|
|
Evolution. One of those topics that is not always easily understood and can upset people based on their religious belief. For this section I am going to assume that it is true. In case you don't know anything about evolution I will attempt to explain it. When something reproduces it's offspring is a rough copy of its parents. I say rough because DNA, the stuff genes are made of, when copied, tends to be a little sloppy. What this means is that there are sometimes new variations in the offspring. This variation is called a mutation. Now the way evolution works is survival of the fittest. If you are the best you reproduce the most and your genes that helped make you survive gets past on. So you have the good genes moving on and the bad ones being eliminated. Now mutations can help a species adapt. If an offspring has a new trait that helps it survive really well it will reproduce more and pass on this new trait. But if the mutation is bad it will be eliminated by the offspring either not reproducing, or not reproducing that much. Multiply this cycle over millions of years and you can see how we have such diversity of life on this world. Ok, so how does this apply to ethics? Well, think about what this means. It means first and foremost that we are a part of nature; not above it as some would have you believe. So we are on the same level as all other animals. This also means that our main goal is to survive as a species. So anything that helps us continue as a species is okay. So killing off the weak is acceptable. Having multiple sex partners is promoted since it diversifies the gene pool, raising the chances the species will continue. Now of course we don't have all the same problems as other animals, but we do have our own unique problems such as diseases, car accidents, etc. So we have supplanted nature's obstacles with some that we made on our own. It also means that everything is caused. Evolution relies on the idea that everything is caused in some way through genes, environment, etc. A good way to look at this in an ethical manner is to picture mankind with no technology. Think of us with as much technology as primates have. That limits us to using sticks to probe termites out of logs for snacks! Now think of what it would take to survive and move our species forward. Essentially everything goes. Survival of the fittest is the only law of nature. So you can kill or be killed. You can have multiple sex partners. You do everything you can to survive so that you can have as many children as possible to spread your genes and promote diversification in the gene pool to help the chances that our species will continue to survive and not go extinct. |