Survival of the Fittest

[CJSchmidtz]

The subtitle to the origin of the species was the “preservation of favored species” the practice of evolution is the survival of the fittest. If this really is what life amounts to how can you practice it in a society that generally holds all life to have value? You can of course say that such a concept has not been scientifically proven but it is difficult to deny concepts that seem as intuitive as our tendency towards trusting our senses. And really it is not like you would be allowed to work towards bringing competing races into extinction? So far it seems that only the Nazis really tried to put this into practice, well I guess you could say the slave traders thought the idea made sense. This idea would also be hard to swallow if you were not the one with the proverbial bigger beak. Let’s say someone finds that they are not apart of the group that has the most power should they then just roll over and play dead? Now let’s consider the possibility of someone saying we should not have to compete for resources etc, let’s weed out the weak, weed out the competition how could an evolutionist say anything to deny this? Honestly if I really thought that atheism was justified and macro evolution occurred via natural selection I suppose I would accept it, but it would probably make me suicidal rather then an ardent defender of everything meaningless?


For further discussion
http://www.thedarwinpapers.com/oldsite/ ... ber13.html

[Nebula]

It seems you are mixing things up mightily. The human desire, if you will, to assist those in trouble or with less has zippo to do with evolution. Hitler's quest to rid the world of gypsies, Jews and gays had nothing to do with evolution either. You have convoluted a number of issues into one and it isn't working.

[zzontar]

It seems you are mixing things up mightily. The human desire, if you will, to assist those in trouble or with less has zippo to do with evolution. Hitler's quest to rid the world of gypsies, Jews and gays had nothing to do with evolution either. You have convoluted a number of issues into one and it isn't working.

Do you know why every other species on the planet abandons their own if their own isn't "normal?"

[Born_again]

I can't help but to think that your fundamental understanding of evolutionary theory is flawed, CJSchmidtz. That's not to say that your post should dismissed out of hand, but rather, used as an example of how common misconceptions can proliferate through misinformation or mere ignorance.

CJSchmidtz, if you can understand the distinction between "race" and "species" when discussing evolutionary theory, you are well on the way to a greater understanding of the process. What a catholic does to a jew/gay/romani, or a slave trader over his slave, has absolutely no influence whatsoever on how the species successfully evolved within its given environment.

"Survival of the fittest" applies to species; not race, in the context of evolution.

Do you know why every other species on the planet abandons their own if their own isn't "normal?"

zzontar, yes: survival.... and the species *bleep* Sapiens is no exception. You have been born into a time of unparalleled excess(food) and medical technology. Had you been born with Down's syndrome 300 years ago, chances are that your parents would have lovingly smothered the life out of you minutes after birth.
At the end of the day, the driving force of nature is to replicate one's own genes, and see that your progeny survives long enough to replicate its own genes successfully. It really is as simple as that.

As perverse to our sensibilities as this sounds, I used to marvel at the beauty of nature when the hens I kept would selectively peck the scalp off of a couple of chicks in the clutch, thus ensuring a more favourable outlook for the remaining chicks in the brood. My daughter did not see it as such a wondrous spectacle though -- but then again, ignorance will distort your base perceptions.


EDIT TO ADD: Why is this topic posted in the "Religion and Philosophy" forum?

[sobrohusfat]

because of the bottom half of the text from the
http://www.thedarwinpapers.com/oldsite/ ... ber13.html
page?

[zzontar]

Without survival of the fittest or natural selection genetic defects could easily wipe a species out, so without survival of the fittest, evolution probably wouldn't happen, making it a part of evolution.

[NAB]

Is it now the suggestion that only religious philosophy can be discussed in this forum? After all, the forum is entitled "Religion AND Philosophy", not just "Religious Philosophy".

According to Wiki...

"Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.[1][2] Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions (such as mysticism or mythology) by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned argument.[3] Philosophy comes from the Greek φιλοσοφία [philosophia], which literally translates to "love of wisdom"."

[Born_again]

because of the bottom half of the text from the
http://www.thedarwinpapers.com/oldsite/ ... ber13.html
page?

You'll have to forgive me, sobrohusfat; the second I saw the star of david I closed the page. I've now just had a secondary glance, but the infusion of evil, hatred, lies, and malevolence was too much for me. I'll stick to science, thank you, and I still maintain that the topic of, "survival of the fittest", when mentioned in the context of evolution, does not belong in the "Religion and Philosophy" thread.
Again, that weblink is a graphic example of how religion can hijack science for the furtherance of hatred and evil. What a pitiful state of affairs.

[Mr. Personality]

The subtitle to the origin of the species was the “preservation of favored species” the practice of evolution is the survival of the fittest. If this really is what life amounts to how can you practice it in a society that generally holds all life to have value?

It's possible. The side effects include laziness, obesity and a shared sense of self-entitlement.

[zzontar]

The subtitle to the origin of the species was the “preservation of favored species” the practice of evolution is the survival of the fittest. If this really is what life amounts to how can you practice it in a society that generally holds all life to have value?

It's possible. The side effects include laziness, obesity and a shared sense of self-entitlement.

The sad truth.

[FunkyBunch]

Also, it's not really the survival of the fittest. It's really survival of the fit...enough. There's a minimum level of "fitness" that a species must ascribe to in order to survive, but by no means is it the fittest that necessarily survive.

[Lady tehMa]

Also, it's not really the survival of the fittest. It's really survival of the fit...enough. There's a minimum level of "fitness" that a species must ascribe to in order to survive, but by no means is it the fittest that necessarily survive.

They made a movie about that . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

[FunkyBunch]

Yes, that is one of my favorite movies.

[steven lloyd]

They made a movie about that . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

Sounds like modern day British Columbia (North America?):

They discover that the world has degenerated into a dystopia where advertising, commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualism run rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of individual responsibility or consequences.

[Captain Awesome]

They made a movie about that . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

Sounds like modern day British Columbia (North America?):

They discover that the world has degenerated into a dystopia where advertising, commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualism run rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of individual responsibility or consequences.

It's actually a rather clever movie.

Clever and sad because you understand that it's true.