Can two people repopulate the human species? (A response to Hdogar)
The notion of us all being descendants of just one man and one woman seems entirely improbable to me.
Science indicates, (in my understanding), that human beings were not created as human beings but evolved from organisms that would be, today, unrecognisable as even vaguely related to ourselves.
Therefore, to me, the notion of two already functional, thinking and aware human beings, capable of deliberate choice as opposed to instinctive action, is inherently flawed.
All religions are, in fact, human constructs that originate with individuals self-identifying as having heard from, been guided or instructed by, possessed by or in some other way having received 'divine' revelation. In reality, all the religious texts are the words of human beings, not of any gods or god.
So, that this is a question of science or religion is not the case.
On the other hand, if this is a serious question as to whether, for instance, the last two people on earth after some majord die-out for whatever reason, could re-populate the earth, that is a different question that has nothing to do with religion.
My own view is that while it may be possible, it is unlikely. Much would depend on the age, health, fertility, capability, resources and other factors characteristic of or relating to the two individuals concerned.
We know that in-breeding in humans results in a higher incidence of defects in offspring.
The argument that in-breeding in animals supposedly doesn't do this is a spurious one. Leaving aside 'back-yard' or uninformed & ignorant animal breeders, those that breed animals do so with genetical knowledge and in a selective and informed way aimed at enhancing desirable attributes in the animal and reducing or eliminating undesirable ones. These breeders also cull offspring with defects.
People generally reproduce in a relatively ad-hoc and uninformed way, as would animals in the wild left to their own devices. The difference is that, in the wild, the defective animals, whether mentally or physically, are likely to die early, either from inabilty to sustain themselves or by falling victim to predators.
People, on the other hand, have many support services, including other people, as well as a profligate amount of knowledge and technology that enables them to survive & even become productive and contributing members of society, despite whatever dysfunctional or difference from 'normal' that they may carry.
I think it a reasonable assumption that if there were only two human beings in existence, even combined, they would have a relatively limited amount of medical and scientific knowledge and access to very little of other than crude technology.
There would also be an absence of 'moral' code that might mitigate against unhealthy or profligate and indiscriminate relationships and breeding.
I have no idea whether the odds could be calculated or, if so, what they would be. However, given the above factors and probably others that I either haven't mentioned or haven't even considered, it seems that the chance of these two people re-populating the World with either sound or unsound human beings or even a mixture of both, would be slim indeed.
