從「科學怪魚」談「人類進化」的意義

從「科學怪魚」談「人類進化」的意義

美國食品藥品監督管理局（ U.S. FDA）在2010年9月召開了一場關於是否核准基因改造鮭魚（Franken fish，即「科學怪魚」）上市的會議。媒體普遍認為，FDA之所以有這樣的動作，是在於基因改造鮭魚對部分人可能造成食用後的過敏性反應。該會議若進一步研討後通過，科學怪魚將會在兩年內由養殖場遍佈到各個超級市場。

消費者說不

雖然目前關於基因改造食品的爭議主要在食用的安全問題，然而筆者質疑，若FDA最終核准這種基因改造肉品上市，將對整個議題造成不可彌補的傷害；畢竟FDA並沒有經驗或措施可以評估其中潛在的危險，以及對人類、動植物、以及環境可能造成的負面衝擊。

為了改變生物的機能和特徵而重組各種動、植物的基因，這種基於功利主義的生物科技是一項違抗自然的罪過；這也是一種不折不扣的「反生命」、「反進化」與「反倫理」。我們所居住的地球，是歷經數十億年之演變進化而成就出今日適於生命依存的環境；在大自然的法則中，從來沒有為了滿足人類利益而去壓迫、損傷其他生命的理由。然而基因轉殖工程技術正在進行的，是藉由改變有機生命體之結構來「重塑生命」的荒唐事，這完全是一種因利益薰心而導致的不公不義。

根據美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）於2010年12月24日所做之民意調查，至少有45%比率的民眾將拒絕食用基因改造鮭魚。

什麼是「科學怪魚」？

這是一種經過基因轉殖工程所改造的魚類，其體型成長之神速乃是結合了帝王鮭成長基因與大洋鱈魚基因的結果。正因這種重組DNA遍布在科學怪魚的全身，故基因改造鮭魚的成長速度是野生鮭魚的兩倍。

同時業者為了保障其財產權，便將這種鮭魚「設計」成一種無法生育的魚類；此外，這些「專利鮭魚」的業者還以龐大資金去壟斷漁市，並擁有魚卵之培養、保存、販賣給漁農的獨家經營權。問題在於業者能為了利潤而被允許去操縱、甚至毀滅了自然界中的某種「獨特性」嗎？

這種實驗室製造出來的科學怪魚，就其本身來說已經是一種「生病」的動物，一種被人為的病態科技手法所干擾的動物。基因改造鮭魚被這種病態的基因工程技術創造出來，就得被囚禁於水槽中，就像是染上惡疾而被隔離於醫院病房的患者一樣，唯恐其病害會傳染給其他健康的人；我們能去允許這類的殘酷作法嗎？

健康上的爭議

食用基因改造動物對人體產生的負面影響，一直是健康問題上的爭議，然而卻始終沒有任何政府機構或科學研究單位，膽敢出來阻止大眾長期食用這類基因食品，並警告其所可能導致的人體生理上的後果。畢竟，大自然法則對人類的制裁，遠慢於人類消化這類基因肉品的速度，因此人們就無視於這背後隱藏的危機。我們必須知道，食用這些以大量的生長賀爾蒙所「培養」出來的養殖動物，通常跟罹患癌症的風險是相關的。要是人類再持續個二十年食用諸如「科學怪魚」或「環保豬」（另一種基因工程改造動物）這類的基因改造肉品，某日醒來若發現背部長了鰭，或腹部腫脹如豬……，便都不足為奇了。

基因改造食品已經成為我們飲食中的一大部分，包括小麥、稻米、黃豆、玉米、雞肉和牛奶等。或許科學怪魚很快地就成為速食的食材之一，但至今為止，美國政府尚未核准任何基因改造動物供應給大眾食用。而基因改造魚類一旦被核准，我們可以預期各種動物的近親交配繁殖技術將如火如荼地展開。事實上，在加拿大已經製造出一種號稱可以排出低污染性糞便的「環保豬」，也有號稱其排放的屁中不含甲烷的乳牛；可見人類以基因工程技術來剝削其他有感生命的本事，已經越來越不受限制。

