Understanding Human Culture and Biological Evolution

Understanding Human Culture and Biological Evolution

Culture

Humans live with other beings, and communities benefit from information gathered by their predecessors. No other species is subjected to nature and animals in the same way. Humans have been able to transform and create a new environment, a second nature that makes life easier and allows development beyond the animal kingdom. Culture provides the chance for group-specific life, influencing how people think, perceive things, and act.

Subculture and Counterculture

Within every culture, there are subcultures. We cannot say that all people live in the same way. Within each culture, there are differences; not all people participate in and take advantage of its possibilities due to socioeconomic conditions, social class, etc. Counterculture is understood as a movement of rebellion against the hegemonic culture, proposing an alternative culture and society (e.g., urban tribes, social groups).

Cultural Diversity

Comparing societies reveals that there are different ways to live; there is cultural diversity. Even within the same society, due to migration, the existence of Aboriginal peoples, etc., mutations occur. Faced with cultures different from their own, people often adopt frequent attitudes. These include:

• Ethnocentric view: Characterized by exploring other cultures from one's own perspective.
• Cultural relativism: Proposes analyzing different cultures from their own values and not from an alien culture. It recommends displaying tolerance for different cultural expressions.
• Interculturalism: Starts by respecting other cultures but overcomes the shortcomings of cultural relativism to prolong the encounter between different cultures on equal terms.

Human Anatomical and Non-Anatomical Features

Anatomical Features

Among the major anatomical differences that distinguish humans from animals are: immature birth, bipedalism, scarcity of hair, and brain size.

Immature Birth

The most striking feature of human beings is the immaturity and helplessness with which they are born (e.g., teeth take time to grow, cranial sutures are slowly welded). Many animals need to fend for themselves from the dangers of their environment, requiring them to be suitably adapted from the first moment.

Hair Scarcity

Compared to great apes, whose bodies are covered with hair, humans appear to be naked, except for hair concentrated in some areas.

Bipedalism

Another notable feature is the human's upright position and movement on flat feet. Humans have two hands and two feet, while monkeys have four hands. This has drawbacks when it comes to travel—monkeys are much faster than us. However, it leads to a peculiarity from which humans have been able to extract an advantage: the unlocking of the hands. Since they no longer rely on the ground, hands were used to make tools.

Brain Size

Using hands freed the jaw from tearing and collecting food, leaving free space in the skull to increase brain size. Additionally, walking upright meant that the muscles holding the skull could relax, allowing it to rise in the upper part. Our brain is larger than that of monkeys.

Non-Anatomical Features: Biological Emancipation

The fundamental differences between humans and monkeys are not natural but related to thought. The great difference is originality and cultural behavior. The human relationship with the environment is not only natural but also cultural.