of the Mind), which leads to the idea that it was a trait that was passed down from the common ancestor of mammals and reptiles. Another thing that the video shows is the great complexity of our modern brains, and how its mapped. If one part of the brain gets damaged the neighboring part takes over, as show in phantom limbs and the brain activity shown in the brain scans (Secrets of the Mind), and that is because of the plasticity that our brain has thanks to evolution. Our brains have come to their present capabilities thanks to the biological evolution term of natural selection, individuals with better brain functions out produced those that didnt have those abilities and passed their genes on. The complexity of the brain was a product of biological evolution which had the same purpose as any other adaption, which is survive. The brains development allowed for the abilities like reasoning, planning, problem-solving and intense consciousness as well as allowing for language development.

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The early building of tools helped develop the brain parts that are used for language. This shown by the complexity that it took to build a tool such as the hand axe, it took planning ahead in order for the hand axe to be sharp and well built. And this planning ahead helped early developing of syntax in language. But in order to have modern language you need one more thing in addition to syntax and that is symbolism. The symbolism component of modern language can be seen in early cave paintings that are forms of communication through symbols. The desire to communicate and development of language came because of any other biological adaption, for survival. As show through the from grooming to gossip model (Ehrlich) that Ehrlich talks about, language came as a replacement from grooming because as groups grew they needed a better way of socializing. And socializing was important for survival because groups are more likely to survive than individuals. But language wasnt only affected by our genes it was also influenced by our cultures, thats why we have more than one language because we have more than one culture and environments. Language and culture are intertwined very closely; in fact some say that language is part of culture. Just like the example in the reading of Metaphors We Live By, we talk and live like the metaphors time is money and argument is war were real, and in western culture you could say that these metaphors are real. And thats because our culture has been exposed to war many times and we also put a lot of importance into money. In contrast a culture who hasnt who doesnt know what war and money is doesnt live by these metaphors(Lakoff and Johnson), showing that language is influenced not only by our genes, because we all have the capability for language, but also by culture. Culture influences the way we perceive things, and this has shaped our human natures a lot. In Shakespeare in the Bush these two cultures are reading/listening the same story of Hamlet but their understanding of it is completely different. Right from the start of the story the two

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cultures have a disagreement because in one culture ghosts exist while in the other the only way you can be dead and talking is to be a zombie (Bohannan). And this is because the cultural knowledge we acquire as members of our society [organizes] our perception and behavior.(Bohannan). In other words our culture affects the way we interpret things and the way we react to things, just like the different cultures reading Hamlet had different interpretations than the author. Human and human behaviors are very complex and came to be because of our biological evolution, our brain development, and our unique languages and cultures. But the most important of these four lenses is biological evolution, because with out it we wouldnt have been able to adapt to our environments and we would have died off or ended as a different species. Biological evolution and natural selection led to the development of all sorts of adaptations, one which was our brain. Further more the biological path that our ancestors took helped the development of a more complex brain that had the capabilities to build language and culture, which in return helped us develop even more.