Somewhere, in another parallel Universe‰¥Ï.
Biology departments everywhere adopt a literal teleological
perspective (instead of our universe's metaphorical use)
where origin events (but not regularities) are interpreted
teleologically. It generates pretty much the same level of
science, perhaps more since they anticipated the existence of
biological codes and molecular machines before we did.
Yet a small group of scientists and philosophers dispute
the teleological interpretations. They note those interpretations
are heavily dependent on the metaphysics and game rules of their
science and claim history is too ambiguous to rule out a
non-teleological origin. They seek to explore such a radical
thought. Two members of this movement successfully set up
the "Darwin Institute" at a small materialistic college. Although
the college is committed to materialism, its departments adhere
to the teleological approach out of concern for their reputation
among other colleges and universities. So, when they
catch wind of the Darwin Institute, they label it as "stealth
eugenics" and seek to shut it down. After all, they argue,
it is good to discriminate against any eugenics movement that
would deny the important assumption of teleology. "If you
don't stop them," argues professor Smith, "soon we'll have
to teach our students that rape has been hard-wired into
our brains as part of their proposed mechanisms."
In this universe, my counterpart is equally concerned about
this attack on academic freedom. And strangely enough,
the counterparts of the rest of you on this board are also
as concerned and disapproving of these attempts. At least
in *that* parallel universe they are. ;)
Mike
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Apr 20 2000 - 16:09:23 EDT