Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id AAA13998 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 27 Jul 2001 00:23:57 +0100 Message-Id: <200107262321.f6QNLKU19490@unix03.wehi.edu.au> Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 09:21:18 +1000 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.388) From: John Wilkins <wilkins@wehi.EDU.AU> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk In-Reply-To: <F44mD9TgDW448NvzHr400007876@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Logic Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Friday, July 27, 2001, at 12:04 AM, Scott Chase wrote:
<inter alia>
> I think it was Piaget who was captivated by the idea of behavior
> setting the tone for subsequent evolution. Maybe Joe Dees our resident
> Piagetian can corroborate or John Wilkins can have a conniption fit
> about Piaget.
>
I don't see why I should. Behaviour biases the genetic fitness landscape
such that certain sorts of mutations or recombinations become fitter if
the behaviour persists long enough. Piaget's problem was, IIRC, that he
thought this was a direct effect something akin to neo-Lamarckism (which
was still a viable view when he wrote, at least in France), not that
behaviour has some evolutionary effect. This is just the Baldwin Effect
in action, BTW.
-- John Wilkins Head Communication Services The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Personal page: <http://users.bigpond.com/thewilkins/darwiniana.html>=============================================================== 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
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