至於關乎我們的健康問題，沒有人能夠保證我們所嚥下的基因轉殖、或施加大量荷爾蒙的經濟動物是否終將對我們的生物完整性造成風險。萬事萬物的秩序一向是由大自然所決定的，而當大自然要親身來制裁這些由基因工程所釀出的問題時，其驚駭的程度將會遠超過我們所想像的。

環境上的隱憂

製造科學怪魚也同樣對環境造成威脅。沒有人能保證封鎖這些以生物科技改造的鮭魚，部分科學怪魚很有可能會潛逃到大自然裡。科學怪魚也將與野生鮭魚競爭棲地，當野生鮭魚喪失了所必需的生存條件，其族群將會衰敗乃至滅絕。

大自然之所以奧秘，乃在於其運作流轉之深遠宏大，是所謂的科技永遠難以企及的；這種維持住地球上每一生靈得以延續下去的宏偉機制，根本不該因為經濟考量而淪落毀損。在「道德」上我們必須意識到一個問題是：人類真有如此之權力去改變大自然的法則，並將非人類之生靈視為僅只是商品或實驗材料而已嗎？

魚類會感到疼痛

基因改造鮭魚的成長速度是一般鮭魚的兩倍，可以想見牠們是患有內部生理失調的；此外，正常鮭魚是一能夠長途遷徙的「完美設計」，但對於體重呈現劇烈增加的基因改造鮭魚來說，牠們連正常的游泳都有困難。

在面對動保人士的質疑時，漁業業者大部分會堅稱魚類是缺乏複雜的大腦來感知痛苦的，然而這樣的假設卻屢遭科學界的反駁。在2003年，愛丁堡大學的研究人員便指出，在虹鱒（rainbow trout，一種鮭科魚類）的顏面和頭部遍佈著眾多的傷害感受神經（nociceptor）以偵測外界疼痛刺激，可見，魚類是能感受痛苦的；牛津大學的動物學家John Baker教授也指出龍蝦（能存活100歲以上！）被活生生丟入沸水烹煮時也表現出極度痛苦；利物浦大學的生理學家Lynne Sneddon教授也在其研究報告上說明魚類具有感受痛苦的能力，因為光是嘴唇上至少有58個疼痛感受神經，而魚體反常的搖動及扭曲行為，都是在劇烈疼痛下的反應，並不只是單純的反射行為。

挪威獸醫學院博士生Janicke Nordgreen在她一份關於鮭魚、金魚、虹鱒的研究報告中提到，魚類甚至有恐懼、謹慎、焦慮、和對痛苦預見的能力，這正是如同其他脊椎動物一般；相對於那普遍的誤解——即聲稱魚類的痛苦反映只是一反射動作而已，Janicke Nordgreen的研究無疑是一嚴厲的反擊。換而言之，對於魚類，無論基於娛樂或商業的目的，我們必須做出道德考量。

在2010年4月，牛津大學出版社替著名生物學家布蕾絲威特教授（Dr. Victoria Braithwaite）出版了一本《魚類是否能感到痛苦》的書；在書中她提出新的證據去否定把魚類視為既無感覺能力亦無大腦的陳腐觀念。她的研究指出，魚類遠比我們所想像的聰明和具有感知能力，並且無論在生理上或心理上，魚類如同鳥類和哺乳類一樣都能夠敏銳感受痛苦（龍蝦、螃蟹、蚌蜆……等也都一樣，所以請善待牠們），乃在於牠們都有類似的神經纖維去偵察出組織的創傷或疼痛。

