Xref: utzoo soc.men:2386 soc.women:8802 sci.misc:713
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!im4u!ut-sally!husc6!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!gf
From: gf@dasys1.UUCP (G Fitch)
Newsgroups: soc.men,soc.women,sci.misc
Subject: Re: Rape a reproductive advantage?
Message-ID: <2544@dasys1.UUCP>
Date: 14 Jan 88 14:56:03 GMT
References: <511@gtx.com>
Organization: The Big Electric Cat
Lines: 39



In article <511@gtx.com>, al@gtx.com (0732) writes:
> 
> It [the idea that rape may be a reproductive advantage] is 
> neither funny nor amuusing.  It is a very distasteful idea. However,
> whether or not we like the idea has nothing to do with whether it is true 
> or not. It probably is false, but not obviously false.  I reject the
> attitude that certain ideas are too politically unpleasant to have
> a chance of being true, though.  

But Science is a collection of theories about phenomena, not "Truth".
For example, the Copernican theory of celestial mechanics isn't "true",
but it's better than the Ptolmaic theory (because to most people it's
prettier and makes calculation easier.)  Scientific theories are
evolved with some attitude or purpose in mind, and any scientific theory which
seems to legitimate oppression will be promptly used for that purpose.
The Nazis used theories of racial difference to justify killing ten
or twelve million people and start a war which brought ruin and infamy
on Germany.  Later the theories were shown to be false, but the dead
did not come back to life.  A few years ago, Herrnstein's(sp?) theories
about racial difference were used by the Mayor of New York to justify
a continuation of the conditions under which certain racial minorities
live here: "they don't do any better because they can't do any better,
so we don't have to worry about it."  In the modern world, theories of 
racial difference and the like will probably lead to civil war.  What 
happens to Science then?

An additional point in reference to this discussion: in primates,
especially humans, sex (voluntary) is supposed to be used to bring
about the social cohesion required to support, among other things,
the very long process of bringing up the young.  The offspring of
rapists would presumably have a poorer chance of survival during
childhood.  I wonder if this has ever been studied.
 
-- 
G Fitch	        				{uunet}!mstan\
The Big Electric Cat     {ihnp4,harvard,philabs}!cmcl2!cucard!dasys1!gf
New York City, NY, USA  (212) 879-9031          {sun}!hoptoad/