A spider web has no "awe".
A flower has no intrinsic beauty.
A redwood is just a tree.
Just as a humming bird is just a bird.
The awe, the beauty, the hushed tones deep in the redwood forest, the delight watching a feeding humming bird, belong to us.
We do have a tendency to graft our thoughts on to the object of them.
Harry
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Brian wrote:
Keith wrote:
We may not
have the sort of detailed instincts that, say, a spider has when spinning a
web, but I think most scientists in various human disciplines would agree
that genetic propensities feature strongly.
Keith,
I find no solace what so ever in the expression 'detailed instincts' It is nothing but a 'black box'. If you add chemical messages, genetics, dna, etc., I still feel none the wiser. I like Whitman watch a spider make its web and am in awe. Teenagers might say 'awesome' ; I tend to be even more moved and say 'awe full'.
Stephen Jay Gould and company say there is no need for an ' intelligent designer' in evolutionary theory, I disagree. I see it plainly in the spider's web and in Beethoven's 10th - Ode to Joy. But of course I consult the oracle and you consult the physist.
Take care,
Brian
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Harry Pollard
Henry George School of LA
Box 655
Tujunga CA 91042
Tel: (818) 352-4141
Fax: (818) 353-2242
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