魚類會扭動、抽搐和喘息等痙攣性運動來表達牠們的痛苦；因此，那些堆在甲板上或生鮮市場裡一桶又一桶的魚，其奄奄一息的窒息表情無疑是極度痛苦中的哀求與暗示啊！就基因改造鮭魚的例子來說，作用於魚身內部器官結構上的賀爾蒙和迅速暴漲的體重，都是給予鮭魚莫大壓力，使得牠們越發容易生病，同時也干擾了其逐漸生長的自然能力。鮭魚是徜徉於遼闊大海中的野生動物，而非依附於養殖池中衰賤的苟活著！

科學怪魚的集約養殖

         這些科學怪魚被養在距離大海──野生鮭魚的自然居所──數百英里之外的內陸水產養殖場。在集約式的養殖方式下，過多的鮭魚被囚養在高度擁擠的環境中，而引發了一些動物之間的「社會問題」（這就如同都市人口爆炸之下的社會秩序混亂，出現犯罪率提高等諸類問題。）養殖池的擁擠程度到達了一個圈養池中有五萬隻鮭魚的地步。牠們被聚集地塞在池中養殖著，普遍都患有傳染病、寄生蟲，不是過度羸弱就是受傷，終其一生在骯髒的池水中翻滾。

奇異旅程

鮭魚的一生，是大自然中最令人讚嘆的傳奇。成年的鮭魚從牠們的出生地沿著溪流遷徙，最後順著河勢進入大海；遷徙過程中，牠們為了適應從淡水到鹹海的過程而歷經無數生理上的轉變；在大海中度過牠們好幾年的大半日子，而最終還是踏上歸途的旅程。為了返回其出生的上游河川，在這場艱辛危險的旅程中牠們必須跳躍穿過來勢洶洶的瀑布，逆游而上數百英里。

鮭魚有長期記憶的能力，牠們記得其出生地裡河水的氣味，並且無論雄鮭或雌鮭在這艱難的旅程之中一律是禁食的。牠們踏上歸途，同時也代表著牠們將完成自身的生命歷程，亦即生與死的循環。雄鮭會待在出生地中保護著卵直到雌鮭死去。而當牠們在水中靜靜地伴隨著河水一同逝去之時，新的生命同時已在這永恆的故鄉之水中悄悄地各自甦醒了；最後，雌雄鮭們那永不再疼痛的肉體，將成為微小後代們得以茁壯成長的能量與庇護。正是這繁衍後代與自我犧牲的儀式，鮭魚們成就了大自然中的聖潔典範。

鮭魚的生命旅程顯示出大自然的內在運行之奧秘。所有的動物都能夠聽聞這自然之母的神祕呼喚，蜜蜂與花、四季與候鳥、鮭魚的逆游之旅，各自完成演化的任務。從森林到火山，河川到蒼穹，昆蟲到鮭魚，和諧地存在於一切生靈之間，而人類，卻想要逃離這樣的秩序之外。

自我孤立後的寂寞物種

與鮭魚一比，人類似乎忘了其最初的原生地，也不知道在這地球上進行生命之旅的目的地何在；取而代之的是我們發明各種科技來填充自我空虛的心靈：高速公路、石油鑽探、網路虛擬世界；我們儘量將自我視為異化出來的特殊物種，並開始執行重新調整大自然秩序的工作。

我們就像是難以駕馭的孩子般，將自然中能飛能跑的生靈們排除在我們關心的視線之外，只願意馴養包含人工改造物種在內的食用家畜；因此人類成為一種獨立於生物系統運行原則之外的無用物種，就像是不得親近大海的科學怪魚，人類就好比和機械裝置所交配產下的雜交物種。

我們和「自然」的關係究竟為何？

人類以基因工程科技來加以重新設計動物的生理，違反生命的內在邏輯，進而製造出病態的動物；基因工程儼然是一項使人類去脫離與各種生命之間的有機聯繫的科學。詩人與藝術家以大自然的美好為靈感，創作出值得欣賞的作品，而我們在讚賞詩與藝術的美妙情景當下，卻又支持足以毀滅掉這些美妙情景的病態科學嗎？

