tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post7796424950228799539..comments2023-10-10T08:02:18.073-04:00Comments on Rationally Speaking: From the APA: Darwinism and mindUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-29671172074521344222010-01-04T05:35:19.669-05:002010-01-04T05:35:19.669-05:00I strongly dislike Dupré: his arguments are ill-co...I strongly dislike Dupré: his arguments are ill-considered and repeatedly silly. Dennett's review of <i>Human Nature and the Limits of Science</i> is good.<br /><br />Massimo: as you know, phylogenetic comparison is not the only way to test evolutionary hypotheses.Anony Mousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08077107616686254136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-72869368648459516042009-12-31T08:34:30.214-05:002009-12-31T08:34:30.214-05:00Collden,
first off, Dupre's point is not that...Collden,<br /><br />first off, Dupre's point is not that evolution is irrelevant here. But no, we understood that obesity was bad for our health well before there was any influence of evolutionary theory in medical practice. You can simply verify the physiologically negative effects of being obese and be done.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099460671669064269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-33935054551704905742009-12-30T14:08:42.581-05:002009-12-30T14:08:42.581-05:00Nick I like to call it Physics Ennui. ;-)
The bes...Nick I like to call it Physics Ennui. ;-)<br /><br />The best response to the sort of reductionism (parading as adherence to Ockham's Razor) I have ever read is Alonzo Chuch: http://platosbeard.org/archives/457.Ravihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11142174677242332646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-50576263074484358742009-12-30T12:52:04.612-05:002009-12-30T12:52:04.612-05:00Massimo, thank you for the summary and comments, a...Massimo, thank you for the summary and comments, as also the pointer to John Dupre, whom I did not know about at all.Ravihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11142174677242332646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-46381917728661659662009-12-30T12:38:11.722-05:002009-12-30T12:38:11.722-05:00"Dupré proposes that physiology does need a t..."Dupré proposes that physiology does need a theory of normal and abnormal function, but that it does not need evolution to arrive at one"<br /><br />Correct me if I misinterpreted this, but one example - obesity. Don't you need an evolutionary rationale on which to base an opinion of whether it reflects normal physiological function to respond to abundant food by indiscriminately storing it to the point of severe obesity, or if it rather indicates a pathological/abnormal state?Colldénhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10664747492507357479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-68395684926479022832009-12-30T12:20:32.171-05:002009-12-30T12:20:32.171-05:00Thanks for all this!
The alternative view John pu...Thanks for all this!<br /><br /><i>The alternative view John puts forth is that we should take much more seriously cultural evolution (and/or its interaction with biological evolutionary mechanisms), which explains how humans became humans with comparatively little input from standard genetic evolutionary theory.</i><br /><br />Try, just TRY convincing most people of this. You can't do it. They are emotionally wedded to the idea that natural selection and genetics can tell us interesting and important facts about "human nature".<br /><br />The idea is basically a disease in our intellectual culture, one which has taken a firm hold in pop-psychology, pop-sociology, etc., and which continues to have a massive influence over what the ordinary person thinks about themselves.Vanitashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03190524739107446297noreply@blogger.com