I think it was Billy Joel who sang “It’s
always been a matter of trust.”
I am reading E.O. Wilson’s The Meaning of Human Existence and was
within the first few pages reminded of Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael.
In Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael pre-agricultural man lived at
the mercy of the god(s); sometimes there was plenty sometimes there was drought
and famine. But a post-agricultural man who can store a surplus of food is no
longer at the mercy of the god(s). (Cue
ominous music)
Now this passage from E.O. Wilson’s
The Meaning of Human Existence:
…the greatest
moral dilemma since God stayed the hand of Abraham: how much to retrofit the
human genotype. …We are about to abandon natural selection…in order to direct
our own evolution by volitional selection-the process of redesigning our
biology and human nature as we wish them to be. No longer will the prevalence
of some genes over others be the result of environmental forces, most of which
are beyond human control or even understanding. The genes and the prescribed
traits can be what we choose. So – how about longer lives, enlarged memory,
better vision, less aggressive behavior, superior athletic ability, pleasing body
odor?
In Quinn’s case the running of the
world can be left to the god(s) or man; In Wilson’s case the evolution of man
can be left to natural selection (god(s)) or to man.
I get the feeling neither author
trusts man with the responsibilities.
Do you?
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