我們和大自然之間以生命為主的環境倫理，已逐漸地被人類自我本位中心的倫理和經濟效益的追求所取代，這悲劇不就是因為我們失去祖先的早前記憶，忘卻人類與類人猿之間的連續同胞關係所導致的嗎？然而我們卻敵意地劃清與牠們之間的關係。所有的物種和其棲息地是不可分離的，兩者皆是一個更大的有機體中不可或缺的部分。人類亦沒有例外。野生鮭魚的生命旅程可以是一個提醒，當人類意識到和野生動物一樣，是不能不省思深遠過去，進而飲水思源的。

「人類進化」之目的何在？

人類獨特的創作與思維能力，有別於爬蟲類大腦（reptilian brain）。「新」的大腦皮質給人類一項特殊的物種進化「使命」──即是所謂的道德理智與情感，用以控制如爬蟲類一般的權力意志的本能。如果沒有道德理智的指引約束，人類將不斷訴諸於掠奪性慾望（看看戰爭的歷史和現今的環境危機），更足以毀滅掉賜予我們一切的大地之母；據此，人類不得不在道德上和心靈上更加的「進化」，這不只是拯救地球，更是自救，動物保護、環境保護其實也同時在保護人類自己。

當人類利益與環境和野生動物的利益互相衝突之時，基於大自然是獨立於人為價值之上的考量，我們當以尊崇環境倫理為前提來解決衝突。所謂的「價值」代表著一個人心中各種優先考量的總和，而「倫理」（即不傷害他者）就是基於「價值」去影響每個人的行為準則；總之，我們採取的每一個行動都應該彰顯出道德考量。

因為擁有道德自覺和理智，人類能夠觀察出價值判斷所依存的自然法則；這自然法則在所有物種之間以互利的方式溝通。縱使大多數人認為人類是至高無上，進而從效益主義的膚淺來大肆爭論，但別忘記，一旦大自然停止正常運作，我們是完全無法存續的。

因此人類在進化過程中所得的「新大腦」不能僅止於用來發明工具和機器就自滿，它同時還賦予我們理智與情感，使我們的心靈得以分辨是非（絕對的對錯和永恆的真理固然是當代哲學家不斷質疑爭論的主題，然而折磨有感受能力的生命，是無庸置疑的殘酷！）並藉由理性區分正義與奴役、善良與殘暴、利己與利他、彼此合作，亦或一人獨裁，所有的生命是應該合作地共同「進化」。「人類進化」的真義便在於此，我們從棲息於樹上的靈長類動物進化為直立行走的人猿，進而成為一有「道德自主」能力的有情生命。至於那些貪婪無度的農產企業者，也由衷希望他們能從「心」改變！

編按：根據華盛頓DC報導，美國眾議院已於2011年6月15日表決通過禁止食品藥物管理局核准GE改造鮭魚上市。

ON FRANKEN FISH AND THE MEANING OF HUMAN EVOLUTION

The advisory board of the Food and Drug Administration held meetings in September 2010, regarding the approval of genetic modified salmon (known as Franken fish) developed by the Aqua Bounty Company. According to news reports, the only concern the FDA had was the possible cause of allergic reaction in some population. If approved after further studies, the Franken fish could be sold within two years from fish farms to super markets. There was also the issue of labeling such animal since the GE industries have been fighting the labeling law in order to protect their interests. Without proper labeling of a genetic modified product, the public will have no idea of what they are consuming.

The Public Say No

Although the current debates are mainly evolved around the safety issues of consuming genetic modified food products, my argument is that the eventual approval of such food has no validity over the whole issue: the destructive consequences of genetic engineering on plants and animals, since no one is certain of its harmful impacts on humans, the man made sickness to the animals and overall environmental risks.

The biotechnology of recombining genes from different animals and plants, in order to change their biological function and features for utility purposes, is a crime against nature. It is in every sense anti-life, anti-evolution and anti-ethics. The earth in which we inhabit is achieved through the experiential process of evolution over billions of years. There is absolutely no evidence that nature would favor the interest of our species over others, but the trans-genetic technology is reshaping life by altering the structure of genetic material in living organism. It is an unjust practice mainly driven by profitability.

