Can Humans Escape the Fate of Other Species?

One safe and valuable assumption deployed by critical thinkers is that when humans are selling a belief, conclusion, or decision (BCD) to anyone who will listen to them, the sales pitch will be an exaggeration. For example, Stephen Pinker’s behavior resembles that of a lawyer in an adversarial system of justice when he makes the claim that science and reasoning have blessed us with ever-increasing progress. His argument cries out for the reader to remind him of the many modern instances in which our future as a species is facing existential crises. (So common, in fact, are these crises, that the word "existential" now often means "threatening to our existence" for it is heard as a habitual modifier of "species at risk" when discussing the human condition.)

An antidote to Pinker's argument is the brilliant book by John Gray, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals. His point is that human pride prevents us from recognizing the inescapable tendencies of species to strangle themselves. Starting with their urge to procreate, they engage in behaviors that eventually destroy themselves. Yet science can delay the inevitable. What makes humans special is their ability to reshape the timeline by technology fixes. However, try as they might their role as an animal pushes them to eventually disappear. 

Climate change, for example, can be ameliorated. But many international and psychological forces push against the hope that efforts to "fix" climate change will be anything more than a temporary stay. 

One potential problem with his argument is that it is an "eventually" argument, meaning that it can never be disproved. Supporters of the argument can say to disbelievers: "Just wait. My prediction will come true eventually."