Telmo Pievani | In crisi di convivenza: come siamo finiti dentro la trappola evolutiva

Evolution does not see the future; it occurs in the here and now. It can therefore happen that a species exhausts available resources and jeopardizes its very survival. That this is happening to the only species that calls itself "sapiens," however, is paradoxical. This crisis of our existence in the natural world has deep roots. Human sociality in small groups is laboriously broadening the spectrum of "us": from the tribe to the city, from the city to a people, from this to humanity as a whole and the biosphere. We have only been living alongside multitudes of strangers for a few thousand years. Conversely, the forces that exploit our group selfishness are increasingly powerful. Faced with global challenges, we are tragically deluding ourselves into thinking we can overcome them through conflicting sovereignties, undermining all supranational institutions. When a species changes the world in such a way as to reduce the possibilities for well-being of subsequent generations, we speak of an "evolutionary trap." To get out of it, the first condition is to be aware of it and rediscover the essential value of cooperation.