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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.bio,net.origins,net.philosophy
Subject: Re: the Goal of evolution
Message-ID: <1491@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-May-86 17:50:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: mmintl.1491
Posted: Wed May 21 17:50:24 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 24-May-86 05:25:50 EDT
References: <487@bcsaic.UUCP> <1002@cybvax0.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
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Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
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Xref: linus net.bio:358 net.origins:3102 net.philosophy:5004

In article <1494@umcp-cs.UUCP> flink@maryland.UUCP (Paul V Torek) writes:
>
>In article <1382@mmintl.UUCP> franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams) writes:
>>Let me change the semantics here a bit.  "Evolution" per se has no goals;
>>but I think it makes sense to say that the species which are evolving  do
>>have a goal: to survive.  (And the individuals of the species have the more
>>complex goal of perpetuating their genes.)
>
>>  I am inclined to agree that
>>understanding is necessary in order to have goals; but I think
>>the genetic information in the DNA does constitute a rudimentary kind
>>of understanding.  (Very rudimentary, if we compare it to a human's
>>understanding; but perhaps not so bad compared to a cockroach's.  I
>>have no problem ascribing goals to a cockroach.)
>
>DNA codes information, in a sense, but that seems to me about all you can
>say.  Cockroaches probably have goals, but then they probably have
>(rudimentary) minds; DNA doesn't seem to be built the right way to have
>either.  Also, a cockroach can compare its perceptions to its goals and
>figure out whether things are going the way it wants them to -- can DNA?

I'm going to back off here a bit.  I do not think that the kind of goals
associated with evolution (*not* goals *of* evolution) are quite the same
meaning of the word as we use for people and animals.  I do think it is a
useful extension of that concept in some contexts.  It may be confusing and
ambiguous, but other modes of expression are frequently very long-winded.

Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108