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Altruism
Jesse S. Cook III (jcook@AWOD.COM)
Sun, 28 Jul 1996 11:27:53 -0400
Dear Larry,
Thank you for your reply of 27 July to my reply of 25 July to your reply of
24 July to Adrian Tanner. I don't understand all of it, especially the
parts having to do with being conscious or aware of
this-that-and-the-other-thing. The only part I can comment on is:
"I just wanted to point out that there is a biological def. [sic] of
altruism that it would behoove one to know in order to clarify the concepts
[sic] at issue."
Presumably, the biological definition that you here refer to is that given
in your original reply:
"The standard biological definition of altruism is when one organism
provides fitness benefits to another at some fitness cost to itself."
I don't see that that clarifies anything. When I eat anything, I am eating
an organism that is, thereby, providing a "fitness benefit" to me, another
organism, obviously at some cost to itslef.
Jesse S. Cook III E-Mail: jcook@awod.com
Post Office Box 40984 or
Charleston, SC 29485 USA 201-9573@mcimail.com
"Our attitude toward others is not determined by who *they* are;
it is determined by who *we* are."
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