Re: Further Evolution beyond the Human?
George C. Lindauer (gclind01@starbase.spd.louisville.edu)
15 Oct 1996 00:16:30 GMT
Adam Hibbert (a.hibbert@ucl.ac.uk) wrote:
: In article <53ga0h$496@news.sas.ab.ca>, czar@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca () wrote:
:
: > Adam Hibbert (a.hibbert@ucl.ac.uk) wrote:
: [snip]
: > : are just not an issue. There is *no* systematic pressure on a gene strain
: > : from reproductive competition in human culture.
: >
: > Unless blatant stupidity is something that can (or can't) be weeded out
: > of the gene pool. What springs immediately to mind: the kids that died
: > whilst they imitated a scene in some movie (it might have been called
: > "The Program") wherein characters in the movie lay along the center-line
: > of a busy high-speed roadway for some sort of kicks. The stupidity of
: > such actions ensured that neither their specific arrangements of genes,
: > nor their specific arrangements of memes (if it were their memes that
: > made them so foolish), would get passed on to any children they might
: > have had.
Those activities seem stupid in a given context. However, assume for the
sake of argument that death as we know it is not a real death... that
it just results in 'forgetting' who we were and becoming something new.
In that context, how can you say that death is a bad thing? I'ts already
been said that dying is considered bad; if this is actually true then
what is going to happen is that from their experience of how they
died doing something stupid they will decide not to do it again. Really,
there is so much protection going on... but what it amounts to is denying
people the personal experience that is needed to make up their own mind
about what their life should be. Personally I think you should let people
experience the consequences of their activities instead of repressing the
activities themselves.
David
:
: On the other hand, given the sophisticated set of determinants at play in
: modern behaviour, their deaths and the subsequent publicity surrounding
: them could equally well have lead to the idea (or 'meme' as you
: offensively describe it) becoming more generalised (or, I suppose you
: would say, 'propagated'). So it just ain't that simple.
:
: BTW, introducing 'memes' here is a really dangerous conceptual manouvre;
: you're going to have real trouble understanding human social development
: if you believe that ideas have a life of their own.
:
: Adam
:
: ------- Stop whining - The Point is to Change It -------
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