And there is another ethical implication, that is both the consumers and the animals are being made into lab guinea pigs by the multibillion dollar agribusiness, and they are making huge profit from both. It is in this context that the public must exercise scrutiny.

Salmon are wild animals, they do not belong to laboratories, nor to be confined in crowded prison farms. The serious controversies over the G.E. salmon have generated strong objections from consumers, environmental groups, animal welfare groups and fishing industries. The American Anti-Vivisection Society and Farm Sanctuary had submitted a protest letter to the FDA, signed by 14 animal protection organizations that represent millions of supporters. According to a poll taken by CNN on Dec. 24, 2010, at least 45% of the people would NOT eat the Franken salmon.

What is Franken Fish?

It is a deformed trans-genetic fish reared in intensive aquaculture system. Its rapid growth is boosted by a recombinant technique-the adding of a growth gene from the pacific Chinook salmon and a gene from the ocean pout. The fish grows twice as faster than its wild relatives due to the presence of the recombined DNA in cells throughout the fish body.

In order for the company to control its intellectual property, the fish animals are made sterile (one more vice to monopolize their profits). As proprietor of the patented salmon, the company is able to capitalize the fish markets and have the exclusive right to create, own and sell eggs to fish farmers. The big question is: How could a for profit company be allowed to manipulate or destroy a piece of nature?

Frankenfish, the big one in the back AquaBounty Technologies

The Franken fish created in the laboratory, by definition, is a sick animal

It is an animal being inflicted with a manmade disease by altering its physiological functions. Since the fish are created by sick science, they must be confined and isolated in tanks just like sick patients in hospital wards, so to prevent the contamination of the healthy others. Can we allow such cruel practice?

The Health Controversy

The adverse effects of consuming G.E. animals have long been a health controversy. So far, no government agency and no scientific study can rule out the long term effects from ingesting such food since Nature works much slower than the digestion of an experimental animal. One thing we do know is that the higher hormone level in farmed animals have been linked to higher cancer risks.

Many G.E. food items have already become part of our diet including wheat, rice, soy beans, corns, chickens and milk. Perhaps the Franken fish may soon become a fast food. But so far, no GE animal has ever been approved for human consumption in the US. The approval of trans-genetic fish will open the flood gate for more inbred science to experiment on other animals. In fact, a pig is being developed in Canada called Enviro pig, whose manure is less polluting and genetic modified cows do not produce methane in their flatulence. The applications for the approval of both G.E. animals are already next in line. There is no limit as to what the G.E. technology can do to exploit other sentient beings since they have absolutely no ethical consideration for the wellbeing of the genetic modified animals.

As for our own health, no one can be certain that the animal we consume with mixed DNA and hormones could pose collective risks to our own biological integrity in the long run. It is up to Nature to decide the working order of things. We have no idea how would Nature try to fix the problems created by bio-technology; the consequences can be quite scary than we could ever imagine.

Environmental Risks

The creation of G.E. fish also poses threat to the environment. There is no guarantee of the containment of the biotech salmon. It is likely that some will escape to the wild. The mixing of sterile genetic fish with native salmon species poses biological and genetic risks and demise on the wild salmon. The fish will compete with wild salmon for habitat, thus pushing them to collapse and cause extinction as the normal salmon lose their traits necessary for survival. The result is the disruption of natural selection and co-habitation.

The escape of genetic modified salmon means irreversible chaos for the living network. Even the genetic scientists cannot be certain of its effects on the environment, and when it does happen, there will be no cure as the consequences are irreversible.

Nature operates on a grand scale beyond scientific knowledge, it is a mystery. Its vast operation of sustaining every single life on earth cannot be reduced to mere economic values. The moral question we need to address here is that: do humans have rights to alter the way of nature and to treat non-humans as commodities and lab tools?

