Human Advancement: the Why of Human History

We humans are special. Technically, we are animals, and we are one of the few species that managed to evolve the brain significantly.  This allows us to be curious and acquire the skill of collective learning which is what sets us apart, making us different. For thousands of years dominating the Earth, we have advanced rapidly, from the Palaeolithic Age to the Modern Age. However, have we been advancing as we should, progressively? Or have we been advancing into extinction?

I can split our advancement into two types, the physical advancement and the mental advancement. These two types of advancement are strongly connected and ignoring either one of them may result in a major society breaking-up. Physical advancement refers to the advancement achieved through technology. Mental advancement leans towards our mental behaviour and how we treat each other, as well as towards the environment.

The history of physical advancement is what we studied from our textbooks, from the prehistoric periods to the dawn of civilisations, to golden age of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, the Dark Ages, the Renaissance and Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and last but not least the Modern Era. I don't need to elaborate more on these textbook materials.

As for mental advancement, we don't really study it even though we already know  about it. During the prehistoric times, humans killed  each other for they didn't know what care and love were. Around the time when language was developed, humans learnt to communicate and express feelings with each. They cared for each other and unity was developed. After that, they  relied on feudalism, which was another weakness that they did not notice. Now, we understand that democracy is more efficient than feudalism as it keeps our society in harmony and peace, so we replaced  feudalism with democracy. In short, the more mentally advanced we are, the less selfish and more mature we will be. 

Therefore, we are advancing mentally too, but what exactly connects these two advancements?
I have tried to study history's pattern and I discovered three crucial rules of it:

1. Our physical advancement, also known as technological  advancement, can surpass our mentality's maturity.
2. Yet, there is a certain 'limit' for physical advancement. The ‘limit’ increases when we advance mentally. It is a limit that can't be calculated but can be pictured. When we reach this ‘limit’, major society breakup will occur.
3. It is impossible for our mentality to advance further than technology. It is because our technology will definitely progress when our mentality steps forward. Again, it can't be calculated and can only be pictured.

Before and during world wars, humans used technology and weapons to fight against each other, and thus, physical advancement was misused. Some of us even used our power to conquer other countries. For example, the British used their industrial advantage and weaponry to strike fear among our ancestors, the Malaysians, and I'm very sure that my country is not the only one who suffered from that. During World War II, Japan and Germany definitely used weapons in their attempt to conquer the world. After World War II, we managed to achieve peace, which means our mentality improved. When the United Nations was formed, ever since then, we were gradually adapting to the changes in the structure of the society.

These points show that when peace is achieved, we can actually advance further physically. Unfortunately, there is a limit to it. As we hit the mark, society will eventually start to break up because our mental state cannot accommodate the physical state. In this day and age, we are reaching the limit due to the rapid advancement of technology. I'm afraid that the society will crumble if we continue to be adamant and refuse to control ourselves.

I've found proof from the past 50 years that point towards our downfall in the near future that we will fall apart sooner or later. Firstly, we are using technology to hurt Mother Nature. Secondly, most people nowadays talk to each other virtually instead of talking face to face. Thirdly, humans are more dependent on technology. If we allow this to go on, one of the possible consequences of our society in the future is that technology will somehow outsmart us and develop self-awareness. When this happens, the downfall of mankind will soon follow.

Mental advancement is a very interesting and important topic, yet most people do not know  about its importance. Perhaps it might be hard for us to change the current generation, but don't forget that we can still educate the next generation and will, hopefully, be able to advance into a better world and brighter future.