EVOLUTIONISM AND MAN'S HOPE 



o'-war bird. This is a superb flier commonly observed along 

 tropical seacoasts. It is evidently a highly successful form of 

 life, judging by how common and widespread it is. And yet, al- 

 though it gets its food from or near water, its plumage is not 

 water-repellent and easily becomes waterlogged. The legs of the 

 man-o'-war bird are so weak that the bird is unable to rise into 

 the air except from an elevated perch. 



Man's genetic equipment is responsible for the biological suc- 

 cess of our species, and yet it is not the acme of perfection. Like 

 the man-o'-war bird, man has his strength in his spiritual flight 

 and his weakness in his spiritual legs. Man is able to form 

 mental images of things and of situations which do not yet exist 

 but which may be found, brought about, or constructed by his 

 efforts. Man is endowed with foresight. His powers of cog- 

 nition enable him to plan for the future. He can build objects 

 and devise acts which he has not observed or committed pre- 

 viously. The adaptive potency of foresight and of creative im- 

 agery in the biological success of man is too obvious to need em- 

 phasis. Although his genes failed to provide him with wings, he 

 has become a flier far more powerful than the man-o'-war bird. 



6. Freedom 



Foresight is an adaptive trait of commanding significance. 

 However, the possession of this trait has as its adjunct another 

 property of man's nature, the adaptive value of which is even 

 more questionable. This is the basic existential experience of 

 freedom. Man cannot only contrive new objects and actions; 

 he also feels free to execute some of his plans and leave others 

 in abeyance. Human freedom is adaptively double-edged. The 

 experience of freedom gives man the supreme joy of being the 

 master, rather than a slave, of his own nature and of the ex- 

 ternal world. But it also burdens him with a sense of responsi- 

 bility. Man knows that he is accountable for his acts; he is able 

 to foresee the consequences of his plans, and accordingly either 

 pursue or avoid a given course of action. This is a dreadfully 

 heavy load to carry. 



Man's genes fail to tell him which things are good and which 

 are bad, or which acts are right and which are wrong. The 



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