Morgan, Elaine; The Scars of Evolution: what our bodies tell us about human origins. New York, NY; Oxford University Press; 1990; (0-19-509431-X)
In the debate on who we are we cannot exclude the question of what and where we are. It is part of the current scientific paradigm that it is senseless to consider a part of the Universe outside the context of the whole — even if there are things we don’t even know about, much less understand. I believe the Universe is a continuous whole which is greater than the sum of xer parts, and is intelligent.
As a human I am tempted to claim a special place in the grand scheme of it all, to be the apple of Natures Eye. Yet, I am confident that any self-aware life-form (and we are all self-aware to some degree) thinks pretty much along the same lines. There really is no reason why this planet would have produced life, nor that any one of us would have been clever enough to be writing these questions and looking for answers. We are here, and life is so abundant and resilient that it is hard to think of it as being any other way.
In the quest for our origins we cannot help but think that it was meant to be. Yet, as we learn just how much we had to overcome to make it so, we must take a moment of silence in respect for the engines of evolution.
All theories are equal, until the facts are plugged in. When we consider the Theories of Evolution the facts plug in very well. No theory is so perfect that a new fact won’t come along that will ask us to change or disregard it. Yet this theory is the best we have to explain the biosphere, and xer relationship with our planet.
Elaine Morgan limits the scope of her theory to the human condition, more specifically why we are so unique as a species. She has repeatedly advocated a theory (not originating with her) that humanity went through a short marine stage that isolated and accelerated our changes so that we were sure to become distinctive. In this book she summarizes the history of this theory with related theories, and the reasons new theories can take a generation to prove themselves.
She begins with the facts (quantitative truths) then presents her theory on how they came to be as we find them. Generally, the book is grouped so that it takes a couple of chapters to assess each subject. In the first of each set she presents the facts (naked skin, subcutaneous fat, etc.), the accepted theories on how they came to be, the flaws in those theories, and her theories. In the second of each set she discusses the legacy of each fact, and furthers her theory just a little more.
In the tradition of Ockham’s razor, Ms Morgan has presented a theory that serves a great number of facts with the simplest of explanations. In little more than 200 pages she surveys her arguments and the history of the science she is contributing to. And in a character that I would hope to cultivate within myself, she admits to there being potential flaws in her theory; then again, any theory worth its salt will be flawed in some respect, in need of revision with the arrival of some new fact. Ms Morgan summarizes the fossil record, but her focus is on the results of evolution on our body, and wonders where else those features are found to be successful.
The science is written for those of us who are not science majors. I will note that the “Biology for Dummies” course I took helped me to appreciate the scope of this book, but it would not be necessary. I would even suggest the book for a fourth grader; the language is that simple and difficult terms are immediately explained, almost at each instance. As a lay-scientist and philosopher, I give The Scars of Evolution a resounding five roars of approval.
Potter, Thomas; BronzDragon; ; March 2006.
This page was last updated for the The Guild of Avalon Writers: from Hemet, CA.