Keith Ward on ...
Religion, Ethics, and Evolutionary Psychology. He mentions Dawkins' idea of the selfish gene and it reminded me of an episode of The X-Files in which Scully explained the same to Mulder, saying: There are theories which pose that our bodies are simply vehicles for genes needing to replicate. This theory is sometimes used to excuse certain kinds of behavior, it's the belief that we make decisions based on motivations buried so deeply in our genetic makeup that we have no real control over them (like the idea that women will be subliminally attracted to wealthy and powerful men because that will ensure the survival of their offspring). I do believe we have genetic prompts, but I also think we move beyond them every day of the week via free will. But anyway, back to the video - I'm not sure I agree with everything Keith Ward says but it's an interesting subject.
Religion, Ethics and Evolutionary Psychology - Professor Keith Ward DD FBA - Gresham College Lectures from Gresham College on Vimeo.
posted by crystal | 8:33 PM
2 Comments:
Alan Watts observed that this is a "peopling" universe in the sense that we and I guess cats are like fruits of this vast and mysterious tree. I've been enchanted by books by E.O. Wilson and Stephen Jay Gould and despite their views on religion, there is something deeply reverential in how they write about Nature and her ways. The immensity of what we are privileged to encounter as living creatures seems so much more than what is contained in the arguments of Ward v. Dawkins
Hi Richard,
I read a 2006 interview with EO Wilson - he mentioned Han Kung :) His mentor at Harvard was another interesting guy, Richard Evans Schultes.
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