We do understand the concepts of human evolution based on scientific evidences and voracious research behind this while some don't believe in evolution and I don't intend to defy that believe at all. Taking into consideration the five forces that initially influenced human evolution in the past, namely these are natural selection, random genetic drift, mutation, population mating structure, and culture. I would like to ask a very important question and that is: are these same factors bound to influence human evolution in the future? Can scientific research and technology prefigure the appearance of future humans if they are bound to evolve?
If we contend the Darwinian approach is plausible (I do), surely these factors could be effective. However, we should bear in mind that the current human beings these days are not fully conformable to evolution rules; they are defying the natural selection in several channels. For instance, the survival of fittest is not associated with power or intelligence anymore, as more educated or more powerful people now try to reproduce less children; the unprecedented installation of moral ethics has lead to the formation of charities to help the survival of the poor and weak; individuals susceptible to germs, cancers, autoimmunities and etc. are not removing from the population, but they are cured to pass their inconsistent genes to the next generation, and there is a lot more to make the prediction of evolution much more complicated.
The literature on human evolution is rich and varied. Many books deal with the issues of how – e.g., how / where / when our lineage (Homo sapiens sapiens) diverged from the same common trunk with other hominids / anthropoids / primates. At the risk of sounding repetitive, here’s a suggestion of book about the issues of why: Another unique species (Longman, 1987), by Robert Foley.
Natural selection continues to operate in human populations. For a recent case study, see Stulp et al. 2015. Does natural selection favour taller stature among the tallest people on earth? Proceedings of the Royal Society, B 282: 20150211. (And for a critique to the original interpretation, see Tarka et al. 2015. Did natural selection make the Dutch taller? A cautionary note on the importance of quantification in understanding evolution. Evolution 69: 3204-6.)
Hi,
I do completely agree with the rational and reasonable clarification by Dr Atefeh Yaftiyan.
May I also add the fact that we, Human beings, are evolving in a way outside the frame of "the five forces that initially influenced human evolution in the past" mentioned by Kartic (above). While new Human generations are obviously more intelligent and more capable in using high-tech gadgets, we are loosing the basic ability to communicate with nature, to exploit natural resources and natural / herbal products around us to solve our health problems, making basic tools from natural ingredients around us, understand, anticipate and feel disasters before they happen, and so on.
With respect of the question: "is Human evolution ongoing" I can refer you to the following article:
"Humans are still evolving—and we can watch it happen"
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/05/humans-are-still-evolving-and-we-can-watch-it-happen
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