Human ancestors (Introduction)

by dhw, Friday, August 10, 2012, 14:48 (4489 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID : Lucy is a problem:-http://www.evolutionnews.org/2012/08/later_hominins_062891.html-But later ancestors are becoming more plentiful:-http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120808132705.htm-DAVID: (under "FREE WILL; DISSING LIBET") New findings doubt his approach:-http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22144-brain-might-not-stand-in-the-way-of-free-wi...-All these entries serve to remind us that found objects and experiments are one thing, and interpretation is another. Even though we are continually making astonishing progress in certain fields (e.g. technology and medicine), we should stop kidding ourselves that there is objectivity in all fields. Science does not function without scientists, and they are as subjective in their judgements as the rest of us. All these different so-called ancestors tell us nothing except that we had lots of different ancestors. We haven't a clue how humans really evolved. Similarly, experiments on the brain tell us nothing except that we just don't know how the processes of consciousness (including the will) actually work. There is absolutely no consensus on either of these subjects, and although I think it's one of the most admirable of our human characteristics that we continue to seek the truth about ourselves, I do wish (a) that scientists and their media would stop making sensational announcements as if they really had uncovered some "truth", and (b) that scientists would own up to their personal limitations as well as to the limitations of their field.