Dawkins, Theory of African Eve and Cultural Relativism

In the essay, All Africa and Her Progenies,” Richard Dawkins addresses the issue of evolution in human beings. He tries to show that Natural Selection, a theory developed by Charles Darwin, applies to humans as well as animals. He first addresses the philosophy of Cultural Relativism. This belief holds that all or any culture’s beliefs are equal relative to their truth. Cultural Relativists feel that if we want to think we respect other cultures, we must believe that what is true in their culture must be true to them.

Dawkins does not agree with this philosophy, however. He believes that there is an objective and discoverable reality. He feels that it is possible for human beings to find this truth, and it is, in fact, the duty of human beings to search for this truth. He even goes so far to say that cultural relativists are being lazy by accepting all theories of other cultures.

Secondly, Dawkins discusses what he calls “African Eve” or “Mitochondrial Eve,” which is the main argument of his essay. This theory suggests that all humans living today are descendants of one woman, Eve, who lived in Africa. This means that all of us have the same ancestors, and therefore, all of us are related. Dawkins’ evidence to prove this theory lies in something called mitochondria.

Mitochondria, in Dawkins’ words, are “tiny, lozenge-shaped bodies swarming by the thousands in each of our cells.” The presence of these mitochondria is absolutely necessary in humans. We would die without them. Scientists can trace this mitochondria back to “Eve” because each mitochondria has its own DNA, and they are only passed down each generation through the maternal side of a family.

Natural Selection now comes into play in Dawkins’ theory. One might question that if we all come from the same ancestors, why then do we have so many physical differences? Dawkins ascribes these differences as natural selection at work. The environment and other outside influences, Dawkins would say, were the determining factors in shaping our physical selves.

In regards to this essay, I agree with Dawkins’ theory of African Eve, in which I feel he gives ample evidence to clearly prove his theory. I do not, however, feel his opposition to cultural relativism is well-supported.

Dawkins regards cultural relativism as lazy, but it seems to me that it is the very definition of lazy to dismiss another philosophy so quickly like he has done in his essay. Being a cultural relativist myself, I believe it is Dawkins’ truth that this philosophy is not a good one. However, I do not feel that he can rightly call those who believe in this philosophy lazy and “hypocritical.”

I also disagree with Dawkins’ disapproval of cultural relativism. It seems incredibly arrogant to me to believe that Western culture is right in everything they have discovered through science, and that every other culture is wrong, just because they believe something else.

Science seems to be only another myth or set of beliefs. There is no scientist that can prove a theory without a doubt. There are exceptions to every rule. No one can tell me that something I believe is simply wrong. They can give me their evidence and I can make an educated decision. I may still, in their words, be wrong, but in my mind I am not, and that is my truth. Whatever I believe is my truth. Science is nothing but the beliefs of the majority of a culture.

I also disagree with Dawkins’ view that there is an objective and discoverable truth that human beings must search for. Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, our scientists believed completely different things. Take the placement of planets in our solar system. Scientists, so many years ago, were believers in geocentrism, the belief that the Earth is the center of the solar system. Then scientists started believing that the sun, in fact, was at the center, or heliocentric. My argument is, if they were wrong in the past, who is to say they will not be wrong in the present or even in the future. One day caffeine is good for you, the next day it will kill you, then it’s good for you again. It’s basically all theory.

As I mentioned before, however, I do feel that Dawkins’ African Eve theory is a good one. He gives very good evidence to prove his theory. The following is Dawkins’ example to prove all humans today are related. If you take for granted that you had two parents, four grandparents, eight grandparents, etc., and that with each generation the number doubles, then about two thousand years ago there would have been, according to Dawkins’ calculations, “a trillion American trillions” of ancestors living at that time. This was in no way possible at the time due to the fact that the Earth could not sustain that amount of people. This theory proves that al of us, eventually come to have related ancestors when you trace our ancestral histories. This seems like very logical supportable evidence. His evidence of mitochondria is a bit confusing, but upon close inspection, it appears to be convincing.

Dawkins’ criticism of Cultural Relativism seems a bit out of place in his essay, more conjecture than science.