I'm not claiming there is a goal to history or evolution. I'm talking about emergent systems. Ecologies are an example. So are ant colonies (particularly the su

I'm not claiming there is a goal to history or evolution. I'm talking about emergent systems. Ecologies are an example. So are ant colonies (particularly the super colonies) and human civilizations. Nothing planned them, they just emerge under the right conditions, which humans created by migrating all over the world, developing more sophisticated technologies, and transferring that knowledge to future generations and other connected groups via trade, warfare, etc. > I understand you disagree, but what you are proposing is not a current mainstream anthropological or social science way of seeing things, and to challenge it is in fact quite mainstream. I'm not aware that they disagree with the idea that more complex social structures emerge over time. Of course it doesn't have to happen, say if an extinction event had occurred or a permanent ice age prevented the right conditions from coming about.