<!-- bryant-content-generator:start --> # And yes, a realistic view of humanity ends in... > And yes, a realistic view of humanity ends in despair. Of course it does. Look long enough without anesthesia. {{Follow the blood backward through history, then through prehistory, then through the primate lineage, and the flattering portrait of _Homo sapiens_ dissolves into an animal acquiring resources, reproducing, securing rank, protecting kin, destroying rivals and surviving by whatever means the environment tolerated.}} There is no scientific requirement that this recognition produce optimism. There is no hidden redemption clause in natural selection. {{Evolution does not owe consciousness a happy ending, and it has never once paid a debt it did not incur.}} {{Despair is what remains when the perfume finally wears off the animal.}} **Source:** [[books/Chimping Out|Chimping Out]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “And yes, a realistic view of humanity ends in despair. Of course it does. Look long enough without anesthesia. Follow the blood backward through history, then through prehistory, then through the primate lineage, and the flattering portrait of Homo sapiens dissolves into an animal acquiring resources, reproducing, securing rank, protecting kin, destroying rivals and surviving by whatever means the environment tolerated. There is no scientific requirement that this recognition produce optimism. There is no hidden redemption clause in natural selection. Evolution does not owe consciousness a happy ending, and it has never once paid a debt it did not incur. Despair is what remains when the perfume finally wears off the animal.” — Bryant McGill https://bryantmcgill.com/passages/passages-yes-realistic-view-wears-off-animal ``` <!-- bryant-content-generator:end -->