There exists an ongoing debate within the science world today with regard to animal
testing.
One side says that deliberately causing suffering and in many cases outright death is inhumane
and should be ceased; the other side says that unfortunately animal testing is a necessary
evil that must be done to progress the state of mankind and ultimately herald in an era
where it is no longer necessary.
Proponents of the former argument often bring up a specific kind of parable, simply referred
to as the "Alien Invasion" thought experiment.
Basically the gist is this, what if, randomly out of the blue, a highly advanced alien species
were to invade us tomorrow and treat us exactly the same way we treat animals?
Would it be their right to do with us what they see fit, seeing as we do the same thing
to beings of comparably less intelligence?
Or should we acknowledge this hypocrisy and set out to change how we go about things currently?
Tell me, doesn't that hypothetical situation sound pret-ty familiar?
Planet With was last seasons' dark horse that came right out of the gate with an interesting
premise and morally ambiguous main character.
And the crux of the conflict for its first third, which remains an overarching theme,
is the invasion of an alien race that thinks they know what's better for humanity than
they do.
You should be getting deja vu right about now.
Planet With was a bright spot in an otherwise just okay season for me, and not only did
its themes really resonant with what I believe personally, it's particularly poignant with
what it says about evolution, and humanity's place in regard to evolution.
The show posits that we are at a crossroads.
With which path does humanity's next stage lie—that of the evolution of power?
Or the so-called evolution of love?
Ultimately Planet With says the latter, or rather it hopes that that is the case.
Our main character Souya represents this crossroads.
He is the last of a people whose most noticeable trait is that of being warmongers, those who
chose the evolution of power and exercised that power against the Riel people.
Aggressiveness runs through his veins, and much of the intrigue in the establishing episodes
is trying to make sense of his morality.
After we're given some time to dwell on the situation, we learn of Sensei's bet
with the Dragon.
He says, "I will take this child in and raise him.
And the man he becomes will prove it!
That love exists within him as well!
That the Siriusians could have become a race of the evolution of love as well!
I'll prove what your sense of justice killed was a race whose future was the evolution
of love!"
Sensei's declaration is an example of the classic debate of nature versus nurture.
Throughout the ages scientists have asked what exactly governs human behavior: the genes
we express, or the environment we grow up in.
And if it is both, as often is the case, then to what degree does each aspect have an effect?
What the literature says is kind of surprising.
Indeed, both nature and nurture play a role in shaping one's behavior.
However, the two are also innately intertwined.
Your genetics can determine what sort of environment you grow up in, and likewise, your environment
can in some cases influence you down to your genetic code (the growing field of study for
the latter is called epigenetics).
An easy example that demonstrates this is perfect pitch.
Those that have this trait are able to identify or recreate any given musical note.
However, having the gene for perfect pitch is often not sufficient, musical training
is required a large amount of the time to "awaken" this ability.
This current understanding is reflected quite well in Planet With.
In a sense, the two main players represent the diverging paths that Souya can take—that
of the Dragon's justice, or that of Nebula, and by extension, the People of Paradise.
In the beginning Souya clearly leans towards the Dragon, and the Dragon remarks at the
end of the series that he was hoping for Souya to be his heir.
With his memory still hazy, Souya is driven purely by the desire for revenge, and as a
result, often comes across as aloof or uncaring.
We can take this as Souya acting out his nature, an answer to the question of "What happens
when you give a Siriusian blank slate some semblance of power?"
During his battle with Takashi, Souya's rage is palatable, with Ginko jokingly asking
if he's actually a demon.
He declares his final clog punch as his "Hammer of Vengeance."
His mind contains only one singular focus—defeating the reincarnation of the dragon.
However, episode 7 changes everything.
With the reoccurrence of his memories, the terrible actions of his ancestors are brought
to light, as well as Sensei and Ginko's selfless choice to take him in.
That combined with finally defeating Takashi causes Souya enters a state of ambivalence.
It is only when Earth is under the threat of being sealed when he decides to take action,
saving Earth and succeeding where Sensei could not for Sirius.
In a sense we can interpret this as Souya remembering his nurturing and being pacified
as a result.
While Ginko and Sensei are always seen treating him kindly from the beginning, knowledge of
their past overwhelms him and he doesn't know how to interpret it.
From episode 1 until this point he had been operating under basic instinct, some vague
desire for revenge based off of a single data point.
