Science Forums 2

[HydrogenBond]

Natural selection is not only based on the random changes and drift of the DNA, but it is also defined in the context of the natural environment. For example, if one animal develops the gene for thicker fur and the other develops the gene for thinner fur, if the environment is hot, the second animal will have natural selection. If the environment is cold, the first will have natural selection. If one animal develops a longer neck and the other a shorter neck, if the trees in their environment grow tall, the first will have natural selection. If the trees get shorter the second will have natural selection.

Since humans can control the environment, we can make the environment cold and breed only tall trees. This controlled environment will selectively give "natural selection", to tall animals with thick fur.

In the natural world (without human intervention), the environment changes. For example, the earth goes through cooling and warming cycles, allowing thick fur and thin fur critters a turn at natural selection. Humans can control the environment and pick one part of the sine wave and define natural selection. In nature, natural selection is defined in the context of an environment that is changing naturally. With human intervention we can alter the environment any way we want, thereby defining which genes will define natural selection.

In the early days of civilization, religion controlled the human environment and therefore set the environment that would decide natural selection. Those with this genetic propensity for the environmental requirements of religions, would best adapt to that controlled environment. In modern times, science's controls the environment, shifting natural selection to those with similar genetic propensity.

Science can control the environment more extensively than religion because of technology. That means the natural environment has less impact when it comes to defining natural selection. Science needs to define a new term to better differentiate natural selection and controlled selection. Natural selection could mean natural genetic change in the context of a natural environment. Natural genetic change in the context of a synthetic environment, could be called assisted natural selection to reflect human assisted direction.

Relative to religious behavior, if you look at belief in supernatural, this might disconnect one from the cause and effect of the natural world. This could make it harder to control the physical environment in a synthetic way. This could result in less assisted selective advantage.