Subject: Re: BHA: Flourishing, Aristotle, etc.
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 00:13:37 -0000


Might it not be that competition and aggression has proved successful within
evolution as much as cooperation and thus both have had their place in
species evolution and also in human social development - implying that both
are aspects of nature and of society where the concept of primacy or triumph
is not necessarily the best way of think about what we want to take from
each?


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mervyn Hartwig" <mh-AT-jaspere.demon.co.uk>
To: <bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: BHA: Flourishing, Aristotle, etc.


> Hi Dick,
>
> But it hasn't, i.e. notwithstanding inter-(and intra-)specific
> aggression, species have proliferated and flourished. If aggression
> dominated both inter- and intra- the whole show would come to a halt (as
> of course it might yet owing to contingent aggression within a
> contingently powerful species, i.e. ours; it would remain the case that
> there could be no process of biological evolution if love did not
> triumph over evil, Eros over Thanatos).
>
> Mervyn
>
>
>
>
>  "Moodey, Richard W" <MOODEY001-AT-gannon.edu> writes
> >Hi Mervyn,
> >
> >You wrote:
> >
> >"One can argue that, given that biological evolution proceeds, it must be
> >the case that co-operation, care etc prevails over self-preservation,
> >aggression etc within species."
> >
> >But isn't it possible that conflict among (between)different communities
> >may prevail over co-operation among (between)them, even as this
> >conflict requires high degrees of co-operation within each of these
> >communities?
> >
> >I don't write this out of any basic disagreement with the other arguments
> >for the either the existence or the fundamental goodness of something
> >(not yet fully specified, perhaps) that we can point to with the
heuristic
> >concept, "human nature."
> >
> >Regards,
> >
>
>
>
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>



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