Here's why you should help the poor. Recall that evolution is linked to Dawkins' selfish gene theory: the species that survives over time is the one which possesses the gene that champions it's survival better than others. However it's better to think of meme's instead of genes and families instead of species. So then we can say that the family that survives is that which possesses the meme that champions its survival. In this case that meme is wealth accumulation. Wealthy families survive (see Rothschild & Winsor while poor families don't even have famous family names.)
There's a problem. Poor people possess political power. If the poor aren't placated with charity and lotteries and celebrity they may actually think that the economic system of the time needs overturning. An uprising would have the wealthy families poor. They can't have that so they help the poor. So the meme that "we should help the less fortunate" endorses self-preservation by the wealthy families. Charity can entirely explained by memetics and evolution.
ANON: YOU THOROUGHLY CAPTIONED THIS ENTRY! I AM SURE IT WOULD BE HARD FOR ANYONE TO UNVANQUISH (IS THIS A WORD?) THEMSELVES AFTER TAKING IN WHAT YOU ARE SAYING HERE! THANKS FOR THIS COMMENT.
The Christian group doesn't understand evolution because they perceive it through a distorted capitalistic framework (as promoting selfish, self-reliant individualism).
If social cooperation and sharing promote human survival and reproduction to a greater extent than selfish individualism, then the former is more compatible with evolution than the latter. The reverse is true should selfish individualism promote human survival and reproduction to a greater extent than social cooperation and sharing.
Evolutionary selection occurs simultaneously at several genetic levels, whether this involves the genetics of an individual, the genetics of a family group, the genetics of a tribe, the genetics of a race, or the genetics of the entire human race. Thus, evolutionary selection doesn't intrinsically favor selfishness over altruism (or vice versa).
For reasons that are similar to the Christian group, Richard Dawkins doesn't understand evolutionary theory either. The Selfish Gene is a highly misleading book that masquerades as science.
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That's absolutely hilarious!
ReplyDeleteHere's why you should help the poor. Recall that evolution is linked to Dawkins' selfish gene theory: the species that survives over time is the one which possesses the gene that champions it's survival better than others. However it's better to think of meme's instead of genes and families instead of species. So then we can say that the family that survives is that which possesses the meme that champions its survival. In this case that meme is wealth accumulation. Wealthy families survive (see Rothschild & Winsor while poor families don't even have famous family names.)
There's a problem. Poor people possess political power. If the poor aren't placated with charity and lotteries and celebrity they may actually think that the economic system of the time needs overturning. An uprising would have the wealthy families poor. They can't have that so they help the poor. So the meme that "we should help the less fortunate" endorses self-preservation by the wealthy families. Charity can entirely explained by memetics and evolution.
Vanquishing wingnuts with science makes my day.
ANON: YOU THOROUGHLY CAPTIONED THIS ENTRY! I AM SURE IT WOULD BE HARD FOR ANYONE TO UNVANQUISH (IS THIS A WORD?) THEMSELVES AFTER TAKING IN WHAT YOU ARE SAYING HERE! THANKS FOR THIS COMMENT.
ReplyDeleteThe Christian group doesn't understand evolution because they perceive it through a distorted capitalistic framework (as promoting selfish, self-reliant individualism).
ReplyDeleteIf social cooperation and sharing promote human survival and reproduction to a greater extent than selfish individualism, then the former is more compatible with evolution than the latter. The reverse is true should selfish individualism promote human survival and reproduction to a greater extent than social cooperation and sharing.
Evolutionary selection occurs simultaneously at several genetic levels, whether this involves the genetics of an individual, the genetics of a family group, the genetics of a tribe, the genetics of a race, or the genetics of the entire human race. Thus, evolutionary selection doesn't intrinsically favor selfishness over altruism (or vice versa).
For reasons that are similar to the Christian group, Richard Dawkins doesn't understand evolutionary theory either. The Selfish Gene is a highly misleading book that masquerades as science.
ULTRAGREEN: SAD, BUT TRUE!
ReplyDelete