----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 8:05 PM Subject: Re: The Mercies of The Vatican
> > In a message dated 8/24/2004 5:20:57 PM Eastern Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > The same is true for human actions. Both rape and self sacrifice for one's > kin occur. Both can be evolutionarily favored. One is immoral; one is > moral. > > > > > Rape is "favored" in some sense in that males who have little or no chance > of non-coercive copulation can procreate through rape. But, what about Genghis Kahn? IIRC, _you_ were the one who pointed out that raping conqured women is evolutionarily favored. But there are other > natural forces that mitgate against rape. One of these evolved atributes is > guilt. Morality is in fact an evolved feature, Self-sacrifice is an evolved > trait, It is really not sacrifice but rather either kin selection or recipricol > altruism. Both of these behaviors increase the reproductive success of a social > animal. Morality is the way we keep score in recipricol altruism. So, actions that help the "other" are not moral? Indeed, Jesus directly addressed this in his discussions of morality. "Don't invite your friends to dinner; they may invite you back...invite those who cannot reciprocate the favor. Moral actions that help "the other" are not evolutionarily favored. Other primates use rape as a tool of dominance. That isn't moral. Yet, it must be favored for at least some primates because it happens. As far back as Ecclesiastes, people noted that "the good die young and the wicked grow rich and live to see their children's children children." Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
