> Robert Seeberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [Snip everything for the sake of a tangent] > > The question going through my mind is : Are genetic > imperatives rational?
Not at all. Just look at how insane MAD war is/was, although in caveman days it made genetic sense to wipe out a competing tribe in times of severe privation (say many years of drought and famine). > I'm going to take it for granted that Erik is > arguing from a > moral/ethical point of view, and in that he is > correct in describing Gary's scenario as irrational. > > But from a genetic point of view I think the answers > are very > different. Once you have reproduced, a parents sole > (in terms of > genetics) purpose in life is to protect ones > offspring. (And/or to produce more.) > > Another idea that comes to mind is that morality and > ethics are new > things that have only existed for a few thousand > years, but genetic > imperatives have been around for at least a billion > years. Our brains likewise have many many millions of years steeped in "reptile" mode & function [food, sex], many millions of years in "mammal" mode [food, sex, offspring, social hierarchy], millions in primate mode [food, sex, offspring, social hierarchy and society, curiosity/fun], and much less as _Homo sapiens_ the thinking, dancing, singing ape. [The above is a stick-figure drawing, but brain structure and function can be thought of in these terms; this is from a classroom lecture on the 'hind, mid- and fore' brain: http://www.cbn-atl.org/edu_resources/classroom/brainintro.pdf "...Although all vertebrates have three main brain regions, the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain, there are many adaptations by these classes in their neuronal structures. For example, the components of the cerebellum vary greatly across classes. Fish have the most primitive cerebellar organization since they do not need to support their weight on land. The amphibian and reptilian cerebellums are quite similar and are intermediate in complexity. The most complicated cerebellums are present in birds and mammals. Both the mammalian and avian cerebellums are convoluted (folded) and the mammalian cerebellum has a much more complicated pattern of development. The avian cerebellum has a central region that is highly developed for flying while the mammalian cerebellum has a lateral (sideways) expansion. Bat brains have one of the most interesting cerebellums since they have both the lateral expansion that you see in mammals and the highly developed central region for flying. One can see that as the cerebellum increases in complexity across classes of vertebrates, the ability to perform more complicated tasks and finer control of movements were developed. "Although not obvious from an external examination of the brain, the limbic system shows great differences across vertebrate classes. In fact, some scientists believe that the limbic system did not truly exist until mammals that would suggest that the lower classes of animals do not have emotions the same as mammals. However, even fish can learn to avoid areas where punishments were given so it is likely that the functions of the limbic system are present in these other classes in some modified form. The largest distinction among the vertebrate classes is the expansion of the cerebral cortex. The forebrain is the area of the brain that one can see the most changes in across the vertebrate classes. Mammals have the relatively new structure of a neo-cortex that is not present in lower animals. The changes in the forebrain across the classes are some of the most prominent differences in the various classes. In fact, the frontal lobes of the cortex, and specifically the prefrontal cortex at the very rostral (front) part of the frontal lobes are more elaborate and larger in humans than other primates. The prefrontal cortex is important for planning, complex intellectual activities such as sorting a deck of cards and the emotional response to pain..." Emotions evolved as a survival mechanism; fear insures speeding away from danger, anger insures the ability to fight when one must, love insures the survival of offspring to maturity. None of these gut feelings are absolutely logical, but that does not diminish their impact or continued necessity. Instead of dismissing them, they should be utilized _for_what_they_are_worth_; not to be blindly obeyed, but not to be ignored either. In working with both people and horses, I pay careful attention to what the other makes me _feel_, because that is valuable information in helping me deal with the problem or situation. Debbi Limbic Limbo "Lower, Now!" Maru ;) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
