Are

The Superior Gender?Women

‘Simple’ Facts Science Has Revealed

ELIZABETH EDWARDS

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Copyright © 2012 by The Greater Books

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Are

The Superior Gender?Women

With species in a state of nature

every naturalist has, in fact,

brought descent into

his classification;

for he includes in his lowest grade,

or that of a species, the two sexes,

and how enormously

these sometimes differ in

the most important characters

is known to every naturalist . . .

yet no one dreams of separating them.

—Darwin

iv

DedicationTo those who have traversed my life and have added

to my human experience making it imperative for me

to pen these thoughts. And to Kayla, with the hope

that by adulthood the need for such speculations

would be long gone.

“The fact of evolution is the backbone of biology, and biology is thus in the peculiar position of being a science founded on an unproved theory—is it then a science or faith? Belief in the theory of evolution is thus exactly parallel to belief in special creation . . .” —Dr. L. Harrison Matthews (1971)

Human beings, in general, aspire to comprehend their universe either through supernatural or natural

revelations, namely religion and science. A large part of understanding who we are is getting to know how nature works through the many theoretical records that exist within all the disciplines, whether it is anthropology, biology, or theology. The theme of the story is to chronicle how we came into being. How did chemicals get to organize themselves into primal bacteria; how did bacteria come to produce nucleated cells; and how did cells come to clone sister cells to construct the complex human body?

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Getting the answers to these phenomena has proven to be much harder than it should be because many times, progress in any given area is hampered by competing interests and due to the different disciplines’ refusal to work together. An example of this is the long-standing feud between evolutionists and creationists. For as long as the two disciplines have existed, evolution and creation have been battling for validation of their respective theories. And which revelation one abides by depends on one’s perception of nature. Also, it is this innate desire within humans that drives us to seek validation and understanding of our core beliefs, and makes it hard for us to accept new evidence that might contradict personal perceptions because of our biases. Do not believe for a moment that evolutionists and creationists are not aware of what the other is saying.

Evolutionists proclaim that human existence was by chance, while creationists credit the Creator for the divine order of things. Most creationists find evolution theory to be controversial because they say that many evolutionists use it as a substitute for religion. Some creationists also believe that it is the miraculous work of God that should be credited for the birth of the universe and the existence of all living organisms that inhabit it. They also contend that the scope of empirical science is not adequate to answer all the mysteries that the creation of life entails. Creationists believe that this can only be explained through God, and they denounce evolutionists’ call for the self-evidence of God. On the other hand, evolutionists do not buy the creationist theory that the earth was created in seven days,

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and by a God that still remains unseen, which often leads to the questioning by some evolutionists of the existence of God.

However, the chronological recordings of how life began by both disciplines are more similar than each would like to admit. For example, in its rendition of the creation of the earth, the Bible cites that it was created in seven days. The problem lies in how these seven days are interpreted by some creationists. Seven days biblically does not mean the conventional 7 x 24 = 168 hours as we have today. In fact, days in the early times of the Bible encompassed very long periods, even centuries. Therefore, this would correlate with evolution theories that state that living forms, including humans, were not sudden but, rather, have evolved over long periods.

Another axis in creation and evolution theories lies in the inquiry of whom or what was created first. Creationists hold that the sea, earth, plants, and animals were created, respectively, before any human form; and since evolution data states that life began in that same order, it would be safe to say that they both agree on the order. Both disciplines even projected that the earth will come to a fiery end. Therefore, the contention seems to be by what process this sequence of phenomena occurred and will occur, and whether modern humans were the destination of the evolutionary process. As for the creation of Adam and Eve as the first humans, the difficulty here is that the biblical documentation, like the fossil records, remains incomplete because it did not describe with any detail the structural exterior of either

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10

Adam or Eve. This leads us to wonder if they were created as modern Homo sapiens, or did they come into existence in the form of Homo sapiens sapiens, the earliest humans. At this time, no one can state with any degree of certainty the physical appearance of Adam or Eve.

Finally, the main issue that has plagued the relationship between both disciplines is whether the existence of life forms should be attributed to a Creator. Evolutionists believe that life began by accident, a freak of nature, while creationists proclaim that God is the Creator of all living and non-living entities. But both are inextricably linked because life was indeed created and evolution is just the continuation of this creation. However, in order to forward this line of reasoning, one has to believe that there was a ‘first mover.’Scientists claim that energy is stored; therefore, the need for a ‘first mover’ is not met. Although the Bible did not set out to prove the existence of God, evolutionists’ denial of a Creator is the final straw that has broken the fundamental creationists’ backs and never the twain shall meet.

