<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 4:45 AM, Eugen Leitl <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:eugen@leitl.org">eugen@leitl.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928015.400-biology-nobelist-natural-selection-will-destroy-us.html" target="_blank">http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928015.400-biology-nobelist-natural-selection-will-destroy-us.html</a><br>
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Biology Nobelist: Natural selection will destroy us<br>
<br>
28 February 2011 by Clint Witchalls<br>
<br>
Magazine issue 2801. Subscribe and save<br>
<br>
We have evolved traits that will lead to humanity's extinction, says<br>
Christian de Duve – so we must learn to overcome them<br>
<br>
We are the most successful species on the planet, but you think we will<br>
ultimately pay the price for this success. Why?<br>
<br>
The cost of our success is the exhaustion of natural resources, leading to<br>
energy crises, climate change, pollution and the destruction of our habitat.<br>
If you exhaust natural resources there will be nothing left for your<br>
children. If we continue in the same direction, humankind is headed for some<br>
frightful ordeals, if not extinction.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Until sustainability comes before 'profit', we're on a course to extinction undoubtedly. I argue that we need to evolve past the outdated "Capitalism" we currently worship.</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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You think that natural selection has worked against us. How?<br>
<br>
Because it has no foresight. Natural selection has resulted in traits such as<br>
group selfishness being coded in our genes. These were useful to our<br>
ancestors under the conditions in which they lived, but have become noxious<br>
to us today. What would help us preserve our natural resources are genetic<br>
traits that let us sacrifice the present for the sake of the future. You need<br>
wisdom to sacrifice something that is immediately useful or advantageous for<br>
the sake of something that will be important in the future. Natural selection<br>
doesn't do that; it looks only at what is happening today. It doesn't care<br>
about your grandchildren or grandchildren's grandchildren.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>The American Indians and many other tribal peoples have known this for CENTURIES. Our 'modern/civilized' people have forgotten these age old truths. It'd be common sense to everyone if they didn't have their heads so far up their over-marketed rears.</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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You call this short-sightedness "original sin". Why did you pick this<br>
terminology?<br>
<br>
I believe that the writers of Genesis had detected the inherent selfishness<br>
in human nature that I propose is in our genes, and invented the myth of<br>
original sin to account for it. It's an image. I am not acting as an exegete<br>
- I don't interpret scripture.<br>
<br>
How can humanity overcome this "original sin"?<br>
<br>
We must act against natural selection and actively oppose some of our key<br>
genetic traits.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>We start by making decisions that benefit humanity 3 or 4 generations out. We work on some forward-thinking strategies, that allow humanity to build some real momentum, instead of all these 'bubbles' and other corrupt money schemes.</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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One solution you propose is population control, but isn't this ethically<br>
dubious?<br>
<br>
It is a simple matter of figures. If you want this planet to continue being<br>
habitable for everyone that lives here, you have to limit the number of<br>
inhabitants. Hunters do it by killing off the old or sick animals in a herd,<br>
but I don't think that's a very ethical way of limiting the population. So<br>
what remains? Birth control. We have access to practical, ethical and<br>
scientifically established methods of birth control. So I think that is the<br>
most ethical way to reduce our population.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>As survival rates increase, family size decreases. If people were born into conditions in which they had food/shelter/clothing/education...You wouldn't see people having 4,6,8 kids. They'd have 1 or 2. I think population numbers should be managed, and that a well provided for, well educated population would agree.</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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You also advocate giving more power to women. Why?<br>
<br>
Speaking as a biologist, I think women are less aggressive than men, and they<br>
play a larger role in the early education of the young and helping them<br>
overcome their genetic heirloom.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Perhaps logic to crunch things down to 2 or 3 workable solutions, and then emotion to pick from the available choices.</div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<br>
Are you optimistic about humankind's future?<br>
<br>
I'm cautiously optimistic - very cautiously. I try to be optimistic because I<br>
prefer to give a message of hope to young people, to say: you can do<br>
something about it. But in the present, there is not much evidence that this<br>
is happening. </blockquote><div><br></div><div>The masses are still heavily anesthetized, busy running on their consumerist gerbil-wheels. Trying to keep up with the Joneses. Buying into Edward Bernays' wet dream come to fruition.</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Profile<br>
<br>
Christian de Duve is professor emeritus at the Catholic University of Louvain<br>
(UCL), Belgium and Rockefeller University, New York. In 1974 he co-won a<br>
Nobel prize for his work on cellular structure. His latest book, Genetics of<br>
original sin, is published by Yale University Press<br>
<br>
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