[extropy-chat] Death Toll

[Jeff Davis]

--- Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:

> At 08:52 PM 7/10/2005 -0400, Dan wrote:
> 
> >Why are we more upset by the loss of lives in
> London than by the loss of 
> >lives in Iraq?
> 
> Because we are tribal animals.
> 
> If 50 Iraqi scientists were being `executed' by
> fanatics every day or week, 
> I think we'd* be more angstish.
> 
> *those on this list
 
Succinctly put.  Tells the whole story.  Tribalism is
all.  The Rosetta stone of human behavior.  Axiom One.

Us vs the Other trumps all.  It trumps Truth vs Myth
(when the truth speaks against the interest of the
tribe, truth is discarded and replaced by a
self-serving myth), it trumps lawful vs criminal, and
without missing a beat, it trumps right vs wrong.

The only thing it cannot trump is the up close and
personal, kiss-your-sorry-ass-goodbye prospect of
imminent annhilation.

Training oneself to escape the instinct-mediated
"trap" of tribal loyalty is arguably Transhuman
Enhancement One.

Best, Jeff Davis

"We're a band of higher primates stuck on the surface
of an atmosphere-hazed dirtball. I can associate with
that. I certainly can't identify with which patch of
the dirtball I currently happen to be on, and which
monkey tribe happens to reside therein.

Only by taking the big view we can make it a common
dream, and then a reality. It's worth it."
                               Eugen Leitl



		
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