[extropy-chat] is spreading ones own genes relevant, or just an anachronism ?

[Mike Lorrey]

--- user <user at dhp.com> wrote: 
> On Tue, 23 Aug 2005, kevinfreels.com wrote: 
> > When you die, you lose. It doesn't matter if your genes persist.
> Eh ... this sounds very selfish.  

Genes are selfish. Why shouldn't you be too?

> If my genes contain:
> 
> a) fitness
> b) the ability to attract other mates of equal or greater fitness
> 
> and if my most cherished _intellectual_ goal is the continuation and
> enlargement of the human race, then it would seem that I lose if I do
> not maximize the tools I have to push that goal along ...
> 
> I would think a better definition of losing would refer to losing in
> terms of the intellectual goal - which means you lose if your actions
> produce a net drag, or loss, on the expansion and betterment of
> humankind. 

Your "intellectual goal" is nothing more than a rationalization for
being a slave to your urges. You are like a house negroe quoting
property law to justify his own enslavement.

> 
> And in the course of this topic, I am trying to hypothetically decide
> what is a bigger net gain for humanity: my raising 2-3 kids hands on,
> or fighting it out in the mate finding contest (against a fairly
> strong tide of tradition, culture, and probably laws and finances)
> to see if I am really as fit as I think I am.

Evolution for humans stopped being darwinian a long time ago, it is now
Lamarckian in the arena of memetic evolution. If you want immortality,
adopt lots of kids, teach them well to become titans in whatever fields
they endeavor in, and your name will be immortalized as the father of
giants. Many know who Erasmus Darwin was. Many can tell you who William
Gates II was, who were the fathers of JFK, George HW Bush, Michael
Douglas, John Quincy Adams, and Emilio Estevez.


Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
Founder, Constitution Park Foundation:
http://constitutionpark.blogspot.com
Personal/political blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com


		
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