Effects of the natural and sexual selection on the evolution of the human mind

Abstract

Evolucija ljudskog uma jedna je od najkompleksnijih zagonetki moderne znanosti. Zašto se razvio i kako se razvio, zašto danas takav organ pronalazimo samo kod jedne vrste na planetu i što je to usmjeravalo njegov razvoj? Dok autori poput Cunnanea smatraju da su prirodni odabir (kroz adaptacije na svakodnevne izazove okoliša) te promjena prehrane (povećana konzumacija mesa) doprinijeli razvoju ljudskog mozga, drugi, poput Geoffreyja Millera tvrde da je spolni odabir putem izbora partnera, preko procesa bijega i načela hendikepa, najviše odgovoran za razvoj mozga kao spolnog ukrasa i pokazatelja sposobnosti jedinke. U ovom radu ukratko su izloženi najvažniji aspekti evolucije čovjeka kao i evolucijskih sila (s posebnim naglaskom na spolni odabir) koje su oblikovale ljudski mozak. Rad zastupa teoriju da je spolni odabir, kroz nekoliko različitih procesa, vjerojatno bio glavni pokretač evolucije ljudskog uma.Evolution of the human mind is one of the most complex mysteries of the modern science. Why it had evolved and how? Why today can we find such an organ in only one living species on the planet and what orchestrated its development? While authors like Cunnane say that natural selection (through adaptations to everyday challengens of the environment) and change in diet (increase in meat consumption) are two major driving forces of human brain evolution, others, like Miller, postulate that sexual selection, through the process of escape and the handicap principle, is the most responsible for the evolution of the human brain as a sexual ornament and a fitness indicator of the individual. This paper contains brief overview of the most important aspects of the human evolution, as well as the evolutionary forces (with special emphasis on sexual selection) which shaped the human brain. This paper supports the theory that sexual selection (through a few distinct processes) probably was the major driving force of the evolution of the human mind