Along came homo-sapiens...

We are a hard nut to crack !

मत सहल हमें जानो फिरता है फ़लक बरसों

तब ख़ाक के पर्दे से इंसान निकलते हैं

-------

mat sahl hameñ jaano phirtā hai falak barsoñ

tab ḳhaak ke parde se insān nikalte haiñ

- Mir Taqi Mir

[ Free-verse translation of above Urdu couplet of Mir - Don't think of us as mere simple/mortal creatures. We are born after skies and heavens wander in universe for ages, we are born out of that unique dust - a phenomena..we are Human Beings! ]

Think of a moment when you got emotional while watching a scene from a movie. Or reading a novel...or maybe you felt vulnerable while listening/or reading about hardships/troubles of someone else ..someone who is in different part of the world. [ Or even just seeing someone smile activates the same neurons as when you smile]. Why does it stir up emotions inside you for someone who is not related to you, someone you have never seen , or for some fictional character?

It is because of a 'shared intention' . A shared feeling of care. Care for well being of others. This is a unique thing to humans. We are evolved from Chimps. Our DNAs match 99% with Chimps, though we have been very different from them because of this unique thing. Chimps never work in a group - a chimp does not help another chimp to carry a log of wood to another place, or help another chimp by bending a branch of tree so that other can reach to fruits easily. Humans can do these things because somewhere when we came out of Africa, we developed this unique thing of 'shared intention'...ability to think and care about someone who is not related to us. Ability to co-ordinate and work in a group, with others not of blood relation - to hunt together, to farm together, to work in company together, to protect a nation together.

That is a phenomenon. One of the most important events in the history of this planet.

In his book 'The Righteous Mind', Jonathan Haidt[1] opines that the greatest turning point in the history of human civilizations is not development of language as is commonly thought, but this ability of us to think and care about others, having a shared intention.

Bees do things in a group, but more or less they all are siblings. We have this fantastic ability to work and bind together with others who are not related. Think about it for a while!

No matter how different our ideologies are. Whether you are right or left; religious or liberal;communist or libertarian - no matter how much we have fights which sometimes even lead to a civil war - we have learnt to live in a group which has a shared intention. Despite all these fights, we benefit to group/society/nation as a large - while right wing/conservatives teach societies at large importance of protection of superiors/importance of sanctity which acts as a glue...allegiance of subordinates/authority for better functioning; liberals on the other hand balance out an very inward thinking of a group by pointing out time again that there are good people in rival group also. There are many ways we balance out each other. For better functioning and better governance/policies we need all these groups on the panel.

Each one has a role to play in a human society - from farmer to teacher to policeman. How did a Chimp / and then a hunter-gatherer put up so complex societal matrices which benefit all? How did we learn to live together and share our work? ..and that too with someone who are not related to us. Despite the fact that due to current social media fights over ideologies we still work together in companies / schools and firms which have people contributing together for success of the entity! Isn't it surprising when you look around in the animal kingdom - that we are unique in this way. The 'shared intention' binds us.

At the outset, a billion year ago - 98% of the insects on the planet were not living in groups. Only 2% of them decided to live together. They decided to build a hive, and to nurture little ones and to protect the elders(Queen) and to divide work amongst themselves (fighters / gatherers). When this happened - this species - Bees - stopped living in the world it was given to them. They changed the world. Flowers needed them for pollination and eventually whole flora and fauna of the planet changed. The bees changed ecosystem of this planet. That was a defining moment in history of this planet.

Another defining moment was when Human Beings developed this unique ability to care for each other - even in non-siblings. And we too changed this planet (for better or worse), we created an ecosystem.

Now in times of this pandemic called "coronavirus", the spirits across the nations are low. Many are scared and anxious. So many things crowd up in minds when literally most of the world is in a 'lockdown' - in their own home.

Will we be wiped out as a race? not now definitely but ..eventually? or will this pandemic cause a damage to our civilization, to the lives, to our economies - which are irreversible? There are alarmists on one side and there are positive thinkers on another. But in all this low spirit - it is fascinating to pause for a moment and look back.

It is fascinating to look back at how far we have reached. How we are unique. To think about all the obstacles we overcame in this way from the living in jungles of Africa to where we are now. The amazing things we learnt which no one species has had chance to even think about.

How did it occur to build this complex net? Net of nations, societies , religious groups , social groups based on ideologies, how we developed cultural innovations related to morality, how we learnt farm, herd, or trade; how we made friendships and have group activities within a group with moral matrix which in turn bring out our selflessness (like giving up life for a cause or nation) - and be alive and benefit each other in a larger scheme of things.

And pat our backs for a while and also have gratitude about all this - to the mother nature.

It's a wonderful life. It is a wonderful world.

I think let's all ponder for a while - where we went wrong, take stock of where we harmed other species and planet. But, it is equally essential to think about how we achieved these great heights, and remind ourselves what magical quality made us attain it. And then be 'sufficiently' proud of it ! :)

To humanity ! .. Cheers!

Notes - Some references taken from the recently read book by Jonathan Haidt on morality and human evolution.