Humans were not always so destructive. We only have that impression because written history is the history of the West. What changed? How did the West de-evolve? The answer goes back to the history of ancient Greece. What was the philosopher Socrates sentenced to death for? Socrates was sentenced to death for heresy; he taught that the Immortal Principles, which could be either MEASURED, or PROVED mathematically, were above the Gods. This was the beginning of both EMPIRICISM, defined in Webster's as "the theory that sensory experience is the only source of knowledge," and the opposite but equally dangerous theory of RATIONALISM; "that reason, or intellect is the true source of knowledge, rather than the senses."