EC: Do we need to understand the human riddle?

The fact that the author of "The Riddle of the Human Species", Edward O. Wilson, is strongly opposed to the idea of deities being responsible for creation represents the stereotypical biologist or evolutionist. He himself states that "almost all groups compete with those of similar kind in some manner or another. We tend to think of our own as superior, and we find our identity within them". Clearly, Wilson identifies himself as a man of pure science and logic. I do not necessarily consider him wrong in his opinions. There is indeed, much evidence supporting how humans have evolved and the biological sciences are key in understanding that from the viewpoint of fact.

 However, I have to wonder how an article on the same topic would be written, if the author was either an individual of faith, or or a blend of the two. The latter would be one who believes in a divine power, yet also trusts in fact and logic to explain the world. I can only speculate that for those who have immersed themselves in religion, to believe that humans evolved or transformed from a lower life form must be a severe falsification. I do consider myself to be of the latter category, though it itself may have subsets of beliefs. Pure science denies the possibility of design, and pure religion denies the facts of the natural world. A mixture of religion and science can completely support the theory of evolution, and of the possibility of the fore-mentioned multilevel selection. However, the middle ground may be considered to be the most inaccurate, as it proves fact with faith.

None of the groups can fully answer why humans exist in our current state, and no group can agree with the another theory. In this sense, I do not believe the question of human existence possible to answer. We may analyze what we are, reflect on what we have been, and predict what we will become, but to conform to any one belief is to cause humanity to stagnate. Science, by itself, explains the world around us, but it eliminates many of the qualities that make us human: imagination, faith, belief, and emotion. Religion manifests those qualities that separate the identity of humans from machines, but sacrifices our ability to understand. Ignorance is as detrimental to the human experience as loss of identity. Therefore, the middle ground helps to mediate, to prove theories and keep us human while providing enough disagreement to maintain the growth of society. The riddle of the human species keeps us as humanity pressing forward, and it is my belief that it is a question that should never be answered, for fear of losing the qualities that make us human.