Man: an evolution conscious of itself
Man is nothing but evolution become conscious of itself. In the movie, Jurassic Park, we saw the monstrosity of man and beast – humongous dinosaurs ruling the earth with their size and strength, and man taming the world with his brain.
Do you realize how big the human brain is? Dinosaurs may be huge, but their brains are as small as a pea. But the most striking difference between humans and dinosaurs is not our larger brain, but how we use them. Unlike other creatures, humans wear clothes, grow food, sing songs, read books, and build airplanes like Enola Gay to drop atomic bombs—but worship God still!
Such differences stem from our ability to think, reason, make choices, and modify the world. Each of these abilities depends on our capacity for language—the ability to think in words, form concepts, and have ideas. From these, we develop a thirst for knowledge and a hunger to understand.
Through language, we are able to ask questions: Why do we fall in love? How do planets and stars move? Where does rain come from? What makes wind “visible”? Why do plants grow? Why do flowers bloom?
Each answer leaves us with more profound questions. Does creation have a purpose? What is life? Why do we exist? What is man? From questions such as these came philosophy, and from their answers, religion.
Our capacity for language and to think made us aware of time. We can go back to our past experiences, think about future possibilities, and bring them altogether into the present. Time, therefore, is a conscious thread in our lives, but at a price, because we begin to fear death. And so we ask, “Is there life after death?”
Our awareness of time expanded our choices. Hence, we plot and determine what our futures will be, not que sera sera.
Being able to think back and reflect upon our experiences enabled us to become conscious of our own consciousness. We can observe our thoughts, experience our minds, and reflect upon our inner experiences. Aha, we have a sense of self! Once again, we ask, “Who am I?”
We can look back at the whole evolutionary process and exclaim in beautiful language and wonder at the magnificence of the universe. As a result, we are now conscious not only the world, but also of the world within us, and of the consciousness that lights that world.
Isn’t it safe to say that man’s consciousness of his being, his self, and his universe is brought about by our gift of language and our capacity to reason? As a result, man is nothing but evolution become conscious of itself?
Juan Thinks! 
