From: Kenneth Van Oost (Kennethvanoost@belgacom.net)
Date: Thu 19 Feb 2004 - 16:30:05 GMT
----- Original Message ----- >
Chris Taylor,
> Fact we can borrow from biology #1: Selection on individuals is not
> appropriate, nor selection on kinds (group/species selectionist);
> evolution happens (to repeat Scott) in populations. For instance I'm
> sure when talking about French, Canuck French, French creoles etc. it is
> a lot easier to talk about populations of speakers than of individuals,
> or of 'French'.
<< Ok, Chris, but IMO it all boils down to what definition ' evolution '
relates to, no !?
Didn 't we ' evolve ' during the period Neanderthal- Modern man !?
If we didn 't, how would you define the changes !?
Genotypical ok, we don 't ' evolve ', but memetically !? Don 't we
' evolve ' from kid to adolescent, to young man, to ol' grandpa !?
Isn 't that ' evolution ' during a ' period of time ' !?
If not, what is it then !? Is there neural evolution involved !?
Although, it seems to be that way, and in that respect, how can we
claim there isn 't any ' selection ' on the level of individual organisms !?
How would you explain, in population- terms, the tricks and traits kids
' inherited ' from their parents !?
In the ways kids behave, act, play, say or do anything, things are
observable being ' part ' of one or two parents, p.e . how kids write
certain letters....how can this come about, if 1_ there isn 't any genetic
explanantion for this type of inheritance ( the time needed is too short)
2_ this is IMO, selection on an individualistic level and 3_ Lamarckism
could not be applied !?
I don 't buy the nurture thing, or the learned- notion,... kids are getting
born with certain parts of functions which can 't be explained genetically_
that is then on the population- level ! How one writes a specific character
isn 't of any ( genetical) importance or significance to any kind of
population.
The selection for writing in such a specific is done on the individual
level.
Again, I got the gut feeling, we 're watching the wrong marker....
Anyway,
Regards,
Kenneth
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