{"id":2055,"date":"2012-02-29T17:10:38","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T22:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=2055"},"modified":"2012-12-09T22:23:54","modified_gmt":"2012-12-10T03:23:54","slug":"evolution-isnt-on-our-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/02\/evolution-isnt-on-our-side.html","title":{"rendered":"Evolution Isn’t On Our Side"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Remember you can vote once per day for the About.com Atheism Awards. \u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0one of five nominees for Best Atheist Blog<\/a>. \u00a0More details here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Looks like there are still some questions about why I\u2019m drawing a distinction between selecting for<\/em> and selecting against<\/em> in my post on how evolution doesn\u2019t optimize for ethics<\/a>. \u00a0One commenter wrote:<\/p>\n

I see what you are saying, but isn\u2019t it easier to think in terms of \u201cselecting for\u201d when considering how sexual selection gives rise to traits like large antlers on deer? Certainly you can say that \u201cantlers that are not large enough are being selected against\u201d but it seems more natural to say that larger and larger antlers are being \u201cselected for\u201d and to think of the selective pressure as driving change in a very specific direction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It seems like a\u00a0pointless\u00a0distinction\u00a0here because the commenter has switched to using my phrase but not my framework. \u00a0Switching from saying \u201cEvolution selects <\/span>for<\/em> X\u201d to \u201cEvolution selects <\/span>against<\/em> not!X\u201d isn\u2019t making enough of a change. <\/span> Talking about \u2018selecting for<\/em>\u2018 gives the false impression that evolution is a process aiming at a particular design or functionality. \u00a0\u00a0Evolution is not rooting for longer antlers on dear any more than a microphone pointed at a speaker is rooting for an annoying feedback squeal. It may be the necessary consequence of initial conditions, but it\u2019s not a goal<\/em> of the system.<\/p>\n

Saying \u201cantlers that are not large enough are being selected against\u201d is actually still kind of buying into the selecting for<\/em> problem. Large enough for what? There isn\u2019t a platonic deer with ideal antler length that evolution is trying to create. Long, short, doesn\u2019t matter, as long as it gets you to reproduction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In fact, some species end up with several mutually exclusive reproductive strategies. \u00a0One example are fish species where the males fit into the Streakers and Sneakers model<\/a> \u2014 big attention-getting males that fight each other for mates (streakers) and small inconspicuous males that mate with fish in a Streaker\u2019s harem without him noticing (sneakers). \u00a0Males are either Streakers or Sneakers, but there\u2019s no sustainable role in the middle of these extremes.<\/p>\n

Orangutans\u00a0also follow this model.<\/a> The larger males court females and defend them against rivals; the sneaker males assault the female\u00a0orangutans\u00a0if they are alone and beat them savagely in order to force coitus. \u00a0[Orangutangs are another species that has a stable reproductive strategy that outrages our ethics but is irrelevant to evolution\u2019s processes].<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is more than a semantic debate. \u00a0Recognizing that evolution doesn\u2019t have a goal changes the way we think about our own physical existence and our relationship to our bodies. \u00a0Evolution is not perfecting a design like a craftsperson, it is just the process by which the unworkable ceases to persist. <\/span>There isn\u2019t a future ideal form that evolution is driving us toward, and, if we could scry into the future, we might be find the stable outcomes favored by evolution are intolerable to our moral senses.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no natural optimizing force that\u2019s operating based on the criteria that matter. <\/span>We have to take responsibility for shaping and creating our future selves and future generations.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember you can vote once per day for the About.com Atheism Awards. \u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0one of five nominees for Best Atheist Blog. \u00a0More details here. Looks like there are still some questions about why I\u2019m drawing a distinction between selecting for and selecting against in my post on how evolution doesn\u2019t optimize for ethics. \u00a0One commenter wrote: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,68],"tags":[82,84,18],"class_list":["post-2055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism","category-epistemologyphilosophy","tag-evo-psych","tag-evolution","tag-transhumanism"],"yoast_head":"\nEvolution Isn't On Our Side<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Remember you can vote once per day for the About.com Atheism Awards. \u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0one of five nominees for Best Atheist Blog. \u00a0More details here. 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