Survival of the fittestThe evolution of man as a species can be traced with limited fossil evidence, but the development of the mind follows a different course of investigation. "Unfortunately, no hominoid fossils - nor any chimpanzee fossils - are yet known from the period between 6 and 13 million years ago. So there is no documentation of the branching event between the fossil hominoid and chimpanzee lineages” (What 239). Ernst Mayr, a fervent supporter of humans as the current supreme species, sheds light on this subject. Although his primary goal in What is Evolution is to provide a biological narrative, it also aims to illustrate the evolution of the brain and emotions. Between these lines lie the broader questions. These questions delve into the cognitive and emotional realm. They ask questions about how and why that biology or other means of scientific proof cannot answer as easily. One of these questions arises from what appears to be man's innate need for grouping. Initially, these groups were created as a means of protection against predators, in all their forms, but they quickly evolved into complex socio-emotional support systems. "For tens of thousands of years, a period of recent human evolution, humans lived in groups of 50 to 200 people. To survive, they had to raise their offspring until they reached social maturity and biological” (Law 4). In these well-maintained social structures, there were rules and regulations that ensured the survival of the group as a whole. Over time, these groups grew into larger, more complex civilizations. Altruism is the driving force behind these constructions. In creating these codependent infrastructures, humans must depend on a...... middle of paper......its environment is not necessarily the one that would have been deemed most capable in the past. Civilization creates a large population in a smaller space to increase the possibilities of offspring and the survival of the species. In this space, natural selection becomes less relevant as options have been greatly increased. This is the human interpretation of a “controlled” environment. Since it is a world of human creation built by and for humans, they can only flourish there as a species. In this environment, the human species can reign supreme. This was not an option in the “uncontrollable” world of nature where man was not the best equipped or most adaptable species. Works Cited Gruter, Margaret. Law and the Mind: Biological Origins of Human Behavior. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, Inc. 1991. Mayr, Ernst. What is evolution. New York: basic books. 2001.