Absolute Evolution: The Dialectic of Natural and Human Selection

To say “Darwinist” today is to fundamentally misunderstand a key split in Darwin’s thought. Casually, “Darwinist” is an exact synonym to “Machiavellian.” But how did cut-throat behavior become associated with evolution itself? How has the passage of time and the development of our species gotten such a bad reputation?

There is a split in Darwin’s thought between human selection and natural selection.

The fundamental observation of Darwin was that humans selected things which were not for survival or the propagation of the species, whereas in nature things are selected for survival and propagation of the species.

When humans breed animals, humans will select these animals not on the basis of what will survive and thrive, but rather for personal, petty enjoyments. I like a dog which looks like a fox. Or, I like a dog that can fit in my purse.

What are the implications of this? This means our fellow man, unlike nature, has a strange habit which is dislocated from the rest of reality. Humans do not simply try to survive and mate, but they spend their time selecting things which they understand through the power of their language.

Of course, humans being part of the natural world to some extent, become embroiled in the logic of natural selection in ways which are not always entirely clear. Surely we have sex, surely we try to not die, but what else do we do? We have these habits which are somewhat related to sex and death, but they are captured by language. We have reality television where you can get a concentrated play version of sexual selection and fighting.

However, this expands far past reality television, since television and screens are themselves in reality. Masses of nests are created by humans in the form of homes, communities are created to cater to certain needs while excluding other needs. The rich tend to be the safest, physically. Some wealthy people use their money to have a lot of kids, but every wealthy person uses their money to ensure their safety and comfort.

The wealthy extend their nest making past their own homes. Why does Jeff Bezos need The Washington Post, in an Absolute Evolution sort of sense? It is because he wants to make the world safe and comfortable for the right kind of people. Who are the right kind of people? Whoever he wants them to be!

Sex, via language, turns into providing comfort and support to communities.

Language kills competitor species, the “wrong” kind of people. You know who the wrong kind of people are, don’t you? Don’t you have a vision of the “wrong” kind of people? Are they the Trumpers? Are they the Bidenists? Are they the Chinese? Are the holders of white privilege? Certainly you know someone who is the “wrong” kind of person.

Is a Nazi the “wrong” kind of person? Nearly everyone would agree they are. This is why everyone tends to make the world a difficult place for Neo-Nazis… or do they? Neo-Nazis seem less important to kill than Putin supporters lately.

Who is the wrong person and who is the right person? Just look at who is made comfortable, and who is made uncomfortable.

The human selected trait becomes the selected human. Humans select other humans for both pain and pleasure. Humans have not escaped their natural roots, it has simply evolved into a game.

It is in fact, a game, since survival and propagation are often not at stake. But Natural selection comes back into the picture when enough force, enough applied comfort and pain, is applied based on a human selected trait.

This is how we get to Natural Human Selection, or Absolute Evolution. Absolute Evolution is the gamification of the social interactions. The game is to make people comfortable and uncomfortable based on various parameters.

Does Machiavelli come back in here? Maybe now we can invite him in, but only after the game is understood. Comfort and discomfort for friends and enemies, comfort and discomfort for ideological specters and ideas.