ibshambat@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> Another false direction is that of seeing the world as a battle of all
> against all, or of competition as man's sole nature. In fact, studies
> of nature have shown that there is plenty of behaviors done by animals
> that benefit the species even at the cost to themselves,
At the end of the day, an animal shall either reproduce or not. If the
"cost" of a gene prevents the individual from reproducing, those genes
exit the gene pool. The gene pool is forever converging towards an
ever-changing, hypothetical optimal set of genes, which basically means
that "costly" genes are gradually eliminated from the gene pool.
In an attempt to reconcile their morality with evolution, or to justify
their own actions or beliefs, some people attempt to argue that doing
something that reduces their fitness actually increases their fitness,
which is clearly a contradiction. Evolution is a cut-throat competition,
survival of the fittest. Cooperation may be part of that, but only while
it gives a competitive edge. It can be discomforting to discover that
all your emotions are just a manifestation of your genes' selfishness,
the result of a cold and mechanical process, but it's the reality
nonetheless.
> Another false direction is the idiotic concept of "adequacy" invented
> by Alfred Adler and used by pigs of all kinds to accomplish the worst
> goals known to man. This is a concept that not only sees man as less
> than what man is, but also sees nature as less than what it is. No man
> is an adequate physical match for a tiger; he uses better technology
> to outsmart the tiger and in so doing advances the lot of mankind. It
> is innovation, not similitude, that is the source of all improvement;
> and innovation does not come from measuring oneself against existing
> methods. It comes from developing something original - and it is to
> this, that not only humanity but in fact nature owes everything that
> it has had since the bacillus.
To add to your explanation, if it was hypothetically in mankind's
interest to fly unassisted, we wouldn't suddenly evolve wings on our
backs. Evolution is a mechanical process that selects the fittest of the
genes available; it doesn't think "oh, I want two legs, ten fingers, and
some wings" and then create them.
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