Page 190 - Darwin's Dilemma: The Soul

Darwin’s Dilemma: The Soul

natural selection was the force that altered and developed hu-
man beings’ abilities in music, art and literature and which influ-
enced their ability to think and take rational decisions. However,
Wallace did not share that view. He thought that Darwin’s princi-
ples could account for fingers and toes or simpler features, but be-
lieved that it was impossible for superior human abilities such as
mathematics and music to be the work of blind coincidence.
The main reason why Wallace opposed the idea that blind co-
incidence could be the source of a Mozart’s abilities was the ele-
ment that can be described as “potential intelligence.” Wallace sug-
gested that we imagine that we have taken a young member of
Aborigines unable to read or write. Let us then educate that young-
ster in a modern state school in Rio, New York or Tokyo. There will
of course be no difference between that youngster and children
brought up in those cities. As Professor Vilayanur Ramachandran
explained: “According to Wallace, this means that the aborigine or
Cro-Magnon possesses a potential intelligence that vastly exceeds
anything that he might need for coping with his natural environ-
ment. This kind of potential intelligence can be contrasted with ki-
netic intelligence, which is realized through formal education. But

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