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To: gobucks
More interesting, by far, is the story of Darwin's daughter, Emma. The role of her life, and death at a very young age, in the formation of the natural selection part of Darwin's theory is little discussed.

In school, little Emma wasn't worthy of discussion when I was young. Little wonder why ...

That doesn't make any sense. What possible role would the aspects of any particular person's life have in the formation of a scientific theory?

But your reasoning is flawed in another way. Natural Selection works in the raw state of nature. Human beings have the intelligence and ability to make tools and the ability to master the environment. Because humans are frail things that could not survive in nature alone as individuals, altruism and cooperation are traits that are selected for. Furthermore, because we do not have to dedicate our entire existance towards feeding and mating, we have the capacity to create a culture. We have the capacity to think abstractly and develop ethical systems.

So although human beings are animals that evolved biologically in nature, we stand apart from nature. We transcend nature. We are glad to care for the poor and the handicapped - because we have evolved the capacity and will to do so. The benefits of altruism and compassion outweigh whatever problems stem from retaining bad genes in the gene pool. Thank God. That is why people viscerally react in a negative manner to genocide and eugenics.

Darwin's daughter isn't brought up because to do so is irrelevant to the theory. To make such a complaint is foolish. It would be similar, in a discussion of Einstein's theories, to note that he had married a cousin.

193 posted on 02/05/2005 3:58:02 PM PST by ValenB4
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To: ValenB4
What possible role would the aspects of any particular person's life have in the formation of a scientific theory?

Actually, personal biases could hypothetically affect a person's interpretation of evidence. In this case, however, gobucks is making a dishonest argument in trying to assert that Darwin's theories were influenced by an event that occured fifteen years after he forumlated said theories.
202 posted on 02/05/2005 4:22:19 PM PST by Dimensio (http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif <-- required reading before you use your next apostrophe!)
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