> Isaac Asimov observed (1989, p. 6):
> They assume that human beings have no feeling about what is right and
> wrong. Is the only reason you are virtuous because that's your ticket
> to heaven? Is the only reason you don't beat your children to death
> because you don't want to go to hell? It seems to me that it's
> insulting to human beings to imply that only a system of rewards and
> punishments can keep you a decent human being. Isn't it conceivable
> that a person wants to be a decent human being because that way he
> feels better? Because that way the world is better?
Quite.
> Reason is the greatest enemy faith has. Whoever wants to be Christian
> should tear the eyes out of his reason. -Martin Luther
"Faith is the greatest enemy reason has. Whoever wants to be rational
should tear the eyes out of his faith." ...or should that be, the heart?
Hm. Which has more enemies, anyway, faith or reason?
> "When you understand why you reject the 9,999 other gods you
> will understand why I reject all 10,000." - unknown
Nice one; I'll keep that.
> evolution is "the non-random selection of randomly varying replicators."
>
> (the most condensed description I have ever read)
Me too; admirably concise. But it does include artificial as well as
natural selection, phrased that way.
Thanks for the .sig fodder. :)
Eva,
who doesn't even use a .sig file, but recognizes the principle.