From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Mon May 01 2000 - 11:06:53 MDT
> This is exactly what I mean when I say 'fashionable' trends of thought. There
> you have three of the most popular trends of blah-blah available today in one
> sentence.
>
> 1. The selfish gene rules your actions
> 2. The lizard brain is responsible for your bad actions
> 3. Beauty is for breeding only
>
> I've experienced the same arguments over and over at cocktail parties and
> conferences -- and they are all based on mildly theoretical best sellers
> containing lots of buzzwords.
>
> I reject all three as a justification for not taking responsibility for your
> own choices.
Who ever suggested such a silly thing? Taking responsibility for
your own choices is not at all incompatible with also maintaining some
scientific integrity about the origin of one's desires. I can, at the
same time, realize how brilliantly the "Selfish Gene" idea explains
aspects of human behavior and capabilities while realizing that the
free will those genes granted me allow me to subvert their intent and
act contrary to my insticts for higher purposes. But to reject the
idea would be just as wrong as using it to justify misdeeds. And to
use the fact that some people may justify misdeeds with the ideas as
an excuse to reject them is damned sloppy thinking.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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