this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2023
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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Evolution is not a good base for morals. We tried it out - was really bad.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Now hold on. How can we be certain? Maybe holocaust 2: electric boogaloo will be better

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm in Germany, so not sure if allowed to answer.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sure you can! Say it with me: "Eugenics and genocide aren't a fast track to an improved gene pool. Holocaust 2 is bad news bears."

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Dang, I'm already marching on the street with a burning torch.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Sure, but is a bad basis for morals. Like I said - social Darwinism is dodgy at best.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Evolutionary biology is definitely no basis for a system of morality. But I must say, as a biologist who studied evolution, that social Darwinism is not based either on evolutionary theory or empirical evidence. The idea that evolution is driven solely by competitive ability is pseudoscience, and works neither in human nor animal populations.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I wrote it further down, ist based on very basic understanding of evolution (happen to have studied biology myself) and sure, like any other moral system it's not based on any empirical evidence.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh agreed! 100%!! Evolution has no morality baked into it just efficaciousness.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So using evolution to reason moral questions is not the best way to go.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It may not be the happiest way to go but I think it's the only self-consistent way to go.

As an individual I totally believe in making the world a better place, do unto others as that you would have them do unto you, all of that. But in the scenario where the world's going to end unless one dude sacrifices themselves, I would say basic instinct kicks in. The tribe must survive!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I hope you just pretend that you don't know what social Darwinism is and how applying it worked out in the end.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm aware of it, and I've made no statements along those lines. I think it's disingenuous to conflate my statements of evolution and the question of one sacrifice for the good of the world, to social Darwinism.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Social Darwinism is what you get by applying basic understanding of evolution to moral questions - exactly what you have been doing. It's really not that complicated. As a moral construct it only leads to suffering since it lacks any empathy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You know Darwin himself was against the idea. He argued that our ability to look after one another was one of the most vital parts of being human and we can't save humanity by giving up our humanity.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

How did you manage to interpret my comment in a way that I support social Darwinism?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Evolution is a scientific concept, it is not an ideology.