Is the human race weakening?

[A. gigas]

Natural selection is logical and makes sense... but when are humans the most logical and natural of beast.

If we followed what nature intended then we would kill off weak young, let the old die, be selfish and do whatever it takes to be the top dog.

yep

 

[frasertheking]

so true. everyone calls humans the pinnacle of evolution, but if you look at it, our only real weapons are our brains.
we have no scales to protect us, so we use gloves and boots, and maybe armor if you're in the forces.
we have no fur to keep us warm, so we are dependent on jackets in colder areas.
we have no claws to defend ourselves, so we use weapons.
we have a head shape that would severely limit what we could eat naturally in the wild, so we use forks and knives to get food into smaller pieces for eating
we have a weak immune system, so we use meds.


now i know some people will say "but our brains allow us to make those things, so we are the best" however, ask yourselves this: what if nature did not supply us with the materials we need to build those items? or if we somehow ended up stuck without them in a forest somewhere? then what? to be the ultimate species, the species has to be smart AND have the physical adaptations to use those smarts. so basically, humans are not even close to being the ultimate species. a better guess would be a dolphin, or maybe a sea lion. they both have an average IQ level HIGHER than the average human, and they have much more physical adaptions.

we would do what we done before we would change the land to suit us and by doing so wipe out any creature that stood in are way

 

[MadRussian79]

Ignoring all the sky fairy talk, which I knew would get pulled into this discussion same with the paranoid nuttery of corporate conspiracies.

Survival of the fittest and eugenics are completely inimical.

Survival of the fittest is when a species has out bread those around it. The idea of letting the weak die is false unless you are a mass breeder species. Which we aren't (snarky dig withheld) so letting the weak die would also include the young and given that we need medical intervention to produce litters our species would perish. So care for the weak and sick is actually what has made us the current Apex species on earth.

Eugenics is survival of those who meet the approval of the decider. Humans have personal bias and/or can be simply mistaken on the value of a trait.

As far as weaker vs stronger. You really have to be more specific. The average in the industrial has shifted towards being sedentary and over weight. Yeah ok fairly well documented fact, not really a function of genetics. There is a portion of our population that would rapidly perish if our medical infrastructure collapsed, since they need drugs to survive. That's not more than maybe 10%, most of whom are way past breading age . Having a noticable portion of a population die of during major environmental change is SOP for nature, not an indicator of unsuitability.

I'd vote for undermined either the question is too broad or we lack that data to answer it.

 

[xEchOx]

I have not voted. I agree that the question posed is too vague to be answered. Weakening physically? Yes. Weakening as a species? No.

Our physical characteristics has never been what defined us as a species. It wasn't our great hunting capabilities that defined our race, or our immense strength, or our great speed, or our toughness. It has been, and always will be our intellect. We created fire, invented the wheel, harnessed the power of electricity, designed the first automobile, built the first computer, and that is exactly what has made us THE apex species on this planet, nothing else.

In fact, our intellectual success is exactly what is leading to our physical demise. What has been mentioned about medicine is just a small portion of why we are so physically weakened. The world of machines. Everything that we used to do by hand back in the late 1800's, early 1900's is now done by a machine. Plowing a field - tractor, milking a cow - suction milkers, cutting down a tree - chainsaw. Walking to town - car.

Is our species weakened, no. Is our physical health on the decline as a whole? Maybe - Probably.

 

[Illbuyourcatfish]

Mani make this argument all the time!

 

[cepon3]

The compassion that humans show towards eachother will ultimately destroy the species. Without generosity, a substantial portion of the human population will perish. The United States is responsible for supporting many countries that suffer from famine, drought and many other natural occurances. If every man was selfish, the population would not be as it is now.

When idiots procreate, the only possible outcome is a world full of more idiots. People seem to forget that back in the day only the strongest members of society got to breed, which is why we have evolved into the complex creatures we are today. So i will have to go ahead and say Yes, we are getting weaker as a specie.

 

[fish1212]

we our not getting weaker we are just becoming ignorant to our surroundings.

 

[Citrinellus]

we our not getting weaker we are just becoming ignorant to our surroundings.

Care to elaborate?

 

[Delhezi222]

so true. everyone calls humans the pinnacle of evolution, but if you look at it, our only real weapons are our brains.
we have no scales to protect us, so we use gloves and boots, and maybe armor if you're in the forces.
we have no fur to keep us warm, so we are dependent on jackets in colder areas.
Yes, but we have the intellect to create those things. I fail to see why your argument about having the materials helps us. There are always materials, if we didn't make it out of one thing, there would be another that we could. And if there weren't any materials, then we would most likely have adapted enough by now that we didn't need them.
we have no claws to defend ourselves, so we use weapons.
And why is that a problem? Our weapons are far more effective than claws, and to be honest most animals don't use their claws as weapons either way.
we have a head shape that would severely limit what we could eat naturally in the wild, so we use forks and knives to get food into smaller pieces for eating
We don't need forks and knives to eat, we just do that because it's cleaner and more efficient. I could eat pretty much anything I eat now without a fork or knive, it's not too hard. Our teeth may not be specifically designed for ripping and tearing off pieces of things, but they can do that.
we have a weak immune system, so we use meds.
Not all people have weak imune systems, and yes we do use meds. Again, I don't see why we wouldn't. We wouldn't live as long without them, and there are plenty of medicines that are perfectl safe, especially natural medicines.


now i know some people will say "but our brains allow us to make those things, so we are the best" however, ask yourselves this: what if nature did not supply us with the materials we need to build those items? or if we somehow ended up stuck without them in a forest somewhere? then what? to be the ultimate species, the species has to be smart AND have the physical adaptations to use those smarts. so basically, humans are not even close to being the ultimate species. a better guess would be a dolphin, or maybe a sea lion. they both have an average IQ level HIGHER than the average human, and they have much more physical adaptions.

I'm sorry, but care to explain where you got the information that dolphins and sea lions have a higher IQ than the average human? They are smart, yes, but there's no way to prove that. They can't take what we think of as an IQ test, and while there brains may be more complex that doesn't necessarily mean they have a higher intellect.
Also, it doesn't matter if they SHOULD be the ultimate species. They're not. If you really wanted to make an argument for what is the ultimate species, IMO, it would probably be something that most people wouldn't expect. Bacteria, Viruses. The one thing we haven't been able to conquer yet.

As for your individual arguments, my opinion is in red.

Ultimately, my belief is that the human race can't be classified together as one whole group. Sure, some individuals are weakening physically and mentally, but most of us aren't changing too much. And even if we as a race are weakening physically, our intellect more than makes up for it. Life spans are gradually increasing, whether it's natural or because of medicine doesn't make a difference.

 

[Twofish]

this is a great discussion, very interesting, also amusing. i voted yes. IMO, there are too many obese people and our society is way over medicated. speaking about usa, i do not have the experience w other countires. and 8 kids... wow thats way too many for anyone to have IMO, no matter how wealthy or high in the gene pool you are. i only say this because i think our planet is already way over populated and that is part of the problem, using up the natural resources and just plain space. i think if people would get healthier and look to strengthen their bodies as a whole that would be on the right track. i know sometimes meds and surgeries are necessary but it is about finding that line and it is a really hard thing to do. but lately i do notice a lot more people being open minded and concerned about the well being of their health as well as the health of the planet which is refreshing to me.