clusterfark 2

more confusion of the body politic

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• dawahfilms
• EDMD
• atheism
• thunderf00t
• anti-theism
• Muslim
• cognitive
• neuro
• biology
• politics
• racism

[AutodidacticPhd]

@CityzenJane Ok, first off, how in the world do you come up with memes that affect genes?

Anyway, who cares about "the West" or "the East". That's garbage. When I say race is genetic, I mean skin colour, shape of the eye, etc... things that are largely not a matter of choice and do not fundamentally determine belief or attitude.

The Chinese say, "pretense maintained becomes reality." While such a phrase may apply to Buddhism say, no amount of pretending will ever make me Chinese.

[CityzenJane]

@AutodidacticPhd I am actually talking about the space between memes and genes - and genes are a bad term because they are too deterministic... This is about the epigenetics -- memetics affecting gene expression and the reinforcement of pathways - which are embedded in biology while at the same time being deeply wedded to thought patterns. Nothing about it obliterates individuality. But it does undermine the idea that - all this drama is between 'the rational West' and the 'atavistic East'..

[womanwheart]

Great questions for one to ponder and I'd agree with your conclusion. I hope you stay on and continue to detail what you see Jane. It's an important addition to everything else.

[AutodidacticPhd]

@CityzenJane What makes you say that?

[CityzenJane]

@AutodidacticPhd you seem more certain and attached to the outcome here than I am "D

[AutodidacticPhd]

@CityzenJane I'm assuming you're referring to the author of "On Being Certain"... I haven't heard of him previously, though the title looks interesting. Frankly, I personally reject all claims to certainty, be they mine or other's... of course, we have to ACT certain in order to function, whether we believe in it or not.

Anyhow, until I can find some more material on this individual, I am still left feeling a strong behaviorist vibe from the video, even on my third time through.

[CityzenJane]

@AutodidacticPhd I am actually thinking in terms of Robert Burton's work..

[AutodidacticPhd]

@CityzenJane Well, you didn't mention memes by name either... but a good chunk of what you said in this video sounds really behaviorist, whether you meant it to or not.

[AutodidacticPhd]

@CityzenJane Just sayin, neurobio people can't really make all that many strong claims, so you don't have much to worry about there as yet.

I tend to get a bit squirmy when people convolve creed and race as the same issue. I simply do not see it that way at all. Strictly speaking, race is genetic, creed is memetic, and attitude towards others is memetic. As such, an attitude toward a gene and an attitude toward a meme are two totally different ballgames.

[CityzenJane]

@AutodidacticPhd I actually am not talking about Skinner or behaviorism... and it's rare that anyone would conclude I am much of a determinist about any of this stuff. But I am rather vague in this...