X-Message-Number: 32121
From: "Kennita (Go Cryo!)" <>
Subject: Re:  Self-sacrifice - good or bad?
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 02:55:21 -0800
References: <>

John de Rivaz wrote:

> There is no doubt that self-sacrifice is observable in humans.
>
> The perpetrators of the 9/11 atrocity, and suicide bombers in  
> general are examples. But is it a beneficial trait in evolutionary  
> terms between species? I suspect that it may well not. If people  
> were not prone to do it, or be easily persuaded to do it, could wars  
> be possible? The risk of total annihilation of the human species  
> through weapons of mass destruction may have reduced, but it is by  
> no means zero even without the USSR.


I think the risk of total annihilation of the human species is a red  
herring in this argument.  Evolution can't have taken it into account  
in the development of self-sacrifice; humans have only recently become  
capable of deliberately wiping out the entire species (I contend that  
we still can't; whether we will be able to in the near future is  
unclear).  I also think self-sacrifice is irrelevant between species,  
because I think that anything that completely wiped us out would wipe  
out most other species (at least non-microscopic ones).  Arguably  
since we are the species that came up with suicide bombers, they are  
helping us evolve, since they are helping remove self-destructive  
tendencies from the gene pool.

Live long and prosper,
Kennita

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32121