XPost: alt.atheism, aus.politics   
   From: spam@hotmail.com   
      
   darwinist@gmail.com wrote:   
   > That our genes have made it this far says a lot about them.   
   > Not one of our ancestors died before reproducing, in the many   
   > millions of generations between the first life-form and our   
   > present body, this has involved a lot of different situations   
   > and environments. You might say we are relatively well-tested.   
   >   
   >   
   > Unique among earth's life, humans have a strategic   
   > self-awareness. That is, we can see what our mind is doing and   
   > use that information to refine our strategies. We can see what   
   > other people's minds are doing as well. In neither case are   
   > our explanations perfect, but thinking about minds, being   
   > mindful of thoughts, at least sometimes, has proven useful to   
   > the gene-pool.   
   >   
   > The human condition, then, is a lifelong education in how to   
   > make use of the human condition. We have a sophisticated set   
   > of decision-making faculties to serve us, and we can consider   
   > them at the strategic level. Even so, people die every minute   
   > after several million generations of unbroken reproductive   
   > success, so we can't assume anything out of life, except this   
   > education.   
   >   
   > We can generally learn a lot better if we are willing to   
   > revise our answers and plans, rather than grabbing any solid   
   > piece of certainty within reach and bashing our enemies on the   
   > head with it. They're not enemies when you realise you're in   
   > the same class, and can help each other to learn.   
      
   Then maybe you can learn a bit about biology? We are not alone in   
   self-awareness. Other animals make decisions. Other animals are   
   also well tested and have shown to be more adaptable than humans.   
   Maybe it is humans that need to learn a bit more from the other   
   animals.....  Nah, human ego always gets in the way.   
   --   
   Dave   
      
   "Sacred cows make the best hamburger."  Mark Twain.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)