A Simple Equation

As human population explodes, reaching 9 billion by 2050, it seems rational and necessary to downsize the number rather than boosting its growth by producing more bio-tech food. Ethics must be the guide for medical and scientific research (see my footnote on further reading). The company that developed the Franken fish claims that this new animal product would help the world to meet the rising demand for seafood and as means to fight world hunger. The truth is there is no shortage of food, the problem of hunger is caused by unfair and uneven distribution of food.

The simple equation is that the higher density of human carnivores forces to raise more animals in factory farms including GE modified ones, and vice versa. Both are involved in a vicious cycles of irreversible destruction of the environment, which can hasten species extinction. We need to realize the chilling consequences of genetic modified products which goes far beyond the concern of food safety.

Fish Do Feel Pain, Confirmed by Leading Scientists

The genetic engineered salmon grow four times faster than the normal ones and conceivably they can suffer from internal imbalance. With the rapid and abnormal weight gain, the fish can no longer swim efficiently as they were supposed to migrate in great distance; instead, they are raised in inland aqua factory farms located hundreds of miles away from the ocean-their natural habitat. In intensive fish farming, the salmon are confined in high density which creates social problems for the animals (the same with human over population which has caused social chaos with increasing crime rates). A crowded salmon farm contains as much as 50,000 in one single enclosure! Many suffer from infection, parasites, debilitating injuries and other diseases from spending their entire lives in polluted water.

Although the fishing industries argue that fish lack brain complexity to feel pain, but such assumption has been met with strong refutations from scientific communities: In 2003, Edinburgh University researchers confirmed that the rainbow trout has poly-nociceptors around its face and head with nervous system to detect painful stimuli, which means fish can definitely feel pain. Dr. John Baker, an Oxford University Zoologist, states that lobsters (can live up to 100 years) show extreme pain and trauma response when being boiled alive. Dr. Lynne Sneddon, a physiologist at the Liverpool University, also concludes that fish can feel pain based on her research findings that fish has at least 58 pain receptors along the lips; fish responds to pain by displaying abnormal behavior such as shaking or twisting its body; it's not just a simple reflex.

Janicke Nordgreen, a doctoral student at the Norwegian School of Veterinary, through her studies of salmon, gold fish and rainbow trout, she observed that fish are capable of conscious perceptions such as fear, wariness and anxiety; the anticipation of pain is just like vertebrate animals-a sharp contrast to the common misconception that fish's response to pain is only a reflex. In other words, we can no longer pretend that there are no ethical consequences from fishing-either for recreational (catch and release) or commercial purposes.

In April 2010, Oxford University Press published a book Do Fish Feel Pain by Dr. Victoria Braithwaite, a renowned biologist. The book presents ample new evidence that challenges the stereotyped view that fish are not sentient and have no brain or feelings. On the contrary, Dr. Braithwaite proclaimed that fish are far smarter and cognitively competent and have nerve fibers to detect tissue injury. Like birds and mammals, fish can suffer from stress, discomfort and pain, physiologically and psychologically. (so as lobster, crab and shellfish, please be kind).

Fish express pain by convulsive movements such as flapping, thrashing and gasping. The sight of buckets of fish piled on the deck left to suffocate is a sure sign of suffering. In the case of G.E. salmon, the chaotic hormonal effects on the fish's internal system put great stress on their bodies. Salmon belongs to the vast open sea, not to be subjected to a debilitating existence.

An Amazing Journey

The life of salmon is one of the most amazing wonder of nature, adult salmon migrate from their birth place, creeks or rivers, and follow the down streams into the open sea. During migration, their bodies undergo changes to adapt from fresh water to sea water. The salmon spend years in the ocean but eventually must make the home bound journey. They swim against the currents to return to the exact river where they were born; they often travel as far as one thousand mile, a treacherous journey, as salmon must jump thru raging waterfalls and swim upstream.

