An opening post

[fendymc]

"The world is like a ride at an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think that it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly coloured, and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long

Comments

[stampeding_vash]

Its very true that natural selection no longer controls our species. If it did, there wouldnt so many people with heart disease, cancer, and whatnot.

But I do not think that this will necessarily begin to affect us on a psychological level. Even with some vestigal organs disappearing, our brains have slowly grown bigger over those same years.

This reminds me of something I was told a little while ago. Its not verbatim, but this is generally what he said to me:

First there was the one celled organism. From this one cell, eventually something as complex as the fish evolved. Eventually the fish was able to evolve and grow legs, turn into a frog. Thats first frog hopped out of the water and gave that first croak. From that croak, all the ideas and philosophies we have today came. If that one croak can become what we have now, what can what we have now become?

[whatdeadline]

The only reason natural selection is no longer at work in the human population is because what used to be weaknesses aren't weaknesses anymore. And what isn't a weakness isn't harmful, either; it isn't helpful, sure, but it no longer affects our ability to survive. For instance, I'm near-sighted, but because this doesn't hinder my ability to obtain food, shelter, or offspring, being near-sighted no longer harms me, or any of the other near-sighted individuals in the population. So it isn't counterproductive to the species at all

[stampeding_vash]

"So what we really need now is a giant, world-spanning plague, if we want to give our evolution a little jump-start."

i dont see how tat would give us a jump start, just becuase we all become immune some disease doesnt necessarily mean we will evolve in other ways, right?

"Do you think that might be what most people would do, once they figure out that it's all just a ride?"

for some people, i wouldnt be surprise. personally, i know its all a ride. i know that nothing i do here really matters, so i just think to myself "what do i want to matter?" the answer for me is enlightenment. the main purpose i live is to learn and be enlightened. i know theres np point to it, but i enjoy it.

[whatdeadline]

The process of becoming immune to the disease IS evolution. Right now, we are prolonging the lives of people with things that are harmful to the species; if this made-up disease were to appear that couldn't be treated, that no matter what medical technologies we used, could not prolong the life of the people who had it, and the trait "I can catch this disease" will not be passed on to offspring. The trait "I am immune to this disease" would have a much better chance of being passed on, however.

Evolution is just a by-product of natural selection. I was just trying to make the point that the only way to have natural selection work on a world-wide scale for humans is to have, basically, something that really harms us. If something harms us, those who adapt survive best, and those who survive best pass on this abilitity to survive to more offspring than those who don't survive.

"for some people, i wouldnt be surprise. personally, i know its all a ride. i know that nothing i do here really matters, so i just think to myself "what do i

[stampeding_vash]

i see what you mean, but what im saying is we may evolve to be immune to this disease, but that doesnt necessarily mean we will be jumpstarted into evolving in other ways.

and thanks^_^ that way of looking at things make life a lot easier

[floyd_pepper_]

I'm about to leave, so I haven't got the time to voice my opinions.
But I'd like to say thank you for making this community.
I'm excited for future discussions.
And good luck.

[azilut]

I prefer the term "self-interest" to "greed", because it avoids some of the negative connotations you noted

[derv1sh]

As long as we live in a capitalist society, Greed is 'necessary' in all conotations of that word.

I agree with Hobbes in a lot of ways. Capitalism facilitates a State of Nature where the survival of the fittest allows us to breed and develope. For instance, we need Greed in order to aquire money and thus be most attractive to possible mates. Peacocks with wads of cash instead of feathers.

The state of nature is an environment where humans are to live a short and brutal life, taking what they can to get by. Anyone that falls below the comfort of the Middle Classes can appreciate this the most. The morality within this state is that of fulfilling one's interests in the most amoral manner. Its brutal and the most applicable form of war (warre).

However, I dont think humans are like this. Its the environment in which they exist which causes such egoism. Change the society and we change Human behaviour.