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From: dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,soc.men,soc.women,sci.misc
Subject: Re: Rape: a reproductive advantage?
Message-ID: <1933@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Date: 23 Jan 88 17:20:47 GMT
References: <517@gtx.com> <5129@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> <2201@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <263@vsi1.UUCP> <365@rruxa.UUCP>
Reply-To: dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi)
Distribution: na
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana
Lines: 20

In article <365@rruxa.UUCP> mjm@rruxa.UUCP (M Muller) writes:
>I've described two human behaviors which many people 
>consider to be the result of complex social and power-related dynamics:
>rape and child abuse.  I've shown how the rather popular analysis 
>of the "biological advantage" of rape can be applied with equal "logic" to 
>the analysis of the "biological advantage" of child abuse.

Not convincing.  I see no evolutionary advantage to merely hurting a
child, which can only increase the parent's burden, not lighten it.
There might be an evolutionary advantage to selectively killing
children, though.  You might wish to redo your analysis with the focus
on killing one's child.

Child sacrifice has often been considered quite honorable, going all
the way back to the biblical example of Abraham being promised untold
riches because of his willingness to perform one.

Besides, analogies cannot prove.  They can only explain.
-- 
Rahul Dhesi         UUCP:  <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee,uunet}!bsu-cs!dhesi