Societal Evolution: The Industrial Revolution

As a complex network of intricate biological systems, the human body is indeed quite an intriguing aspect of nature. The origin of this elaborate design is an area of hot debate; however, as of late, increasing support has been given to biological-evolutionary theory. According to this theory, it is understood that with the passage of vast amounts of time, humanity and its predecessors have undergone a multitude of adaptations to better survive and proliferate themselves throughout the world. The human organism is clearly as efficient as it is elaborate; it is most certainly a testament to the hundreds upon thousands of years predating its existence. Even so, as alluring as the human body may be, the evolution of humanity has not been entirely biological in nature. Perhaps a consequence of this biological evolution, humanity has developed a very powerful tool to ensure the survival its species: Society. Described by Aristotle as "social animals," humans are notorious for organizing themselves into groups to better overcome their environment and to meet their needs. In effect, over many thousand years, humanity's greatest invention has proven to be as organic and adaptive as its creator. Society, like the human, has also undergone great changes and adaptations through selective forces and the innovations of its constituents. Perhaps the most well documented and best known instances of societal evolution at work can be seen in the industrial revolution. While, historically, societal changes have taken many thousand years to progress, the industrial revolution was relatively quick and, as a result, quite interesting.