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From: dubois@uwmacc.UUCP (Paul DuBois)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Evidences for Religion (reposting)
Message-ID: <1299@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Jul-85 15:01:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1299
Posted: Thu Jul 18 15:01:31 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jul-85 14:33:27 EDT
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Organization: UW-Madison Primate Center
Lines: 30

>> [Jeff Sargent]
>> If human beings, as you believe, are mere biological organisms, bags of
>> protoplasm, collections of chemicals, pieces of meat, then why should there
>> be even the rudimentary morality of non-interference rules which you have
>> plugged many times?  Why should it matter in the least if one collection of
>> chemicals -- if that's all it is -- is violently put permanently out of
>> commission?
 
> [Mike Huybensz]
> Morality is an evolutionarily adaptive trait.  It can be a heuristic for
> optimizing reproductive success.  Just like intelligence.

You merely remove the question one level.  Why should evolutionary
adaptiveness be valued?  Or survival?  (Again, I may agree that they
*should be*, but why should I believe it, for reasons *you* can
give?)

> Your example resolves simply in terms of game theory: kill a relative of
> somebody and you are reducing the genetic fitness of the survivor.  Thus
> it may pay to make standing threats against people who bump off your
> relatives.  Making killing someone immoral is a shorthand that is simpler
> to teach than game theory.

Still presupposes the value of survival.  Which was the question!

-- 
                                                                    |
Paul DuBois     {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!dubois        --+--
                                                                    |
"More agonizing, less organizing."                                  |