X-Message-Number: 17012 Subject: Re: Re: Why beings of the future WILL reanimate us Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 21:17:34 -0700 (PDT) From: (Peter C. McCluskey) (Lee Corbin) writes: >Message #16984 >Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 10:29:28 -0700 >Peter McCluskey wrote >>Yet you mention the animals with which we cooperate the most. Pigs >>are about as smart, but because of our interest in eating them, we >>have much less concern for their interests. > >The fact that we have SOME concern for the interests (e.g. feelings) >of some animals is what is significant. It is unpersuasive to claim >that our efforts to treat these animals humanely arises entirely from >our self interest, unless one starts down the idiotic slope of claiming >that everything that anyone does is for a selfish reason. I am not claiming that our genes never make mistakes. I am claiming that the rules for our behavior result from our genes' attempts at selfishness. You admit we "have some built-in sympathy", yet you seem to have no theory that would explain what built it in. I.e. you sound like Gould finding spandrels where I see the results of evolution. >>When deciding whether to respect the interests of beings not closely >>related to oneself, the difference between a gene's interests and a >>person's interests seems unimportant. I'm still unclear about whether >>you are advocating ethical systems which require genes to behave >>altruistically. > >It's unbelievable to hear you say this. My God. "The difference >between a gene's interests and a person's interest seems unimportant"????? > >Frankly, I don't and shouldn't (and everyone I know doesn't and shouldn't) >care very much at all about someone's genes, whereas I (and most people) >care a lot about many people. I think that you misspoke. I don't understand how you managed to interperet my statement that way. I meant that your interest in the rights of, say, horses is about the same as your genes' interest in the rights of those horses. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peter McCluskey | Fed up with democracy's problems? Examine Futarchy: http://www.rahul.net/pcm | http://hanson.gmu.edu/futarchy.pdf or .ps Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=17012