It wouldn’t be possible because those events are too infrequent to have a birth rate above replacement level, and they mostly involve a child being impregnated by an adult. Adults though wouldn’t exist in this scenario. Humans have never had a life expectancy of 10 years nor 999 years.
Than I simply misunderstood your statement. Apologies.
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You know for someone who believes that a fish got a completely random mutation and was able to start breathing air and then bred with another fish who got a random mutation that allowed them to breath air and that led to life being able to exist on land (which I also believe btw) which then evolved over billions of years to become humans (this part I don’t). I think it’s kinda strange you think it’s far fetched that in the distant future the human lifespan and reproductive cycles could be 10 years and 5 years respectively. That’s not even remotely as unlikely to occur over the course of a long period of time than a fish mutating early lungs.
The whole basis of evolution is life changes over long periods of time. We even see evidence of this in prehistoric versions of animals we have today.
The megalodon was basically a giant great white shark. Scientists estimate that it’s lifespan and age of sexual maturity were certainly longer than that of modern great white sharks. There’s no reason humans can’t evolve a different lifespan/sexual maturity age in the distant future than what we have now.
I think it could happen, in some distant future time, not soon. If the right conditions happen and human evolution leads to girls entering puberty very early and also boys entering puberty early then there would be enough time to breed before passing away at age 10.
I like biology and science as much as you, but I haven’t completely ruled out the possibility of much longer lives either, in some distant future time.
Already we are seeing advances in modern medicine where longevity is increasing. And some futurists have talked about the use of neurolinks and cyborg materials replacing organs as they go bad, so who knows, maybe even 999 years old might be possible one day.
Yes. Also remember. There’s no reason the gestation period has to be 9 months like it is with modern humans.
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This. I don’t understand how someone can believe in anicca and also believe that “human species” has always been this fixed form and always will be this fixed form, with no change ever.
A post was split to a new topic: E-Buddhists
This is just your assumption based on the evidences we have available at present. It isn’t an objective fact.
Ok but this is somewhat different from the scientific evolutionary theory - it is agreeing with some ideas from that theory in an effort at reconciling science and Buddhism (@Brunobm was perhaps making a similar effort).
Clearly many scientific ideas are in accordance with what we learn from the texts - in this thread @HappinessSeeker cited the cakkavatti sutta where it explains that the lifespans of men gradually change over time - and this fits with evolution.
I said to my son when he was learning about physics at school that I have always been impressed that science was able to develop models - the various depictions of ‘atoms’ - that align in some ways with what the Dhamma says about material phenomena. We learn about electrons and neutrinos and what not, and how atoms are incredibly tiny: the concepts of physics taught in school. It does sound similar to kalapas…
(But science still thinks these atoms while changing still last, so not quite the same as Buddhism).
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Yes, I think it fits with evolution. In the sutta, it’s mentioned that the beauty of human beings also increases/decreases as the lifespan increases/decreases. When the lifespan are long, humans probably look close to devas and when the lifespan are short, they look close to beasts. I think this means that humans might look like apes when the lifespan is 10. The sutta mentions that when the lifespan is 10, humans will see each other as beasts. There will be no recognition of father, mother, friend, or teacher and they will attack each other. So the lifestyle and mindset of humans when the lifespan is 10 will also be very close to that of beasts.
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You might like the quantum mechanics side of physics. I’m not an expert in that field so don’t want to give an overview or summary as I’d probably misrepresent it, but I believe that fits with Buddhism even more with seeing them as not permanent, not lasting.
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A rather underrated thing in astrophysics I’m surprised Buddhists dont point out more. The Buddha pointed out that the cosmos goes thru cycles of expansion and contraction. It wasnt noted in science that the universe was expanding until the early 1900s when they actually had telescopes strong enuff to notice the doppler effect. So the Buddha knew something not known to science until 2400+ years later.
Although science is still behind Buddhism even on this. As science still concludes (for now) that the expansion was due to the Big Bang at the beginning of the universe. In reality, the Buddha saw that the universe actually just goes thru cycles of expansion and contraction, and that we just happen to be in the expansion stage.
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Personally I would say, don’t think we are a bunch of apes communicating on an internet forum, even now we are on the wheel of life, that is to say dependant origination. The exit and the way to the exit, has also been declared by the Blessed One.
nayidaṃ sithilamārabbha,
nayidaṃ appena thāmasā,
nibbānaṃ adhigantabbaṃ, sabbadukkhappamocanaṃ.
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Not by being slack,
or with little strength
is Extinguishment (Nibbāna) realized,
the freedom from all suffering.
SN21.4
Personally I would render it more along the lines of
Not by being slack,
or with little strength
Is Nibbana to be reached
Which releases all dukkha
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Not quite so. Life began with the first simple replicators that became the prototype of modern ribozymes in the ribosomes of the cell. These replicators could consist of several RNA-like enzymes that together duplicated their own kind. From where the process of heredity and variability (the principles of impermanence and dependent emergence at the level of matter) was launched, which in turn launched the powerful process of Darwinian evolution and complicated life over a couple of billion years.
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Human evolution has stopped, due to technology. If some sort of event happened and we returned to a more natural way of living, and so natural selection could take effect again, then sure our reproductive development could change. Not sure we would still be talking about Homo sapiens sapiens then though. In terms of an extended life span, its possible that even with the best medicine the human body has a limit on how long it can last (122 years or more). As you allude to, you would need something like cybernetics to increase it further. That requires an advanced civilisation. To get back to the topic then somewhat, we know that no advanced civilisation before us existed on this planet. That would mean the claims that in the ancient past people lived to 999 years is just plain false. Its a myth.
See above. Its never happened.
See my comment above
The megalodon was basically a giant great white shark. Scientists estimate that it’s lifespan and age of sexual maturity were certainly longer than that of modern great white sharks. There’s no reason humans can’t evolve a different lifespan/sexual maturity age in the distant future than what we have now.
They are two different species.
Evolution via natural selection occurs due to causes and conditions, so its not incompatible with the Dhamma. Saying that things just pop into existence with no cause would be.