I’m currently watching the PBS version of “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” based on the book by Jared Diamond. My take is that Guns, Germs, and Steel is a story of the rise of the genomeplex — that assortment of different species (cows, dogs, men, etc) that together make up the foundations for human culture.
In short, Diamond’s argument is that biologically-driven efficiencies in every plant and animal in the genomeplex except for homo sapiens led to the rise of homo sapiens. Clearly, biologically-driven efficiency is a powerful argument. If one’s crops provide less protein, or one’s animals are less docile, one is not going to get as far in life.
But neglecting to mention our species in a story of the rise of our genomeplex is strange. One line from the documentary I think sums of Diamond’s blindspot:
pigs do not give milk
This is obviously incorrect. Pigs are mammals. Pigs suckle their young.
Further, as far as human-drinkable milk goes — neither did cows! The ability of adults to drink cow milk comes from a mutations (several of them, occurring independently, in different places and times). Our ancestors could not drink cow milk. But our ancestors’ children were mutants.
Lactose tolerance is one mutation that occurred in some populations but not others, but there are other mutations like this too.
The rest of our genomeplex is not equal in productivity. Our species is not either.
The difference? The other animals and plants are to the extent they serve us. Humans are valuable in themselves.
Most of this world, like most of our genomeplex, has no inherent value. But humans do. And radically, all humans are equally precious.
