The Story

We Begin with Sex...

You may not be surprised to hear that this species has one tantalizing trait: it is exceedingly sexy. Sex is not new. Nor is it experimental or untested. It has been around for a very long time. But one of the big stories in Are They Human Yet? is how sex plays out in our world. How does the microcosm of one male vs. one female link to the macrocosm of human societies in trade and at war, anyway? You'll be intrigued by the answers that are emerging.

We Get Social...

Here's some good news: our species is social and smart, as well as sexy. These features co-evolved over at least two million years. Exploding intelligence gave our evolving species a great understanding of its world, and new technologies to change - even dominate - its surroundings.

Here's the bad news: socially, our species organizes around dominance hierarchies. In the limit, at the extremes, physical violence is used to enforce obedience. Death, destruction and suffering result, increasingly as more destructive technologies proliferate.

Is there any hope for a social behavior for the survival of this species?

'In' Groups -- and in Hierarchies

Humans work and act in groups. It is through the organization of themselves into groups that they "do their thing" out in the world. But it was the male of the species that, until recently, did all of the organizing. And he, naturally, modeled his organizing on the male systems that he knew so well. Are They Human Yet? shows how significant that was - and is.

Hierarchies were important, and central. So were the dynamics of 'In' Groups vs 'Out' Groups. This double whammy of how good "we" are and how bad "they" are was the fundamental basis for group solidarity --- and remains so to this day. Even though, as Are They Human Yet? explains, many of our groups are very different in character and purpose, now.

So What's the 'In' Group Now?

Do our allegiances to our own 'In' Groups pose a threat to our survival as a species, now? Do we need to abandon, or at least modify, our 'In' Group vs. 'Out' Group ways? These are the kinds of questions that surfaced as I read Are They Human Yet? These are the kinds of questions we need to think about and discuss further, now.

Next: Are They Human Yet?