“Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.” – Ecclesiastes 9:18

There is a concept in ecology known as the niche, a space in which a population can specialize and adapt to thrive in a specific part of an environment. In evolutionary biology is a concept known as competition, in which a population that wants to succeed must possess certain attributes that place it in the best position to persist. 

For any person who lends credence to the opinions of others, these attributes are not ones that one should strive to associate with. In nature, the most successful species are competitive – they are selfish, greedy, paranoid, and act before they think. As products of evolution, these attributes are among the most base states of human nature. 

So, if we are products of evolution, what separates humanity from the rest of the natural world? It cannot be language, culture, religion, or consciousness. Other animals have these things. I do not believe that the soul is unique to humans either. 

Those who are eager to separate our species from its origins point to acts of selflessness. But it cannot be altruism or empathy that distinguishes us from our relatives. They demonstrate these attributes as well. 

And this is the great paradox of evolution – that altruism is able to be rewarded. If a species must be competitive and selfish to prevail and persist, how can an altruistic species possibly survive? 

I believe attributes like altruism and empathy are indicators that a population has begun to move past its wild crib into a more refined adulthood. And rather than losing its grip on its niche, the population grows into the niche in a way it could not before. 

Selfishness, greed, and competition can only help a species so much. Once wholly dominant, a selfish and competitive population must turn inward to continue in the same mentality, and this becomes self-destructive very, very quickly. It is also obvious that a greedy species that has dominated its natural niche can do immense harm to its environment, thus destroying the very thing it adapted to. 

Humanity has yet to truly grow into its spiritual niche, and it will take mass empathy before this occurs. As I have said before, I want to believe that everyone is capable of empathy. However, my interactions with people make acceptance of such a radical idea next to impossible. 

But, once this does happen and regression is put to the wayside, humanity will be able to thrive in a way no other species has in the past. But this requires wisdom, not weapons.