Wednesday, April 29, 2009

How you can explain everything by evolution (and be a jerk about it at the same time)

Cartago Delenda Est points out this post from Uncommon Descent:

Evolutionary Psychology is my favorite intellectual pastime. I love to give intelligent positions where I can never be wrong, because I am always right.

For example:

Q. Dr. Harris, why would a mother run into a burning building to save her baby? What explains this altruistic behavior?

A. It’s quite simple you creationist moron. Genes control all our behavior and genes exist because of undirected, purposeless natural selection. She is simply acting out her genetic destiny. By saving her child she is preserving her genes – the very genes that control her actions. Genes create her actions and her actions create her genes. And don’t give me any of that “tautology” stuff.

Q. Dr. Harris, why would a mother not run into a burning building to save her baby? What explains this selfish behavior?

A. It’s quite simple you creationist moron. Genes control all our behavior and genes exist because of undirected, purposeless natural selection. She is simply acting out her genetic destiny. By avoiding the chance of death she remains alive to have other babies, or to take care of other children she may have, thus preserving her genes.

Q. So Dr. Harris, are you saying that Evolutionary Psychology can equally explain one thing and its opposite at the very same time? That doesn’t sound like science.

A. You don’t know anything about science. You’re a right wing fascist creationist moron.

If I'm not mistaken, I think that's called "unfalsifiability."

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If I'm not mistaken, I think that's called a strawman.

Art said...

Strawman? Perhaps, but I prefer to look at this as yet another example of the utter and complete inability of conservatives and antievolutionists to grasp any mathematical concept that exceeds the numbers of digits on their hands and feet.

Martin Cothran said...

So you all have never seen this type of reasoning used in the popular media? Y'all must not be paying attention.

And I appreciate that some in the science community see everything in quantificational terms, but what does math have to do with this post?

Lee said...

> yet another example of the utter and complete inability of conservatives and antievolutionists to grasp any mathematical concept that exceeds the numbers of digits on their hands and feet.

"It's quite simple, you Creationist moron..."

Art said...

"And I appreciate that some in the science community see everything in quantificational terms, but what does math have to do with this post?"The antievolutionsts' reactions to Evolutionary Psychology mirror, in many ways, their reactions to other aspects of biology that involve quantitative genetics.

(Of course, there is a similar antipathy towards chemistry woven into the fabric of the excerpt from Cartago Delenda Est. This is also something that is common amongst antievolutionists.)