THEORIES OF SURVIVAL

Probability. If one example is exceptionally rare, then it has a great degree of survival relative to the rest of its species. Thus, probability means a measure of success or rarity.

Strength. Might-makes-right mentalities dominate the simple view of nature and civilization. There is no doubt these have some significance where there is little intelligence, unless the environs is a paradise.

Magic. In addition to strength, the power to influence desires through seduction and manipulation, sometimes called magic, may play a role in selecting who survives, who is cheated, and who receives dishonor.

Knowledge. This is an ancient tradition dating at least back to the Labyrinth of Sardia. Wisdom can sometimes save someone when the concern is a matter of importance, like cheese or a drug, introduced from outside the labyrinth. The product is often to generate intangibles, to navigate away from confusion and danger.

Problem-Solving. Solving puzzles by having a new idea has had great appeal for those looking to logic to explain survival. Increasingly, however, these conditions look artificial unless they have an ethical overtone.

Civilization. Some theorists prefer to refer to the ways science can solve human problems (or fail to do so). These theorists see civilization as the crux of the problem and the solution.

Time. Temporality and immortality is sometimes used as a careful razor in determining the key, most important concerns for existence. This formulation must pre-date the phenomenologists. Solutions are proposed that can involve simple things like eating healthy food, to more complex ideas like time travel and changeless existence.

Cosmos. Universalizing values like love and karma is sometimes seen as an explanation for the nature of survival. However, these theories often defer to human or material imperfection to explain the problems involved.