RE: Primate Rights

From: Vincent Campbell (v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk)
Date: Fri Jun 02 2000 - 11:19:00 BST

  • Next message: Vincent Campbell: "RE: Jabbering !"

    Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id LAA11617 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:21:02 +0100
    Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D310174589E@inchna.stir.ac.uk>
    From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>
    To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
    Subject: RE: Primate Rights
    Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:19:00 +0100 
    X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21)
    Content-Type: text/plain
    Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk
    Precedence: bulk
    Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    

    Yes I think you're right about this, very interesting stuff.

    Vincent

    > ----------
    > From: Robin Faichney
    > Reply To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    > Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2000 8:28 pm
    > To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    > Subject: RE: Primate Rights
    >
    > On Thu, 01 Jun 2000, Vincent Campbell wrote:
    > >Thanks for the response. I know the veggie comment was a bit obvious,
    > but
    > >it just brought back fond memories of winding someone up and putting them
    > >off their pool game.
    > >
    > >I'm still not sure of the utility to the individual of thinking that
    > >nature's beautiful, or other species are nice (especially tigers-
    > although I
    > >do think tigers are magnificent animals, and I don't want to see them
    > become
    > >extinct, but I don't want to be eaten by one either).
    >
    > OK, I didn't really explain that. Perhaps because I'm not *very* clear
    > about it myself! The example I gave, where mature, stable ecosystems are
    > seen as beautiful, I think simply reflects the fact (if it is one) that
    > mature, stable ecosystems are better places to be than immature, unstable
    > ones. Imagine having been forced out of your previous habitat -- by
    > whatever -- and after a difficult trek with your extended family through
    > barren hills, coming down into a lushly wooded, uninhabited valley. Or,
    > alternatively, into one that just 2 or 3 years ago suffered from the
    > eruption of a nearby volcano, where nothing grows but weedy grasses and
    > low scrub.
    >
    > >I mean we understand now what the importance of biodiversity is, but
    > could
    > >natural selection have produced it as a normative rule for a conscious
    > >animal, or rather how did it develop?
    >
    > I doubt very much whether biodiversity would have any place in biophilia.
    > I
    > helped organise a study, once, where people were asked what words came to
    > mind in response to "biodiversity", and the general failure to understand
    > the concept was very, very high. Incidentally, that's just about the only
    > memetics-related research I've ever been involved in. (I class my own
    > interests as philosophical, or meta-memetic.)
    >
    > Though I used these words myself, I think maybe "love of nature" is a
    > misleading way to conceptualise biophilia, because to be adaptive, it has
    > to result in a tropism away from some aspects of nature, as well as
    > towards others. I'd guess the modern appreciation of "the wilderness
    > experience" and bleak, dangerous landscapes -- which I share, especially
    > the Scottish mountains in winter -- has to be something other than basic
    > biophilia, though it may be a perversion of it.
    >
    > Now I'm thinking about it again for the first time in years, I'm finding
    > this quite fascinating! Time for a little web searching, I think...
    >
    > --
    > Robin Faichney
    >
    > ==============================================================This was
    > distributed via the memetics list associated with the
    > Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
    > For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
    > see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
    >

    ===============================================================
    This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
    Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
    For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
    see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 02 2000 - 11:21:34 BST