Business Post Contributor
By Nneka Okumazie
While there’s a lot of attention to biological evolution, probably the most important evolution to human progress is contemporaneous anthropological evolution.
How is it that some communities are inclined to certain ways?
How did they get there – looking through their history?
How are some people in similar societies adapted differently, then others just nearby?
What priority did their ancestors have, that was passed on, and morphed into some of the things that are visible today?
For example, some people are generally adventurous and courageous. They are known to try new things, risk delicate stuff, for a purpose they believe in – usually tied to the collective.
They draw confidence to have this courage from inspiration from their clan or are evolved to be inspired in that direction.
Some societies easily rally around causes to donate, even for what others may call ridiculous.
Some societies are deeply individualistic – desiring kin ownership with no consideration for collective growth or what they give back.
Some cultures are given to mistrust, due to high rates of deception and scheming, their people tend to have their minds sharpened to look out for that within and away.
But where do these come from?
All societies had conflicts or fought wars, defeated or victorious, but it is not everywhere that war led to an interest in development.
All societies saw that things were crude, they foraged, sought safety, found ways to live healthily or make their offspring survive, yet not everyone sought to develop.
Some places were great civilizations many years ago, but not much goes – for the present people.
So how did things change for some people, and from whom – or what – did they benefit?
The success of the Greeks stays powerful but who inspired them?
They said their math came from Egypt and Babylon. Egypt was on top before Babylon, but the era of Babylonian intellect wasn’t far away from when Athens rose.
So how did Babylon fail, but Greece excelled?
It is known that Persia conquered Babylon, though Alexander, later on, conquered Persia.
However, though Greece fell to the Romans, their intellectual power remains the best known historically – before the renaissance.
How did Greek happen?
It is impossible to seek Greek history and not think of King Solomon – arguably the greatest king that ever lived.
He could have made of the United Kingdom of Israel what was made of Greece, but it seems he spread his seed with many strange women, and those his unknown – generation, became the stars of other civilizations, with no traceback.
The success of Solomon was so enormous, it is just impossible to not say that the sophists, who were roughly Greeks initial philosophers, or their seven sages did benefit from him, one way or another.
The wisdom through Solomon, they stumbled on, or passed onto them – opened their intellect.
Daniel was also a ruler in Babylon – which would have given him oversight of their studies also.
After Solomon made Israel lose out, the next time the children of David had unparalleled domination – through Christianity was during the Renaissance, continuing till present.
The history of Christianity centred on Jesus, linked from Father Abraham to King David to King Solomon to Constantine, the Holy Roman Empire, and to around a half-millennium ago, shows the anthropology of people tied to the faith or benefitting from it.
In looking at some of the societies that are failing, or down, their anthropological evolution is important.
What makes society progress, for development? Nothing may seem more important than common purpose, with additions like freedom and fairness.
Individual guarantee always fails. People die in a few decades. There is no assurance that an offspring would be as smart, skilled, fortunate or better than the parent.
Even if the offspring is set up, there is always the next generation of influence from others – because of the randomness of life.
So what is placed for everyone is better than what is for one person or family? What is built for the future is often always vital than the edacity of the present?
Though Christianity positions for Heaven, because yes, hell is real, there is no greater find, for development – and better for those ahead and around, equally than the Scriptures.
[Jeremiah 27:5, I [The Lord] have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto Me.]
