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From: laura@utcsstat.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: instincts and genes
Message-ID: <787@utcsstat.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-Jul-83 10:43:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: utcsstat.787
Posted: Mon Jul 18 10:43:06 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 18-Jul-83 13:04:43 EDT
References: <346@houti.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Toronto, Canada
Lines: 32

Until Tom Craver reads the Selfish Gene, i will have to quote from
it to discredit some of his over-generalisations. Richard Dawkins
is a respected Zoologist, and I am not a zoologist but have a strong
interest in zoology. I would rather read Dawkins than listen to laura
creighton if i were you ...

the selfish gene is not a discussion of genes from an anthropomorphic
point of view. The Selfish gene does not make a case for altruism as
instincts in animals, it MOST EMPHATICALLY claims that REASON (ie
the human mind/brain) is the only hope for altruism (if that is
desirable) because IT DOES NOT OCCUR IN NATURE. 

Now these discussions are in the forefront of zoology these days, and
it has become vogue to present animals that "behave altruistically"
as counters to this claim. So far, no one has brought me one that has
actually been behaving altruistically, given that your unit of natural
selection is something smaller than an individual. i have yet to read
of one either. this does not mean that they do not exist, for we may
have not found them yet. On the other hand, if we find them, they are
very much worth studying, perhaps more than anything else.

I am willing to discuss this, one of my favourite topics of discussion
with *anyone* who has read the Selfish Gene. I am not willing to
discuss it with anyone else unless they are an ethologist. netnews
does not have the bandwidth of a verbal conversation. i would rather
that richard dawkins made a lot of money for writing an excellent book.
Some day i may write an excellent book, and I would rather that no one
typed the whole thing in to distribute over usenet. I see no other
way i can adequately present my ideas.

Laura Creighton
utzoo!utcsstat!laura