What is evolution?
The word evolution comes from the Latin word evolvere, which means "to develop". In this article we look at evolution from a biological perspective. In a biological context, it is the change and development of certain heritable characteristics that can be observed in living things from generation to generation. For example, the biological theory of evolution teaches that all living beings or organisms - from the smallest bacteria to plants to animals and humans - are descended from a single-celled organism. And science agrees that the path from that primordial cell to today's humans very likely went via apes and Stone Age people.
Where does the modern theory of evolution come from?
Already several centuries before Christ, philosophers thought about the development of living beings and tried to find out where humans came from or how they developed. In the middle of the 19th century, the foundations of the modern theory of evolution were laid. Probably the best-known evolutionary scientist is Charles Darwin, who, among other things, presented his thoughts on the development and evolution of living beings in his highly regarded book "On the Origin of Species". In essence, Darwin was concerned with proving the origin of species scientifically, contrary to the opinion of many of his colleagues, who attributed much of it to divine activity. This belief in creation is called creationism. Even if Darwin's theories are still controversial today, it is clear that his theory of evolution forms the basis for today's biology.
How does evolution work?
In very simplified terms, evolution works through reproduction and ultimately through the adaptation of a living being to its environment. The scientist Herbert Spencer coined the phrase "survival of the fittest", which Charles Darwin later adopted in his work. Here, "fittest" does not stand for physical strength but for the degree of adaptation to the environment. A good example of this is the human being. Even though we are still very similar to our ancestors and our closest relatives, the apes, we have adapted to our environment and to certain conditions over the course of generations. We are the only living creature to have an upright gait. Obviously, it was easier and faster for hunting to run after a prey on two legs than on four, even over long distances. Our heads also have a slightly different shape than our ancestors, as we need more space for a larger brain.
These changes do not happen - at least in humans - within a few generations, but take millions of years.
Is the human being still in evolution?
This is a question that scientists ask themselves all the time, and they have not yet found an answer. At least biologists and other natural scientists can prove that the genetic diversity of the world's population has developed rapidly over the past 40,000 years. This may be due to the fact that there are more and more people. The climate is changing. We are dealing with rapid technological development. These are all facts that have an influence on the evolution of animals, living beings and humans. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that humans are more or less "fully" developed.
What does technical development mean for human evolution?
Man is born for a life in Movement. Our entire body structure, our skeleton, our musculature and even our brain are built in such a way that humans function better overall when they move their bodies regularly. However, many sources of movement have been lost to us over time. We no longer have to hunt for our food - or even look for it.
Many jobs no longer involve movement, but rather hours of motionless posture in the office at a desk or standing up. And if we do move at work, it is no longer driven by need, but only minimally when typing or through monotonous hand movements on the assembly line. Even those who don't move notice that they lack natural, intuitive movement and that one-sided strain can lead to Back pain can lead to stress. Irrespective of sporting activities in leisure time, ergonomic active chairs or active standing chairs from Aeris, which promote three-dimensional movement, can already have positive effects on body and mind at work.
