tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670489461105523359.post8605615220725802286..comments2023-10-29T00:30:10.676-07:00Comments on Biplab speaks on Spiritualism: Gandhism and modern biologyBiplab Palhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10458134262997135419noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670489461105523359.post-92134760475961019162009-10-11T19:39:09.474-07:002009-10-11T19:39:09.474-07:00but our genes evolved their characteristics, in th...but our genes evolved their characteristics, in the infancy of human race, when each individual was affected by a few other individual in his immediate vicinity. today, we live in a different world, where we are globally connected to all the individuals in the world. our basic instincts that our genes dictated to us, the instinct to kill, instinct to hate, wont be survivally beneficial, in this changed scenario.<br /><br />so, our genes' instructions to us, the instincts of ethnophobia, may not be the best in our interest.<br />we can study the outcomes of human interactions, in different social situation, by various means. one of them is game theory. different versions of game theories have been devised, which simulate different kinds of interactions between individuals, and surprisingly they show, that cooperation still benefit us! nice guys indeed do finish first in the world. watch this wonderful video by richard dawkins:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFj0caNX1s0praveen gopinathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11224339003314748060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670489461105523359.post-78554497411732030772009-10-11T19:38:27.684-07:002009-10-11T19:38:27.684-07:00in this struggle for existance, it's in the ge...in this struggle for existance, it's in the genes' interest, that it takes care of not just the body that it's living in, but also other individuals, that's carrying the copies of it. our immediate relatives are likely to carry my genes (or they may be my spouse's.) in a case of emergenecy, it may be in my genes' interest, that i sacrifice, and let my children live. that's why we love our relatives and immediate people (there's no way to recognise one's relative, but accept the immediate individuals as relatives)<br /><br />so, genes evolved love, cooperation, altruism, in order to safe guard their own interests, but it translates to great moral values to us humans. (or our genes make us believe that these values are great morals)<br /><br />but genes are any way, in fierce competetion with one another, and it's in their interest, that other genes, even though, they may be in the same individual, dont survive as much as they do, and that they can outnumber the others. so, they make their carriers fight, hate, commit crime etc, against individuals, who are less likely to carry their own copies. (a pakistani is less likely to carry a copy of a gene in my body than a random indian). so, genes which make us behave altruistically, also, imbibe ethnophobia in us.praveen gopinathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11224339003314748060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670489461105523359.post-31642828441421803062009-10-11T19:38:26.290-07:002009-10-11T19:38:26.290-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.praveen gopinathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11224339003314748060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670489461105523359.post-29620308236036708382009-10-11T19:37:53.100-07:002009-10-11T19:37:53.100-07:00nice article.
it's in our genes to be good, a...nice article.<br /><br />it's in our genes to be good, and it's because, it's good for the genes to make it's carrier do good.<br /><br />i consider darwin and dawkins to evolutionary theroy as newton and einstein is to gravity.<br /><br />dawkins replaced genes as basic units of evolution. an individual is just carrying out the orders of his genes. previously it was thought it was the group of genes, that consists an individual, that evolve, as a group. but dawkins, in his master stroke showed, individual genes evolve seperately, even though they may cooperate temporarily (not just for the life time of an individual, but for generations, till it's in association with a particular gene). sometimes genes in two seperate individuals of different species cooperate, like our genes and that of E Coli in our gut. the mitochondria in our each cell was actually once a fee living organism, which at some remote time, started cooperating with genes of eucaryotic cell, by getting engulfed by it, and doing work for it. today, we talk of mitochondrial genes as our genes.<br /><br />our genes take interest in protecting its host (us) only because, it is in their interest. if a gene could distribute it in 4 other individual, and then, kill it's host, which stands in the way of those 4 individuals thriving, it'll certainly do that, because it assures its survival in 4 different sets, rather than one. (that's why we die!) so, it's not the individuals' interest, but the interest of the genes, that's always taken care of.praveen gopinathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11224339003314748060noreply@blogger.com