Re: Atheism and homosexua
Gerold Firl (geroldf@sdd.hp.com)
23 Aug 1996 19:52:16 GMT
In article <4vgogd$lnf@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>, ahimoe@prairienet.org (Albert Himoe) writes:
|> To: shaad@leland.Stanford.EDU (Shaad M. Ahmad)
|> Subject: Re: Atheism and homosexua
|> >> These arguments, while simplistic, do not take into account notions
|> > such as kin selection. For instance, if a particular allele of a gene leads
|> > one individual carrying it to sacrifice herself in order to save several
|> > of her siblings or close relatives
|> > for.
|> > I fail to see why a similar argument cannot be made in the case of
|> > homosexuality in humans.
|> I believe this argument has been made, by Edward Wilson. It seems a
|> bit far-fetched to me. You would have to postulate a large role of
|> homosexuals in promoting the reproduction of siblings. I don't see it.
It may not be apparent in modern society, but wilson was suggesting
that it may have been more important during our prehistoric past, when
homosexuals could have had a higher probability of functioning as some
kind of shaman/priest/holy man within a small band or tribal society,
translating their status into a differential advantage for their near
relations. The proposal has some merit.
--
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=---- Gerold Firl @ ..hplabs!hp-sdd!geroldf
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