Creavolution writes:
Is it now the case that humans have effectively Halted our evolutionary development?
Not biologically possible. The only way to 'halt' evolution would be to make time stand still. That said, our own culture, science and technology have become important selective forces in our own evolutiona, so yes, we are influencing our own evolutionary trajectory, in many ways inadvertantly.
Creavolution writes:
On one level, medical advances now dictate that, for the most part, very few disabilities (evolutionary mutations) will result in premature death, or prohibit procreation and transmission of these "defective" genes.
This is true. The consequence is an increase in what geneticists would term the 'genetic load' of deleterious genes in our population.
Creavolution writes:
Now though, we are creating our surroundings, our environment is being designed/built to fit us.
Half true. We *intend* to make our immediate environment more amenable to our comfort and security, but these are short-term efforts with long-term costs that will eventually backfire on us. E.g. we burn fossil fuels to have warmth in winter, but we are accelerating global warming that will eventually have far more deleterious effects on us than the localized seasonal discomfort of cold winter weather.
Creavolution writes:
Does this mean that this is the end of our physical evolution?
Absolutely not. We may need to evolve resistance to a thousand different environmental pollutants to have a chance at survival even 100 years from now.
Creavolution writes:
What does evolution hold in store for us?
That's anyone's guess, but as you recognize, we are now important determinants of our own ecological fate, evolutionarily or otherwise. At the rate we are going, we may be lucky to avoid extinction as a species 200 years from now. The only chances for an ultimately positive outcome are (1) stabilizing the human population at ecologically sustainable levels, estimated at around 2 billion people (fat chance of that) and (2) reversing our imminent descent into environmental degradation and contamination for sake of immediate comfort and material wealth (not much chance of that either).
Creavolution writes:
What does evolution hold in store for us?
Sorry, it's pretty bleak. We won't have a chance to evolve much further physically in the scant few generations it will take for us to completely destroy this planet - unless you believe we will somehow develop technology for a self-sustainable existence on other planets. Good luck.