Takashi and Souya serve as each other's foils and mirror one another.
Takashi is described as a kind kid who began to use power to impose his will on others.
In contrast, Souya is the last of a so-called aggressive race and yet simply fights in the
name of humanity's freedom.
Their respective nurturings overcame their nature.
Before we can continue investigating what Planet With says in regard to humanity's
future evolution, we must examine where evolution has taken us so far.
In all actuality, humans are quite fragile.
Placed into a cage and forced to fight animals one on one, we'd most likely lose a large
majority of the time—even to things that are traditionally prey like say, antelope
(I don't know about y'all, but an antelope would maul me in no time flat).
Which raises the question, how did humans become Earth's most dominant species, thriving
regardless of location, whose population continues to skyrocket each day?
The answer is cognition.
The fact that we can think critically, create abstract thoughts and ideas, and put those
ideas into practice.
But it is how we obtained that cognitive ability that is interesting.
Judith Burkart from the University of Zurich notes in her research that "Cooperative
behavior [favored] the evolution of our exceptional cognitive abilities.
During development, human children gradually construct their cognitive skills based on
extensive selfless social inputs from caring parents and other helpers, and the researchers
feel that it is this new mode of caring that also put our ancestors on the road to our
cognitive excellence."
Dr. Burkart essentially states that humanity is the way it is due to humans shifting to
a "it takes a village" style of nurturing.
And along with this increase in cognitive ability, we also gained the capacity for compassion.
Altruism describes behavior that benefits another at one's expense.
At first, it doesn't quite make sense.
According to Darwin's theory of evolution, there exists a "struggle for existence,"
a constant battle for limited resources.
So why do we incur costs to ourselves to help others?
One possibility is that humans are beyond the confines of evolution.
With the development of rational thought and ability to spread out across the world, Darwin's
theory no longer applies.
We are beyond natural selection.
We are beyond our base instincts.
And once again, Planet With reflects this.
While there are numerous displays of power and (awesome) fighting, there is always an
underlying sentiment of kindness.
For example in episode 4, Haru becomes overwhelmed by pure emotion in her attempt to "avenge"
Miu.
And what eventually brings her back and shatters her dragon form is not Souya pummeling her
into submission, but rather love and kindness on behalf of Ginko and Miu.
What Planet With stresses is that even bad people can have good intentions.
Everyone is the hero of their own story.
But it is important to realize when you've lost your way, and it is important to help
those who have lost their way.
The pacifists avoid falling into the trap of living their namesake literally, and instead
of allowing atrocious events to slide, fight for the liberty of others—that's altruism
in a nutshell.
In contrast, vengeance as a concept is an inherently selfish undertaking—judging others
under the assumption that you are right.
Haru realizes this after her frightening encounter with primal instinct, and switches her focus
from "avenging" to "protecting."
Let's revisit the alien invasion argument.
What would happen if we were invaded by a highly advanced alien race tomorrow?
Well, Planet With says that we might accept them with open arms.
Since it seems like one of the pathways to becoming highly advanced in the first place
is the transcending of evolution and the adoption of compassion.
Humans have plenty of flaws.
We are capable of atrocious actions, immense hate, and unspeakable evils.
But we are also capable of amazing things.
We've eliminated despicable diseases like smallpox and polio.
We've banded together in times of hardship.
And technological advances have made things that once were certain death, mere formalities.
To leave off, here's a quote whose origin is disputed, but whose message is apt.
"A fight is going on inside me.
It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil.
He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority,
lies, false pride, superiority… and ego.
The other is good.
He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity,
truth, compassion… and faith.
The same fight is going on inside you.
And inside every other person, too.
Which wolf will win?
The one you feed."
Planet With's message is simple, but well-grounded in current understanding.
Help others, and practice compassion, even towards your enemies.
Acknowledge horrible deeds, but additionally, acknowledge the good intentions behind those
deeds.
Ginko does this by thanking the dragon, which seems absurd.
But the curious mixture of honor, gratitude, and guilt she feels is an important step in
moving forward.
Feed the good wolf.
Alternatively, a much briefer summary can be drawn from a somewhat well-known 70's
British pop band.
"All you need is love."
Thanks for watching and be sure to like and subscribe for more content.
And of course, if anything I said was wrong, I'm sorry.
I must've stuttered.
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