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I feel that our need for culture, art, and aesthetic pleasures are major biological weaknesses.  Yes, they are beautiful, but beautiful to whom?  They are only beautiful to us.  They have no value to any other species other than ourselves.  Their purpose is to give is a sense of order, belonging, and purpose.  As a species, we are so messed up that without them we would kill each other without reservation.  Still, culture and religion cause us to kill each other.  If we did not care about culture or religion we wouldn’t kill each other over cultural or religious differences.  Our need for and culture has caused genocide, world war, and the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. 

The fact of the matter is that we are one of the worst species ever created.  We destroy everything around us for our immediate benefit.  The earth is deteriorating because of our behavior.  Who knows how many species are extinct because of us.  At the same time, more and more countries have nuclear bombs, using them as leverage for bargaining agreements.  Who knows how many countries will have nuclear weapons by 2050, and how are we going to ensure that every one of those countries is happy enough to not to use them.  It is likely that our need for exploration and creativity is going to create technology that ends up destroying us.  Therefore, we destroy the earth, other species, and ourselves.  To me, that is not a successful species at any level.