Intelligent Design (ID)Just when one thinks the arguments between evolutionists and creationists have culminated, the theory of Intelligent Design is introduced into the mix. Advocates of Intelligent Design claim that it is separate and apart from creation because it stresses the science of creation through a Creator and not faith. But many believe that this argument is being used to disguise creationism in a format that can be taught in the classroom because of the constitutional rule of

Are Women the Superior Gender?

11

separation between church and state. However, supporters of Intelligent Design believe that

there had to be a Designer and that this ‘wonderful world’does not exist by chance. Intelligent Designers contend that because complex humans are the intended end to creation, it requires an intelligent being that is gifted with knowledge to be the creator and director by which all organic and non organic entities are directed to their designated end. Intelligent Designers believe that this theory has created a harmonious relationship between religion and science that is now being eroded by ideologues who claim that creation of life can only be explained through methodologies within the discourse of science.

In retrospect, it compels us to question who is responsible for the emergence of life and the ‘stored energy’that evolutionists have credited for its existence if it is not a Creator. This inquiry goes to the core of the scientific theory of thermodynamics, which states that “energy cannot be created nor can it be destroyed.” But does it necessarily hold true that because something cannot be destroyed, it could not have been created? The paradox here is that most of our understanding and interpretation of the universe can be credited, to a great extent, to the works of scientists.

However, the evidence indicates that the secret to life was meant to be just that, a secret. It is no coincidence that the fossil and biblical records remain incomplete as we speak. Yet whatever ideology one conforms to, the reality is that all explanations rely on some conclusive truths that remain unexplained. And this is the reason humans, in

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12

general, are attracted to those who share their core beliefs. Moreover, it is the process by which cultures are established as humans are predisposed to conform to the behaviors of their social group, aided by a sense of duty.

What Is Culture? The cultures of man can be defined as the expression of a unique aptitude for learning because human beings usually share whatever they learn with each other via language, along with other symbolic forms. This compilation of social symbolism can be transferred from generation to generation as the representation of a social organization. Conceptions, artifacts, languages, and modes of conduct, just about anything that has a representative implication, can be taken as part of a culture. Therefore, human cultures differ from each other insofar as their creation of distinct cultural norms. As a result, culture creates a social organization consisting of greater complexities as villages gave way to towns, towns gave way to city states, and city states gave way to nation states.

Because cultures are viewed as rules of institutions and agencies, individuals within a culture tend to construct schemata and piece information together according to collective implications of identity and social organization, which also include assumptions, values, norms, and rules. But there are some qualities that render the nature of cultures fragmented, as two individuals within one culture can take opposite positions while adhering to the overall structure of the culture. This, in itself, represents a form

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of cultures within a culture. For no two individuals have exactly the same experiences, and this reflects upon the supra-individualistic aspect of cultures.

Similarly animals, in general, are considered to be very social beings as their development naturally relies on social knowledge. For in the pursuance of their innate end all animals, just like humans, search for conditions that are most suitable for their adaptation. Their choice of habitation would, therefore, be influenced by their knowledge of environmental opportunities and menaces. However, though humans are not the only cultural creatures, what differentiates us from other animals is the complexity of our unique makeup; and it is this complexity that enables us to grasp, to a fuller context, the way nature works. Also, it becomes important for us to understand nature’s influences and limitations on our physical and behavioral traits when manoeuvring our surroundings. In essence, this allows us to identify our evolutionary purpose by developing our characters, sense of self, and instinct of our natural rights. So what are the natural rights of all humans?

Natural RightsIn an 1858 speech, Henry Hammond declared that, “We do not think whites should be slaves, either by law or by necessity. Our slaves are black of another and inferior race.” Mr. Hammond was elected to the United States Congress and to the office of governor twice in South Carolina, which was known to be one of the biggest slave state in America. Although Mr. Hammond’s ideology was very popular

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among his colleagues, the slavery of humans, no matter the race, is inherently wrong because it goes against the natural instincts of humans. Even though the founding fathers were guilty of being complicit in the institutionalization of slavery, forced servitude of any kind, means to discord of one’s worth as a human which every man has a natural right to preserve. Furthermore, slavery was promoted through racial superiority theories which were formulated for this purpose, though there is no inferior race. In fact, racial superiority theories started as late as the 1800s as a justification of slavery.

