As we begin reading Robert Wright's book, The Moral Animal, I would like to pose a philosophical question that was prompted in Chapter 1 which is entitled "Darwin Comes of Age." When we usually talk about survival of the fittest through means of natural selection, we usually talk about the selection of the fittest genes being passed to the next generation. However, according to Wright, "if the theory of natural selection is correct, then essentially everything about the human mind should [similarly to genes] be intelligible in these terms. The basic ways we feel about each other, the basic kinds of things we think about each other and say about each other, are with us today by virtue of their past contribution to genetic sequence" (pg. 28). Therefore, if natural selection of more "fit" genes are passed on to future generations, which are intended to perfect the human race, can this process also be true of the mind, even if there is some debate as to whether it is tangibly found in the brain? Could natural selection be used to perfect the human mind, in short? What would the implications of creating the most perfect mind imaginable with respect to human nature and more specifically, the way in which humans act toward one another with respect to morality?
By the selection of the "fittest" genes, doesn't that also apply to the mind already? What I mean is, genes not only affect a person's body only, but also his mind, correct? These genes would be passed on to future generations not only with better implications on the survival of its recipients but also accompanied with the predispositions of the person who had the gene(s)in the first place; those things such as personality and mannerisms, along with particular emotions relative to the gene holder.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with both of you about the transitioning from a more physical natural selection to a more mental one, it might be worth considering that a fit mind is not entirely genetic but has to do a lot with environmental factors as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that as well. However, what are we determined by more, the environment or our genes?
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