Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => New Theories => Topic started by: RAGLAND on 23/12/2019 06:51:38
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Do male bonobos have consistent testosterone throughout development? I've read in a few places they do. Unlike male humans and male chimpanzees which experience a surge of testosterone in puberty/adolescence, male bonobos apparently have consistent testosterone throughout development. Compared to male humans and male chimpanzees bonobos are relatively peaceful and use sex to resolve conflicts. Chimpanzees and bonobos are our closest relatives. We do share features with both species.
Both species are able to deliberately provoke a war. And in the case of primates, attacks are not caused by interference with humans, which was for some time wrongly thought to be the cause of the signs of aggressiveness displayed by these animals. What moves them to commit violent acts is in fact an adaptive strategy, as was recently concluded by thirty primatologists, based on the analysis of data gathered during five decades of research on conflicts involving chimpanzees.Attacks increase in denser populations and in those in which there is a greater number of males. And the victims are usually members of rival communities. Combined with our advanced technology and weapons this has been and most likely will continue to be a recipe for disaster. Because of their lack of advanced technology and weapons, chimps are only able to kill a small number of chimps of rival communities but humans, such as the case in WW1 and WW2, were able to kill millions.
If indeed male bonobos have consistent testosterone throughout development I propose eventually using genetic engineering on the androgen receptors for testosterone or the genes which regulate testosterone on male humans to produce consistent testosterone throughout development as occurs in male bonobos in order to create a more peaceful human species. Humans are not bonobos and even if genetic engineering was possibly used to produce consistent testosterone throughout development in humans this would not make them male bonobos.They would be genetically modified humans, not male bonobos. There are many other things which make male bonobos male bonobos besides their consistent testosterone throughout development. Both humans and chimps experience a surge of testosterone in puberty yet they are not the same;despite the similarity of chimps and humans experiencing a surge of testosterone in puberty they are very different in many other aspects of their genetics. If genetic engineering was used on male humans to make them have consistent testosterone throughout development this would not make them bonobos. It has been speculated the female dominance of bonobos may have something to do with the male bonobos consistent testosterone throughout development. However, I doubt using genetic engineering to make human males have consistent testosterone throughout development would result in human female dominated societies. Given humans different genetics, I think it is possible it would result in neither sex being dominant. I guess human societies aren't as male dominated as chimp societies; still in human societies males are more dominant than females. Most human societies have been patriarchal and that remains true to this day. Despite the gains made in woman's rights such as there being able to vote, entering many professions once only held mostly by men, being just as educated or more educated than males,etc. I don't think political advances will be able to eliminate the basic underlying patriarchal structure of human societies. I think only genetic engineering of humans will be able to accomplish that. If genetic engineering was used to make human males have consistent testosterone throughout development I don't think this would result in matriarchal societies. I do think, however, it would produce more egalitarianism between the sexes. What are the unexpected consequences of fiddling with testosterone? I don't know what exactly the consequences would be but I certainly don't think it would damage the exceptional quality of the human species.
Some think war is a part of what makes humans an exceptional species but I don't think this is correct. Almost any meat eating species engages at some level in coordinated attacks on other members of its species; chimps, wolves, hyenas, lions, etc. Since other species besides humans make war humans are not exceptional in this regard and I don't regard human warfare as an exceptional characteristic of our species. Yes, human warfare is qualitatively different from chimp warfare and you might think this is what makes human warfare exceptional. However, on an purely genetic evolutionary level-not a cultural level-human warfare is not exceptional. Other species engage in warfare. The evolutionary continuum of warfare of many species is clearly present. Ostensibly, human genetic engineering would be used to break this continuum.
There is strong correlation, if not causation, between bonobo consistent testosterone throughout development and no clear cut specific instances of homicide in bonobo communities. Human males, like chimps, also experience a surge of testosterone in puberty/adolescence and like male chimps they do engage in war and commit homicides. I speculate genetic engineering of humans may lead to making testosterone consistent throughout development like bonobos and this may, as in the case of bonobos, result in less violence/homicides/war.
I don't want to turn humans into bonobos. Rather, there is one aspect of Bonobo biology, consistent testosterone throughout development, that I would like to duplicate in male humans. Some may think much of civilization would collapse" if genetic engineering was used to produce consistent testosterone throughout development in male humans. Does one think if violence, homicide and war were largely eliminated this would result largely in the collapse of human civilization? A plausible argument can be made it is human violence/war which possibly threatens the partial or large collapse of human civilization. Bonobos do better on certain intelligence tests than chimpanzees because they are not hampered by fighting with each other as chimpanzees do. It's possible certain aspects of intelligence are deficient in war. At a fundamental level, war may be a decidedly unintelligent enterprise. Some may think if human males were genetically engineered to have consistent testosterone throughout development they wouldn't be able to survive intemperate or polar climates.However, humans largely live in artificial temperature controlled environments i.e. heating and air conditioner;they are not out in the wild with their balls flapping in the wind.Some may argue evolution has made us what we are, an exceptional magnificent species and we should not tinker with that through genetic engineering. However, trans -humanism views evolution as a half baked process and as a species we are not at the end point of evolution. Some may argue there should be no genetic improvement of humans other than eliminating certain diseases. However, it might be possible through genetic engineering to make testosterone consistent throughout development in human males and to possibly reduce violence/homicides/war and still keep humans an exceptional species? Hawking states "Genetic engineering will change the standard of what a human being is but it will be gradual because there is so much we don't know and because people take a long time to grow up."
Likely other genetic factors other than testosterone play an important role in aggression. Female mammals have a much lower level of testosterone than males yet they can be fiercely aggressive in defending their young. This suggests to me other genetic factors other than testosterone are involve in maternal aggression. I speculate genetic engineering of humans may lead to making testosterone consistent throughout development like bonobos and this may, as in the case of bonobos, result in less violence/homicides/war. It might be possible through genetic engineering to make testosterone consistent throughout development in human males and to possibly reduce violence/homicides/war and still keep humans an exceptional species. We may be a very successful and exceptional species but we are still a species which engages in war and genocide.