Salmon have long term memories, they remember the smell of the river of their birthplace. Both the male and female would fast during the difficult journey. Their home coming also means the completion of their cycle of birth and death. At the birth place, the male protect the eggs until the female died. They lie still in the water and die while the next generation of salmon is coming into being. This rite of procreation and self-sacrifice, by making room and food for their offspring with a voluntary death, makes the salmon a saintly animal!

The salmon's journey reflects the inner working of mother nature. All animals can smell and hear Nature's calling, the bees and flowers, the seasons and migrating birds and the salmon's upstream journey to complete their evolutionary mission, they all co-exist in UNISON. From forests to volcanoes, rivers to sky, insects to salmon, each tunes into a bio-synchronicity, except the homo sapiens.

A Lonely and Self-Alienated Species

Compare to a salmon's memory, humans seem to have lost theirs- the original habitat and the purpose of an earth journey. Instead, we have violated the natural law by relying on destructive technologies and unsustainable economic policies (based on greed and aggressive consumerism), and by messing the genes of plants and animals. We have become a transitional species moving from its organic habitat to a virtual world; a self-alienated animal takes pride in re-ordering the nature of things.

Like an unruly child, we push nature's movable bodies (the wild animals) out of sight and domesticate animals for food including artificially altered ones. In turn, humans have become a useless species and must create its own laws and values outside the working order of a bio-system. Just like the lab invented salmon being alienated from the sea, we ourselves have become a hybrid between an animal and a machine dependent creature.

What is Our Relations to Nature ?

Genetic technology invents sick animals by redesigning their biology, violating the rule of life: the bio-logic; it is a science disassociates itself from the organic relations of life. The beauty of nature has been the inspiration for poets and artists, can we appreciate the wonderful sights of wild animals, at the same time support an ill science that can destroy such wonder?

Our bio-centric relations with mother nature have been replaced by a human centered ethics and also by the pursue of economic interests. Is it because we have lost the early memories of our ancestors, a time when human apes were a continuum of fellow animal beings? Instead, we created a hostile demarcation between us and them. But is this feasible? All species and their habitats are inseparable, both are an integral part of a larger community; humans are no exception. The journey of wild salmon can serve as a reminder of our own deep past.

What is The Purpose of Human Evolution?

Our unique ability to create and to reason is part of the higher function of our new brain, which sits right above an older one, the reptilian brain. The neo-cortex carries a specific evolutionary mission, that is, to develop moral intelligence and sensibility, as well as to monitor and quell the old reptilian instinct-the will to power. Without being guided by a moral intelligence, the human ape will resort to its predatory mind obsessed with domination (as we can clearly see in the history of wars and current environmental crisis), a mentality of "might is right" capable of destroying its own benefactor, the mother earth. This explains my rationale that humans have no choice but to evolve further, morally and spiritually, for the sake of our own survival and that of the planet. Animal and environmental protection are human protection.

When human interest clashes with that of the environment and non-human animals, the conflict must be resolved according to an Earth Ethics since Nature is independent from a manmade value judgment. Valuing means the ordering of one's priority based on ethical consideration (do no harm to others) and to inform one's decision making. In short, every action we take reflects a moral choice. Being self-aware and intelligent, humans are supposed to observe the nature's criterion as basis for value judgment; a criterion requires all species to behave in a reciprocal manner. Although most people would like to think that humans are the supreme, and would argue from a utilitarian interest, but we simply can't afford an environmental outage!

The acquiring of a new brain during human evolution is not just for inventing tools or machines, it gives us the ability to reason and to care, a mind can discriminate between right and wrong (although the definition of absolute right or wrong has been a debate among contemporary philosophers, but inflicting suffering on a sentient being is obviously wrong), between justice and slavery, kindness and brutality, selfishness and altruism, cooperation and domination; but most of all, the purpose of human intelligence is to recognize our humble place within the grand scheme of things. I truly think this is the meaning of human evolution: To evolve from a tree dwelling primate into an upright walking ape and further evolve into a morally autonomous being, a process of getting beyond our base nature. As for the greedy agribusiness, they need a change of heart.