Humanity: Are we reaching our maturation?

I think that sexual reproduction involving a male is going to end as an evolutionary experiment. When all human beings are female we will be closer to done.

It is now possible to create gametes from stem cells, and not only from embryos. Since males only exist to provide spermatophores (containing genetic material) they are now on the edge of the condition of being supernumerary.

The experiment continues.

@pdworkin I like the idea of “The experiment”.

How we evolved past the need for religion? Have we stopped genocide and war? Do we still judge each other by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other number of artificial divisions? Have we realized that resources are finite and we can’t spend with impunity? Do we no longer believe we have every right to exterminate other species, or engage in casual cruelty of the species that feed and clothe us?

If this is maturation, then we’re not worth diddly-squat as a species, in my opinion.

I think we have a long way to go.

I would suggest that when all human beings are female, there may very well be an end to genocide and war. In this condition, there would likely be less judgment based on sexual orientation. I’m not sure about race and creed, although it is a fact that there is no such thing as race, and by that time humanity may have accepted that fact. Animal cruelty may be less prevalent, too. In my opinion, the less testosterone on earth, the better.

Not from the footage I’ve seen.

If men can be replaced, so can women.

@crunchaweezy I’d love an explanation. In fact, just tell me what you would use for a womb.

Drifting further from it.

Something’s wrong with me. I read this question as:
Humanity: Are we reaching our masturbation?

<starts thinking about global masturbation>

Only because we are quickly destroying ourselves.

We are well into our senescence. The best we can hope for is a quick and painless end.

“Humanity: Are we reaching our maturation?”

The Aztecs probably asked the same question.

We’re still in our childhood. We haven’t even colonized other planets yet.

not nearly enough of us are reaching any sort of maturation

@syz mega lurve for the only real answer to this question.

not the only

I think we are only begging to get to the time where the the night is darkest before the dawn, so to speak, at least intellectually and socially.

It’s an awkward time, we’re sort of stuck in this middle ground between needing to be politically correct yet still finding the need to rebel and do/say whatever we want. We’ve sort of stumbled into a time where we see how many drastic and mind blowing possibilities we have technologically, but there’s so many that we’re not quite sure how to really use or implement them in a correct fashion. to use the OP’s example, the internet, over the last 10 years or so we’ve discovered just how much the internet can improve our quality of life, and we see how bright the future could be, we’re just not sure how to correctly and safely use this technology.

It’s all very confusing now, so much information buzzing around, so much knowledge in the air. Conflicting ideas and battling philosophies surround us on a daily basis. It’s only going to become more hectic from here, and I think that the next 20 years or so could determine the fate of humanity. We’ll either come out of the next two decades in a brilliant position as a people, or we’ll be struggling to hold on to any sense of civilization we once had.

There will always be a need for improvement when it comes to the human race and we’ll never be as mature as we should be and need to be. Humanity is just too fallible and unpredictable.

@syz Nice answer, but I don’t think it is to this question. I asked “Are we reaching” not have we reached!
@Marina Perhaps so, but maybe not. It could be just around the corner.
@tinyfaery The worse it gets, the greater the urgency, the greater the need for a resolution?
@doggywuv I rather suspect that we are moving from our self-destructive adolescent age and into our more responsible early adulthood stage.
@ABoyNamedBoobs03 Impressive analysis and optimism.

No. It will always be a journey. If we ever think we’re close to reaching it, it’ll likely be when we’re all about to die off.

I am unclear as to where this question is coming from. It’s not clear what is meant by “maturation” and what “reaching” means.

By any measure you look at it, I’d have to say we are just as far from solving our problems as we ever were. If you’re looking at technology, I am absolutely confident that we have see nothing yet. Don’t forget, computer capabilities are doubling every year or so. In bioscience, the capabilities are increasing even faster than that. The more tools we have at our disposal, and the more there is to learn, the harder it will be to know enough about enough things to keep ourselves in line. I see no evidence that people are getting any more moral than they ever were (and there’s probably a good scientific reason for that).

So, from me, an emphatic NO!

No, we are still a very immature species. Watch Congress, TV, read blogs, or watch people on a bus or in public, watch what people throw out and whine about. Pretty well just in the infancy of development in my opinion.

@dannyc You have a point there.
But we can always hope
for the pleasantly
unexpected.

We are on the cusp of something approaching maturity. There are growing movements towards more sustainability not only in terms of the environment, but also in terms of human relations. I see more people shopping at farmers markets, more people concerned enough to buy organic or local produce to gain greater nutrition/less pesticides. I see more people concerned about the fate of humanity as a whole, and people individually, I see more acceptance of different sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, culture, custom. I see greater awareness of health (phyiscal mental spiritual emotional) and more people taking (admittedly baby) steps toward living a more peaceful, fulfilling life. I see this in individuals and corporate citizens. I see people making physical moves to live somewhere they feel they belong. I think all of this and much more indicates that humanity as a whole is slowly becoming more aware, more mature, through the growth of individuals. The more people who become aware, the faster the process will become.

There will never be a complete maturation; we live in a never ending, ever evolving society.