xilog:Quote:I think genetic reductionists like Dawkins think that the explanation has to be an explanation of how possession of that characteristic improves the reproductive success of the individual who possesses it. I am a "group selectionist" because I believe that often the best explan...

Quote: Surely you don't imagine that the group selection debate has arisen because some people don't know that individuals live or die?Perhaps I misunderstand what is meant by "group selection", but as I have seen it explained by opponents and proponents (including Dr. Bloom), it always co...

Quote: Surely anything beginning "real biology has to be explained" cannot be a scientific theory (let alone a fact). It can only be a methodological dogma. None of the above. Some things are so basic that they are apparent and necessary. It doesn't take an experiment, hypothesis, or theor...

Thanks!

Quote: Group selectionists, says Bloom, have their champion in none other than Charles Darwin, who argued that individuals can better pass on their DNA by being members of a group,this is the worst kind of straw-man argument, and it is exactly the source of my distaste for Bloom. OF COURSE individua...

"When the evidence does not fit the theory, the scientist discards the theory - the theologian discards the evidence." Edited by: Jeremy1952 at: 12/30/02 11:10:16 pm

It isn't something I have a deep understanding of, so I'm probably not the right person to explain it. I was kinda hoping another member could put it "in a nutshell" for us, and maybe knows why, or if, it is getting some scientific hackles up.

Quote:I have probably read less about evolution than most on this board, but it seems the "hard scientists" in this group that don't accept memes or group evolution have a problem to overcome: Humans and many other animals communicate.Memetics and "group evolution" are two entire...

I have noticed that I, personally, fear death. I also understand that it is quite irrational. No matter how bad things get, humans rarely commit suicide. I attribute both facts to the same source: evolved survival attributes. Not killing ones self and fearing death both have survival value. Neither ...

I have noticed that I, personally, fear death. I also understand that it is quite irrational. No matter how bad things get, humans rarely commit suicide. I attribute both facts to the same source: evolved survival attributes. Not killing ones self and fearing death both have survival value. Neither ...