Monday, May 4, 2009
Sociobiology
I thought Kohak's theory of sociobiology was very interesting. I think that many actions and feelings that we have are somewhat genetic and can be linked back to other animals that share our genetic makeup. I think that the idea that humans get their tendencies for infidelity and divorce from chimps is an interesting concept. It does make sense in the fact that similar species act in similar ways, but I do think that this human behavior cannot all be blamed on the genetic makeup. Humans are different from chimps in the fact that humans have a more complex brain and can use rationality better than chimps. Even though we have tendencies to cheat, we should be able to realize that it is wrong and prevent ourselves from doing it. I also thought the reference to wolves was interesting. Even though we are not as close in genetic makeup as chimps, we do act a lot like wolves. Wolves live in packs just like our families. When the wolves hunt, they bring back the food for the whole pack just like the parents of the family provide for the whole family. This makes it seem like we do not need a genetic similarity to explain our behavior and that blaming our tendencies on genes is not all that correct. I think humans need to take responsibility for their own actions instead of trying to find excuses for the wrong things they have done in their life. Even though I do believe that we should own up to our faults, I believe that genes do have somewhat of an influence but we should be able to reason what is right and wrong and choose against bad influences.
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This is very interesting mainly because on of the big arguments of humans being above animals is because we have reason. But as you can see people do cheat and follow bad influences even though we understand and know its wrong. How much better are we than animals if we tend to have the same tendencies as them? I mean if we base our supremecy of animals on reason that we chose not to use alot of the time, then how are we any better that animals themselves? I do believe that we also share traits with animals due to genes but that is not a reason to do the things we do. Esspecially when we justify our supremecy to animals on our ability to reason when in fact we do not use it alot of the time.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest question I had when I read this section of Kohak is Why? Why is it that we so often ask with wolf-like tendencies when we have the genetics of primates? I think it is inciteful to look at our background and genetic predispositions to explain behaviors, but most people would have to admit that our genetic inheritance does not always dictate our decisions in life. I think that a lot of what shapes our behaviors is the environment in which we are raised and the moral system we have been conditioned to follow. Both Lloyd and Leslie talked about "wrong" actions on the part of humans. Who says they are wrong? Our current society and our personal believe system has shaped this reaction. Which brings me back to my original question of why our society has adopted a moral sense that values behaviors resembling a canine community. Was is a survival need from the time of early Americans that is no longer as necessary so we have reverted back to more "primative" ways of living? I don't have any answers; I just wonder...
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