Description
According to Landau, the various theories of human evolution are versions of the universal hero tale in folklore and myth. The narratives all have similar structure, featuring a humble hero (in theories of evolution it is a nonhuman primate) who departs on a journey (leaves his natural habitat), receives essential aid or equipment from a donor figure (through evolutionary principles such as natural selection or orthogenesis), goes through tests (imposed by predators, harsh climate or competitors), and finally arrives at a higher (that is, more human) state.