(21) The more intelligent any individual organism becomes, the greater its chance of survival relative to members of its own species as well as to all other animal and plant life in general. This is a statistical phenomenon only. It doesn't guarantee that the organism will outlast other life forms, but it does give it a slightly greater chance (competitive edge). There are a great number of animal functions that have evolved and allow for an increased chance for survival. The faster an animal runs; the better it sees, smells, hears, etc.; the greater its chance of survival, thus allowing its eventual reproduction.

The lack of acquisition, or the loss of, certain physical and sensory abilities in prehumans aided the upward evolution of cognitive intelligence. As certain prehuman primates became lacking in some of the physical qualities that had aided others in their ability to survive through natural selection, the resulting pressure selected out the more intelligent. In other words, as ape-like animals became lacking in their ability to run fast, climb trees and swing from branches, thus avoiding their enemies (predators), this had the potential effect of selecting out the more intelligent animals of their species. If this had not occurred, there would have been less pressure to drive intelligence upwards. If intelligence had not increased in our prehuman and human ancestors, man would not be in existence now.

When we compare some of our motor and sensory abilities to those of the rest of the animal kingdom, we find that we fall short in a number of ways. Comparatively speaking, we run more slowly than many animals, our ability to smell is relatively weak and we don't see as well in the dark as some. Many animals are superior to us in certain ways. Bats have radar, dolphins have sonar, dogs have a much keener sense of smell and hearing, cats react more quickly with better coordination, owls see much better in the dark, arthropods are many times stronger per unit of body weight. In other words, if our intelligence had not increased proportionately to the lack of development or loss of other physical and sensory systems that other prehuman primates had, the physical animal man in his present physical form probably could not have survived. Man in his present body with only the intelligence of a monkey would have been relatively easy prey for certain larger animals.

The organisms which are preprogrammed to cope with a greater number of possible unpredictable eventualities will be the survivors. The greater the preprogramming of the organism with relevant meaningful information, the greater its intelligence, by definition, and the greater its chance (statistically) of survival.

This at least in part helps to explain the proposed concept of self-generating complexity that others have postulated, since the result of the process has been an upward pressure for increasing intelligence throughout the animal and plant world. The competition of organisms for survival has been a positive force driving life forms in the direction of increasing complexity. All species of animals and plants are constantly adapting and finding new and creative ways of competing against each other for survival. This is an automatic evolutionary process motivated by each organism's basic instinct for survival.

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