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It’s become increasingly common to explain current failings by evolutionary biology, but this argument isn’t valid. Because 1/
2/ Current failings are different from (and sometimes opposite to) failing we had in the. Evolutionary biology therefore has to explain the occurrence of X now, and not-X in the past.
But then it reduces to a trivial statement
But then it reduces to a trivial statement
3/ This is that because we evolved, everything about us is the result of evolution, which is like saying that because God created the world, everthing we do is God’s work.
4/ Even though Benjamin Franklin is supposed to have said something like “I’ve never known anyone to leave a disputation convinced with a different view to that he held when he went into it”, there are cases where we do change our minds when presented with facts.
5/ People who do this have a rational or empiricist disposition (or are said to have open minds). Thinking like this, and not on the basis of our preconceived ideas is a skill or virtue (what we now call skill is v like what people used to call virtue, but that’s another story)
6/ And a society that wants to stay in touch with reality needs to work out ways to persuade people to hold this attiude (or teach it). ENDS
