Can the Theory of Evolution explain Human properties?

Answer 1

Answer 1
Many of the properties of modern humans can be explained through biology. For instance, most physiological traits, such as the shape of the skeleton, the route that the major arteries and nerves follow throughout the body, blood types, and so on, and so forth, can be explained in terms of common ancestry with the other Great Apes.

When it comes to behaviour, however, humans are a more complicated case. This is because our behaviour, as well as the way our behaviour has changed over time, is not just a matter of nature (genetics), but also of nurture (culture). Usually, it is difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins - they may even affect one another on occasion.

As an example, take morality. We Apes, being social animals living in tribes, have evolved elaborate instinctive Codes of Conduct (moral codes) to deal with the complexities of intra-tribal and inter-tribal relations. But in humans, with their big brains, these instinctive morals are expanded upon (and sometimes counteracted) by conscious reflection. Our morals are not just affected by the genes we inherit from our parents, but also by the ideas we inherit from relatives and society in general. We may, for instance, feel instinctively predisposed to act in ways benefiting our tribe. But what we consider to be our tribe (eg. just the family, or the village, or the country, or perhaps even the entire human species) may be largely determined through cultural induction.

Answer 2
Man and the apes have developed from the same ancestors, although the main differences between them are man's larger brain and his ability to walk upright and speak.
The process by which modern man developed from his early ancestors is called Evolution. Through fossils, very old bones preserved in layers of rock, we can imagine how man developed and changed from an ape-like creature to modern man, over a period of several hundred thousand years. Until recently, the oldest man-like fossil anyone had discovered was called Australopithecus, about 1,750,000 years old. Then, in 1972, Dr. Richard Leekey found a fossil skull in Kenya that had a much larger brain than the Australopithecus. This fossil was about 2,600,000 years old.
Several other fossils have been found which look more like a modern man. One of these, called Pithecanthropus, was very like us although he had jutting-out ridges over his eyes and some ape-like features. Other remains such as Java man and Peking man are called Homo erectus. All the known fossils in this group are at least 400,000 years old, and from this creature, several types of man seem have developed. One was Neanderthal man, who looked very primitive with his thick, stocky body and jutting eye ridges, but he did have a large brain. The Neanderthals used stone tools and buried their dead. They lived in Europe about 35,000 years ago, when men just like ourselves replaced them. This change happened too quickly for modern man to have developed from Neanderthal man, so he must have evolved separately. We call modern man Homo sapiens ('Thinking man').
Some of the earliest fossils of Homo sapiens are over 100,000 years old. Among the most famous are the fossils found at Cro-Magnon in France. These early men lived in caves which they decorated with drawings, so they were the first known artist.

All modern men are placed in the family of Homo sapiens. Howerever, because some people have similar features , they are often divided into groups, or races. These groups are usually: the Caucasoid (white-skinned); Negroid (black-skinned); Mongoloid (yellow-skinned and including the American Indians); Australoid (the Australian Aborigines); and Capoid ( the bushmen of South Africa).
Race is often confused with nationality, the nation a person belongs to. But the people of any one country are often descended from many races so race is much wider description that nationality.

Caucasoid
The Englishman, Italian and Indian are Caucasians. This racial group is widespread in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and India, and they have skin colours ranging from fair to dark.

Australoid
Although they have different facial characteristic and features, the Mbotgote man from Malekula Island, the Fijian and the Australian Aborigine are all Australoid peoples with dark skins.

Mongoloid
With their yellowish skin, dark brown eyes and straight black hair the Eskimo, Burmese man and Chinese are all Mongoloids.

Other opinions
Many scientists do not believe that the Darwin theory of evolution explains everything about the evolution of humans. First of all, Alfred Russel Wallace (the man who FIRST published the theory of evolution before Darwin) in his publication 'The Limits of Natural Selection as Applied to Man', Alfred Russel Wallace argues that human morality, altruism, higher intellectual etc have been the result of an intelligent designer. Nowadays many modern scientists believe the same thing.
For example, primitive people have a brain that is the same as our own, that they are not at all using in their everyday tasks. Why would that happen? The Darwin theory of evolution cannot answer that.
Moreover, why do people do altruistic actions (i.e. risk their own existence/lives to save an unknown person and do not expect to get any recognition or reward for that), if the 'survival of the fittest' model applies?
The controversy is ongoing. The book 'Dissent Over Descent' of Steve Fuller offers great insight into the matter. Wallace publication came before Darwin's and as in most cases, the second does explain evolution better than the first.

Steve Fuller is a religious creationist.

Answer 2

Yes, the Theory of Evolution explains how humans have acquired their physical and behavioral characteristics over time through the process of natural selection acting on genetic variation. This includes traits such as bipedalism, large brains, and social behaviors.