Asian Geographic Issue 06/2016 (122) | Page 10

{ E D ITOR ’ S NOTE } © Steve McCurry/Magnum What makes us human? Is it our accidental genetic advantage owing to evolutionary fortune? Our mental faculty for reason? Our imagination? Is it our faith – our respective religious beliefs in the power of a higher order? Or is it our capacity for morality, and our equal predisposition for immorality, allowing us to wage war, conquer, destroy – even each other? Aristotle called us “rational animals”, set apart by our pursuit of knowledge, inspired to create. But beyond the bounds of reason, and the social controls of law and order, are we merely running on caveman software? We trace our origins on the tree of life, investigating how we diverged from our common ancestors over evolution (p50). We tumbled out of the tree, dusted ourselves off, outlived our predecessors, hunted, gathered, became social beings, and our brains grew to be bigger and bigger over the course of millions of years. We began to try our artistic ability in ancient cave art (p46); rituals of worshipping several gods were narrowed down to reverence for one almighty being (p72). In turn, we started to persecute those who disagreed on this vital matter, developing tactics, strategies and weaponry to mow down dissidents – and so war became a common currency (p66). Ever the proactive mammal, we invented artefacts to build, beautify and cure (p30). This issue addresses the origins of all things in the way of the human condition. Developments in science are allowing us to question everything we thought we knew about the origins of life and civilisation, reminding us of our human fallibility. And in our march of progress, the evolutionary tree keeps growing. I submit that there are two major elements that define us as humans: The first is our curiosity – our ability to question. Indeed, few photographers have captured this curiosity as vividly as Steve McCurry, whose iconic work we present in our photographic showcase (p14). The second is our capacity to envisage a future. And yet, despite this, we appear to be bent on going the same way as our hominid ancestors, devastating our only planet in the process. This issue demonstrates our remarkable capacity for good, and our inverse tendency for destruction. In between, our humanness hangs in the balance. “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane” (Mahatma Gandhi) A L E X W. C A M P B E L L Newsstand Distribution ASIAN Geographic can be found in the following countries. If you have difficulty finding us on newsstands, please contact our distributors: Australia Gordon & Gotch Australia Pty Ltd; ChinA and HONG KONG Times Publishing (HK) Ltd; INDONESIA Java Books; Philippines Alpha Stream Marketing; Malaysia Pansing Marketing Sdn Bhd; Singapore Singapore Press Holdings Ltd; THAILAND Asia Books Co Ltd ASIAN Geographic can be found on board and at the following locations Airlines & Lounges Clubs & societies CAFÉS & Restaurants tOURISM BOARDS commercial centres media correspondents India, Sri Lanka RMA Media, Faredoon KUKA • [email protected] Nepal, Bangladesh Media South Asia (P) Ltd • [email protected] Thailand Radius • [email protected] China Hainan Periscope Social Media Company • [email protected] Japan Keiichi ARANTANI • [email protected] a Other Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd publications & events: attractions ADEX CHINA 2017 ASIA SURF EXPO BEIJING OCEAN WEEK hotels & resorts