2005-05-18

 

Evolution is a bitch!

Steven Pinker's Op-Ed is absolutely brilliant:

"What is evolutionarily adaptive and what is morally justifiable have little to do with each other."

Besides, so many biological traits are really just along for the ride that any discussion of morality based on natural order ends up in fallacy.

I would say that evolution is a bitch, and creationists are beeeatches!



Comments:
By and large the types of moral behavior people actually engage in (rather than just talk about) is evolutionarily adaptative. By this I am not implying that in reality that people are amoral. I am saying they are moral pragmatists. Most of the time they engage in cooperative behavior. They engage in minor low cost acts of minor altruism to keep a good reputation. They keep their acts of immorality minor and well hidden to avoid reprisals from society. They remain consistent in their actions to be viewed as reliable and to maintain stable behavior patterns. They only only engage in extremely altruistic or selfish acts when circumstances are extraordinary or among rare (probably brain damaged) individuals.
 

Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?


 

Hang Outs
archives