Re: [asa] An Evolutionary Theory of Right and Wrong

On 10/31/06, Pim van Meurs <pimvanmeurs@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Are we now confusing morality and religion?
>

A little bit, but the intersection between the two is so strong you cannot
really separate them. Even if you can explain morality absent religion, you
have to explain religious morality because while altruism is part of
religious morality it is certainly not all of it.

Seems that Dawkins accepts that ethical values may spread because they are
> good for us. Back to the original question: Is Dawkins denying any role for
> genetics in morality (and religion) and is Hauser denying any role for
> memetics?
>

I would answer the former in the affirmative since he classifies the Good
Samaritan as one of the "misfirings". As for the latter, I am not familiar
enough with his writings to answer but it seems unnecessary to me to have to
accept something as flaky as memetics once you have some semblance of a
genetic component.

What I find interesting in contemplating both of these approaches is how
they need to twist evolutionary theory to work in this context. The
following quote from The Origin of Species comes to mind:

Though nature grants long periods of time for the work of natural selection,
> she does not grant an indefinite period; for as all organic beings are
> striving to seize on each place in the economy of nature, if any one species
> does not become modified and improved in a corresponding degree with its
> competitors it will be exterminated. Unless favourable variations be
> inherited by some at least of the offspring, nothing can be effected by
> natural selection. [emphasis mine]
>

Dawkins in his memes denies any real kind of genetic inheritance. Natural
selection does not work unless the traits are heritable. Cooperative
behavior can be heritable if the cooperation is along the blood lines.
Once it is outside of blood lines you get really shaky concepts such as
Hauser's group fitness. Since evolution works so well to explain other
traits of life, it is natural that people would try to apply it here. In
this context, though, it fails miserably and betrays a forced fit.

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Received on Tue Oct 31 20:38:31 2006