| Popis: |
Since the discovery of the Neandertal bones 1856 (cfr Toussaint, 1996), the extremely old, fragmentary fossil remains of hundreds of man-like bodies have been discovered in Europe, Asia, and Africa (cfr Bonjean, 1996). Even the oldest ones – usually the most incomplete – look man-like and „un-apish”, even to a layman, if compared with a modern apish and human correlate. Sometimes, in the vicinity of these remains, primitive stone tools or the evidence of their production have been found. At present, it seems absolutely certain – within the limits of our present physical and biological knowledge – that at least four million years ago, in Africa, some creatures resembling modern man were living, and that at least two and half million years ago, in Africa, stone tools were produced. In contrast with the fi rm, scientifi cally-arguable belief that all modern human tribes – however diff erent they are – belong to a single species (cfr Littlefi eld et al., 1982; Marks, 1995), in paleoanthropology an equally fi rm scientifi c belief is maintained that the extinct man-like forms belong to several diff erent, „presapient”, „prehuman”, more ape-like species (cfr Wood, 1996). No philosopher ignores the theoretical consequences of this situation. ere is, however, a big epistemological paradox hidden at the bottom of it. ere is |