There is said to be innate differences among the races as well as there are differences between individuals of the same race. But these differences, whether racial or individualistic, do not excuse slavery because they are considered natural variations within the rational and emotional capacities that uniquely define the human species. Moreover, the institutionalization of slavery was primarily successful in societies where the private wills of wealthy individuals went unchecked as governments became acquiescent to their greed. Because the private will of individuals can be suspect, in that there is no way of determining that it will always be good, government has to rely on the general will. This will ensure that every member within the human species has a natural right to all things available within the general will; which should always supersede the private in as much as it does not unjustly limit self actualization.

For within the social construct of societies, human relations are based on a balance between competition and

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15

cooperation. In spite of the competition that exists between individuals, the behavior of one has to complement the behavior of the other, irrespective of culture, race, and gender. On the contrary, a master’s wish to exploit a slave does not correspond with a slave’s desire for freedom from such exploitation because slavery inherently goes against the natural human instinct to be free. Likewise, the natural desire of a man should complement that of a woman, just as the natural desire of a mother to nurture complements that of a child who is in need of that nurturing.

Do Differences between the Sexes Matter?Even though as humans men and women are said to be different in some of the most important ways, the differences between the sexes are primarily driven by social training that is rooted in arbitrary cultural practices. Many scientific theoreticians are guilty of having postulated the idea that because women have a so-called natural instinct to nurture while men were meant to be hunters, this somehow makes women the weaker gender. Further, these theories were used to justify the sexual division of the roles that each gender was assigned. Eventually, women were deemed to be intellectually inferior to men, while men were declared the superior of the two genders.

By contrast, some feminists believe that women are not inferior to their male counterparts, but rather, attribute the oppressive view of women to history. And this has led to the resurgence of the feminist movement, whose deepest contention is the continued denigration of women and

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their contribution to the evolutionary journey of mankind, while the male importance goes unrivaled. In retrospect, the question to be asked is whether any of the gender is superior to the other.

Scientists have come to realize that men and women are more unalike than they once thought. In fact, one has to consider that many women’s lives have been negatively affected because societies have attributed to them separate values, instead of valuing the difference between males and females. For whatever interpretation is applied to the way in which a boy or girl is created, the reality is that the arbitrary facts of their creation were used by many scientists to promote the superiority of the male of the human species. For example, scientifically the female was seen as a failed version of the male. And it is this misogynistic biological account of the fundamental differences between both genders, coupled with the process by which sex is determined, that have become the last brackets on which male supremacy was hung.

Are males the superior gender? An in-depth look at the theories of evolution and their processes will be done in an attempt to answer this age-old speculation. However, any comprehensive comparison between the two genders has to start with tracing the evolutionary journey of modern humans through the physical world. For in the philosophy of evolution, speciation and specialization are some of the principles that are used to classify members of the animal kingdom according to the presence and specialization of specific organs; while in the hypothesis of classification,

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taxonomy is the method by which living things are named. Living organisms are, therefore, organized into groups

according to their physical characteristics. The six main kingdoms, in which living things are placed, from simple to complex, are as follows: Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and kingdom Animalia. The animal kingdom is deemed the superior of the six because its members have body plans that are more complex than the others. Within the animal kingdom, members are further grouped into more specific categories based on complexity, creating a hierarchical system of classification. For instance, animals like the sponge, which has no true tissues, and the flatworm, which only has one tube that serves the purposes of injecting food and secreting waste matter, are seen as some of the most primitive organisms within the animal kingdom. Although it is said that modern humans have evolved from a more primitive progenitor, humans have progressed to a level that has proven unattainable by any other living being. The fascination with how we were able to accomplish this feat has led to a wide range of theories on the antiquity of modern humans.

In their endeavor to document this, scientists have utilized various methods when observing the physical evidence, which, to date, remains incomplete. Unfortunately, this has led to the exploitation of evolution theories. Irrespective of the vast inconsistency in the physical evidence, some scientists are guilty of postulating superiority theories, which they tried justifying, in many cases unsuccessfully. Moreover, it has become the paradigm

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by which the current social thinking tries to find legitimacy and has influenced how culture, race, and gender are viewed in our society.

Are Women the Superior Gender?