Re: virus: Ethical War - Good or Bad?

Dave Pape (davepape@dial.pipex.com)
Thu, 16 Jan 1997 13:35:38 GMT


At 22:13 15/01/97 -0600, you wrote:
>On Thu, 2 Jan 1997, Lior Golgher wrote:
>
>> Animals never fight the way humans do. When they fight, they either
>> fight for territory or for status. They
>> don't harm each other but rather scare each other off. That's because
>> physical violence isn't profitable, not because of deep moral
>> conscience. As for predator-prey relationships, those aren't relevant as
>> canibalism isn't
>> the reason for wars - humans don't hunt each other for food.

Chimps have violent wars, and do things like betray and murder each other
for reasons of status enhancement. I've certainly seen video of chimp
troupes kicking each other in in an advancedly violent manner. Chimps also
do things like wartime atrocities, involving males kidnapping females from
rival troupes, waiting for pregnant females to bear their young, killing the
young and then impregnating the females. There's a good chapter in Robert
Wright's "The Moral Animal" in which he describes a chimp tale of sexual
murder and treachery. Scientists will scream that it's very anecdotal, but I
think the castration-murder scene is pretty suggestive. Other species can be
inhuman too.

Dave Pape
===============================================================================
The memetic equivalent of a G3 bullpup-design assault rifle blowing a full
clip at my opponent. (Alex Williams 1996)

Phonecalls: 01494 461648 Phights: 10 Riverswood Gardens
High Wycombe
HP11 1HN