> Behalf Of Dan Minette > I think what separates us from the animals is the ability to see into the > future. The leader of a strong tribe which is fighting with another tribe > for control of a hunting area can think "wow if we wipe them out, > then this > is all ours." Animals don't see that. So, I'm guessing that > warfare dates > back to reason, not civilization. >
Which means perhaps that, rather than benevolent ETs out there, anyone intelligent enough to ever answer us or meet us is likely to be xenophobic. By fearing the other, you can increase the survivability of your own. Now, dare we introduce some Brin-relevant material here, perhaps the Galactic fundamentalists in the Uplift Universe were actually the ones acting most in accord with good evolutionary principles - wipe 'em out before they do us. Brett
