Russell Blackford wrote:
>
> Mike said
>
> >I'll have to read that. I suggest reading things like Jared Diamond's
> >"Guns, Germs, and Steel", which presents a rather persuasive argument
> >for an objective basis for the preeminence of western concepts.
>
> Actually, I have read it. Highly recommended, Mike; I second your view that
> it should be widely read.
>
> However, it doesn't present an objective basis for the preeminence of
> Western concepts in the sense of arguing in any way that such concepts are
> *justified*. It merely offers a speculative economic history of how Western
> civilization happened to conquer other civilizations, largely by better
> weapons, superior materials, and resistance to smallpox. All of these were
> little more than historical accidents - that's Diamond's whole point.
>
> This kind of theory is hardly a basis for moral realism and I'd be
> astonished if Diamond himself thought anything of the kind.
While the central thesis of Diamond's, that cultures of the eurasian
band were destined for dominance due to evolution of more domesticable
plants and animals in that region than others, this still leaves a lot
of room, from the collectivism of China to nomadism of the steppes and
the individualism of europe, as well as the theocracies and other
systems of Indus, Euphrates, and Nile Valleys, etc. and that resistance
to smallpox (which developed most strongly among individualistic
herders) and the need for superior materials for the same, it is rather
plain that such occurences are a part of natural evolution in a complex
ecosystem. That this is a natural evolution, it is similarly likely to
occur on other worlds as well (and don't try any of that Saganistic
'aliens could look like anything' claptrap. While aliens could look like
anything, one of my longstanding theses is that intelligent species that
develop technological civilizations will evolve in similar fashion as
humans did. Those aliens that do not develop technology will never come
in contact with us, and therefore do not count.) Also, because this
process is a natural evolution, it is an objective basis for the
morality of that culture which comes out on top and survives most
successfully.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:20 MDT