> FB:
> This is the theme of my article Alive and Human. Evolution and Reason
> are two decoupled survival systems. Reason provides analogies to
> Evolution in a different level, like superseding biological adaptation
> with technological adaptation. Other examples can be found in the
> aforementioned article (google groups). For all practical considerations
> evolution is stopped and that is the main difference between Rational
> Living Beings (Man) and Irrational Living Beings. 

JE:-
It is totally incorrect to argue that because
humans employ reason they are not subject to Darwinian
natural selection or that Darwinian evolution and reason
are somehow, "decoupled". Humans remain unique in 
that they live in _enormous_ sized trading groups
which provide _geometric_ (but not necessarily equal)
fitness gains to all these grouped  _individuals_
(note: no group selection is required). To
make mutualised trading groups work our species evolved
mental as well as physical, _specialisations_. The
range of mental/physical abilities within a trading super
tribe has to be _very_ extensive. What matters is that 
a selected RANGE of ability compliments in a mutualistic 
way at the individual Darwinistic level of selection so
that goods and services can be produced and distributed
providing larger gains to all the trading individuals.
To be able to make such a trading system work more
individuals with "working skills" are required than
those with "intellectual" skills. Thus nature would
evolve such a range of mental/physical abilities to 
suit trading conditions via natural selection acting
on individuals (not groups). If this range of ability
was incorrect then absolute Darwinian fitness would drop
for _all_ concerned because the mean gains from trading
would drop per individual. Such a high level of 
social selection (the individual remains the selectee
but the group becomes a selector so again, no group
selection is involved) is unique to humans. The
only unique adaptation that humans have is trade. No other
living species has been observed to trade. However,
read almost any tract on human evolution and you
will find that trade is hardly even mentioned. The
tragedy remains that trade as a highly mutualised
process has become almost totally politicised. For over
50 years gene centric Neo Darwinism has politicised
evolutionary theory with totally inappropriate and
politically sensitive terms as "altruism" and "selfishness".
The rational concept of mutualism has been swept aside in a 
swath of politically motivated nonsense, e.g. Hamilton's rule
which was incorrectly supposed to be able to measure
when organism fitness altruism (OFA) could evolve within
nature after group selection failed to be able to do so
(I refer reader's to my extensive posting on this concept).
This has allowed "Sociobiology" etc to thrive. Billions of
taxpayer's dollars are being consumed by political bigots
in the name of "science". The cost is that REAL Darwinian 
fitness mutualisation has been ignored.


Regards,

John Edser
Independent Researcher

PO Box 266
Church Pt
NSW 2105
Australia

edser{at}tpg.com.au
---
þ RIMEGate(tm)/RGXPost V1.14 at BBSWORLD * Info{at}bbsworld.com

---
 * RIMEGate(tm)V10.2áÿ* RelayNet(tm) NNTP Gateway * MoonDog BBS
 * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 10/7/04 9:54:06 PM