All
the fauna only become distinct individuals through the process called learning.
This could be said because if one animal learns something, the adaptation of
perception will be unique and restricted to the individual, which means, the
learning is not passed on to its fellow mates thereby completely annihilating
the opportunity for a research and enhancement. There may be substantial
physical or biological changes over time. But the flowering of a new phenomenon
called “Culture” was not achievable in animals.
What
about man? He is an animal too. The Sixth Sense is the Factor X, the magic ingredient of culture—the aspect that took humans out of the
common run of animals and other highly social organisms.
Sixth sense gave learning;
learning gave self-awareness and that awareness stood as the first step towards
the blossoming of culture. But there never was a universal culture. It was
diversified over the geographical expanse.
Cultural Evolution is the
fruition of ideas, knowledge, morals, minds and technology within a society.
All things grow with time and must be primarily understood by their record,
their evolution.
As
far as humans are concerned, we cannot deny the fact that Biological and Cultural processes have evolved together interdependently,
which by now has been fused with human survival doubtful without such cultural
products’ abet as clothing, cooked food and proper sheltering.
What after these three
basic needs? There came the new term “Society”!
Society crafted laws and
conventions to prevent us from following our natural inclination of
self-preservation and survival of the fittest. Inter human competition for the basic needs were
diluted. This made human survival and progress possible in an effective
conduct.
On learning, our grand fathers passed on their knowledge to their near
and dear ones. Which evolved with days and now we have a more civilized way of
living. As Aristotle said, “We are
what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”. By, doing
things we learned repeatedly, we are now progressing towards excellence!
