Evolution can answer the big question of what makes us human.

We are social animals. We have evolved over millions of years by natural selection acting on variation. The environment shaped us. Survival of the fittest shaped us, or at least survival of the best adapted. And sexual selection shaped us too.

Understand that, and a great deal about us starts to make sense:

Why status and power matter to people
Why we care what we look like
Why we are competitive
Why we are aggressive
Why we are social and caring
Why we get stressed and anxious

And the list goes on. It explains where nationalism and tribalism come from. It explains why we start wars and ruin marriages, and why we can be incredibly cruel and incredibly kind.

In short, it helps us answer the biggest question of all: why are we here, and what for?

The alternative

Suppose we are not evolved, social animals. Suppose we were created by a God. Then all bets are off. We could be here for a whole host of reasons, and every one of them is anyone’s guess:

Simply as an experiment
To worship and please the creator
To prepare ourselves for a better life to come
To fight evil and overcome it
To prove our creator is the right creator
To look after the planet for the future

Again, the list goes on. Anyone can have an idea, and nobody can prove it right or wrong. So we are left guessing, and usually that guessing is wishful thinking.

A practical challenge

Next time you want the answer to a big why question, go back to first principles. Why did this happen? Why am I feeling like this? Why can’t I solve this problem?

Do the same with the small ones. Why are people all doing this? Buying this? Behaving like this?

Start with the one fact we know: we are social animals that evolved by natural selection over millions of years.

You will soon find a likely answer.