tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post6428789342664243244..comments2023-10-10T08:02:18.073-04:00Comments on Rationally Speaking: Disgusting, isn't it?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-16683469087006482762007-07-03T09:15:00.000-04:002007-07-03T09:15:00.000-04:00An interesting sidebar to how the feeling of disgu...An interesting sidebar to how the feeling of disgust modifies our judgments. (perhaps off topic, but interesting)<BR/><BR/>Yesterday my wife and I were looking at a house we are were considering buying. I had had very little sleep, and no breakfast. My stomach was unsettled because of that anyway. This house is owned by an elderly couple, and her sister lives there also, so it smelled of old lady perfume, which contributed to my gastric unease. The thing is, my "gut" feeling was that I didn't like the house. My wife loved it, and once I got out into the open air, I realized I was misjudging it.<BR/><BR/>This is, I think an example of what Damasio calls the "Somatic marker hypothesis."<BR/><BR/>On topic, conservatives value things liberals find to be vices, such as believing things on faith, kids not questioning their parents at all, undying loyalty ("You're doing a great job, Brownie.") They think we don't get it, we think they don't get it.<BR/><BR/>I think the adaptive landscape has changed some, but not as much as we would like to think. Some of those conservative values are good when intelligently modulated IMHO.John Krehbielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10078079001156415151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-63813604772453761612007-06-29T15:27:00.000-04:002007-06-29T15:27:00.000-04:00Every adaptive pathway has pitfalls. It's just tha...Every adaptive pathway has pitfalls. It's just that conservatives stupidly fall into all the pits, like the dead animals trapped in the La Brea Tar.<BR/><BR/>It's great to be loyal to a group of a dozen members when you're living in the Pleistocene, and food is scarce, and survival is hard. But in the 21st century loyalty to a leader or group, damn the evidence that they're incompetent fools, is itself an example of the Pied Piper leading rats into the river. <BR/><BR/>Like magicians, politicians use our human adaptive traits to trick us. Except political trickery is evil and not a bit entertaining. <BR/><BR/>How many times has Bush invoked 911, in order to keep Americans fearful and pliable?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-55686794284356251662007-06-28T22:11:00.000-04:002007-06-28T22:11:00.000-04:00“We are repelled by the prospect of cloning human ...“We are repelled by the prospect of cloning human beings"<BR/><BR/>No, I am not. And I haven't forgotten how to shudder... For example, I shudder thinking such "luminary" used to be the chair of the President's Council on Bioethics. I think cloning human beings is not to be done (yet, maybe ever) because it's not proved to be safe. And besides, there are much more fun ways to generate kids, you know... And for those who are unable, adoption is cool too -- and without all the physical discomforts for the lady. Now, if it's ever working and safe, who am I to say you shouldn't clone yourself and have a belated twin?<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that's got nothing to do with Massimo's original post... :-)<BR/><BR/>JAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-30631200416446120022007-06-28T16:36:00.000-04:002007-06-28T16:36:00.000-04:00"me,"sure there *was* an adaptive value to loyalty..."me,"<BR/><BR/>sure there *was* an adaptive value to loyalty to in-group and leadership (though it's harder to see it for "spiritual purity"), but the point is that the modern cultural environment is totally different, and that those feelings are both maladaptive (they cause the war on this and against that), and just plain ethically misguided.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099460671669064269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-63668341222730281742007-06-28T15:46:00.000-04:002007-06-28T15:46:00.000-04:00To argue that conservatives are being tricked by e...To argue that conservatives are being tricked by evolution would imply that there is no adaptive value in having those strong feelings - but certainly there must be some adaptive value in: loyalty to members of the in-group, respect for authority, and “spiritual” purity. <BR/><BR/>Someone who stands alone is more likely to die alone.Derek (formerly 'me')https://www.blogger.com/profile/01993249375321760846noreply@blogger.com