Terence, you are wrong on any number of points. First, you contend that It is the capacity for rational thought. [that separates man from the animals] That is incorrect. Animals are not only capable of solving intellectual problems, but also of passing the solution to those problems on to their cohorts. In any event, the word rational is both teleological and normative, and so must be dismissed.
Second, humans are certainly instinctual in any number of behaviors. To deny this is tantamount to blindness. Look at the suckling behavior of an infant, or the defense of an infant by his mother. These are two very simple, easily understood instinctive behaviors. There are many more if you choose to look.
Then you say, in support of the proposition that you accept the thesis of evolution that : [you] embrace the highest evolved state to date: the human who utilizes his/her rational mind.
Once again, this is wrong. The human mind is no more highly evolved than a flower's nectary and the butterfly's tongue so cleverly adapted to lap the nectar. You are simply demonstrating an anthropocentrism -- the idea that humans are better than other organism. Perhaps you value the human mind above all other adapatations, but that is quite different from claiming a more highly evolved state. In point of fact, all extant organisms are equally evolved. Look at the rapid and sustained evolution of viruses capable of defeating existing vaccines every few years.
You go on to say that Tribalism today contributes mainly to racism and war. True if you take out the word mainly. Tribalism also contributes to education, medical science, and the existence of the internet-- the medium we now share. Are you and I not part of the same tribe?
TTFN,
CTC |
