Tree Shrew

This photo is of the earliest known primate, the Tree Shrew. Despite its extremely small size this skull is of enormous importance in regards to the emergence of primates, and later on humans, as a species. In essence everything in the primate “family tree” began from this species. Tree Shrews are interesting because physically they appear to be very rodent-like, but in reality they are classified as a primate. This photo not only relates to the theory of emergence, but also again to Alex Rosenberg’s piece on Naturalistic Philosophy. Rosenberg would argue that this specific species started it all for the hominid tree. A series or random variations over millions of years, when paired with Darwin’s theory of natural selection, led to the creation of the human race, as well as all other species in the primate family. This is a classic case of more complex forms of life emerging from more simple ones, such as the tree shrew. This type of emergence of complex things from more simple ones can also be seen in the tools we viewed in class. It is extremely easy to notice a correlation between the time period the tool was created in, and how sophisticated and effective it is. This correlation suggests that as time went on, more complex tools were able to emerge from the less complex ones.

Done