Nonetheless, an argument from common sense can be made based on our own observational context. For example, neurologically speaking, there is a wealth of evidence to illustrate that genes have an immense impact on the final structure of the brain, and thus on behavior. Schizophrenia is an obvious example of this. Logically, though, there is also abundant support for Dawkins' thesis. Roughly, an argument can be shown to be logically viable if its conclusions can be reasonably drawn from its suppositions based on the available evidence. This is abundantly the case in the Selfish Gene, wherein Dawkins (1976) draws on all the existing evidence on evolutionary theory and the development of life, including the mechanism of natural selection (p. 48) and DNA as...
22-23). The evidence that Dawkins provides is, quite simply, sufficient to support his argument that the gene should be perceived as the primary building block of life and evolution, just as the atom is the primary building block of all matter. Because of the evidence provided, and the logical claims that follow, it is easy to support Dawkins' thesis that the gene is the basis for evolution and that behavior can be, to some degree, shown to have a genetic basis. Because genes that do not promote survival of their host "machine" will quickly die off, it logically stands that any gene machine still in operation -- such as human beings -- will contain genes that favor behaviors that improve their own chances for survival. That life exists at all through this process of natural selection is evidence enough that the gene must be perceived as the basis for evolution and for behaviors that favor the advance of individual genes.
Human Transformation Lauren Slater's (2005) article "Who holds the clicker?," Susan Blackmore's excerpt "Strange Creatures" -- taken from her book The Meme Machine, and Alain De Botton's chapter "On Habit" from his book The Art of Travel are very different pieces that all challenge the idea of the self in human kind. Is there a self? Or are we all controlled by things outside of our control? While science may be
Early Education Shows No Benefit (HSLDA 2007) This article argues for the viewpoint that Head-Start-type early education is not only non-productive, but can actually lead to detriments to children's development as they enter formal school. The article begins by citing the results of a recent study of 35,000 students by Durham University, which found that there was no benefit to pre-school education programs for children. The article points to a series
Darwinism and the Standard Social Science Model If the Standard Social Science Model is mistaken, then we are less altruistic than would otherwise be the case'. Put another way, the same statement could read, "If culture is not the underlying cause of human behavior, then human beings are more selfish than they would be if culture were the underlying cause of human behavior." An evaluation of this statement rests not only on
Unlike hardcore altruism, no assumption of relatedness is necessary. Soft-core altruism is directed beyond kin as a simple exchange of favors. (Gachter & Falk, 2002, pp1-25) Unlike hardcore altruism, the soft-core variety is less firmly triggered by the spontaneous calculus of the genes and more "deeply influenced by the vagaries of cultural evolution. (Yamagishi, 1992, pp267-87) Unlike the hardcore species in which the altruistic act is genuinely directed at
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