Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site tove.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!mhuxn!houxm!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!hao!seismo!umcp-cs!tove!rene From: rene@tove.UUCP (Rene Steiner) Newsgroups: net.women Subject: Re: Re: Only a few nuts rape? Message-ID: <62@tove.UUCP> Date: Mon, 3-Dec-84 10:35:45 EST Article-I.D.: tove.62 Posted: Mon Dec 3 10:35:45 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 6-Dec-84 05:05:33 EST References: <10011@watmath.UUCP> <136@ihu1m.UUCP>, <10054@watmath.UUCP> <8162@watarts.UUCP> <63@timeinc.UUCP> Organization: U of Maryland, Laboratory for Parallel Computation, C.P., MD Lines: 38 > > Sometimes I think that [desire to rape] is built in genetically. >It might have value > > from an evolutionary viewpoint. > > Bullsh*t, I hope. Genetically? That assumption removes blame from each > and every one of us, whether we're offenders or not. I don't believe > it. I hope it isn't true. How could it possibly have had value in our > dim beginnings? > While I don't believe this is appropriate to apply to humans, it is true that there is evidence that there might be evolutionary benefit IN SOME SPECIES of animals (the ones I read about were deer and ducks). It works this way: some males are not allowed to mate in the normal cycle (one stag to a herd, I'm not sure how ducks work). It may be of personal evolutionary benefit for the loner to rape a female while the male who won the right to mate her isn't looking (perhaps mating with some other female); after all, he may get her pregnant, whereas otherwise, he wouldn't have any chance to pass on his genes. Now, as I said above, I don't think this can be applied to humans: I doubt that the purpose of rape is to make babies (although it sometimes has that result), humans are NOT deer or ducks, and it is not only "loners" who rape. This may be an explanation for the capacity to rape. This does NOT in any way "excuse" rape. I firmly believe that people are responsible for their own actions, whatever component is contributed by evolution (yes, there are many types of mental illness with physical causes, but that's a different subject). To paraphrase (since I don't remember the exact wording) a (relatively) well-known philosopher: we still have teeth and nails, but we don't bite and scratch much these days. - rene -- rene@tove My opinions are my own, and no one can take them away from me!!!