Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA29180 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 23 Aug 2001 19:35:04 +0100 Message-ID: <002d01c12c02$16bb1280$a586b2d1@teddace> From: "Dace" <edace@earthlink.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <20010821201948.AAA14760@camailp.harvard.edu@[128.103.125.215]> Subject: Re: Design Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 11:33:16 -0700 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> On 08/21/01 14:23, Dace said this-
>
> >That the design comes about blindly and unconsciously through mutation
and
> >natural selection doesn't make it any less of a design.
>
> In fact, it makes it _not_ a design at all. And that is the point.
>
> - Wade
I'm using the term in the sense of "a preliminary sketch or outline showing
the main features of something to be executed" or "an underlying scheme that
governs functioning, developing, or unfolding" (Webster's). What makes
neo-Darwinism so attractive is that it keeps the design while disposing of
the designer. This way, we can imagine we've had some sort of radical break
from our superstitious past while covertly maintaining the same comforting
belief. It's the old *somewhere-something's-in-charge* meme.
Ted
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