The study of human evolution isn't just an exercise in looking backward at old bones; it tells us who we are today and who we may be tomorrow. The most telling discovery in this field is that humanity's impact on planet Earth has become so great that it will be reflected in the fossil record. This is why scientists are calling our present epoch the Anthropocene, the "Age of Humans." How did this happen and what does it tell us about human nature and the future of our species? And what should be our response? Starting his career in 1980, Fred Edwords was executive director of the American Humanist Association for 15 years, editor of the Humanist magazine for 12, national director of the United Coalition of Reason for 6, and sat for 8 years on the Broader Social Impacts Committee of the Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. He has served on the board of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (now called Humanists International) and the founding board of the National Center for Science Education, and, over the past forty years, has lectured and done media interviews internationally. Now retired, he volunteers as the American Humanist Association’s historian and is a Humanist Celebrant Emeritus with the Humanist Society.
The study of human evolution isn't just an exercise in looking backward at old bones; it tells us who we are today and who we may be tomorrow. The most telling discovery in this field is that humanity's impact on planet Earth has become so great that it will be reflected in the fossil record. This is why scientists are calling our present epoch the Anthropocene, the "Age of Humans." How did this happen and what does it tell us about human nature and the future of our species? And what should be our response?
Starting his career in 1980, Fred Edwords was executive director of the American Humanist Association for 15 years, editor of the Humanist magazine for 12, national director of the United Coalition of Reason for 6, and sat for 8 years on the Broader Social Impacts Committee of the Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. He has served on the board of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (now called Humanists International) and the founding board of the National Center for Science Education, and, over the past forty years, has lectured and done media interviews internationally. Now retired, he volunteers as the American Humanist Association’s historian and is a Humanist Celebrant Emeritus with the Humanist Society.
