The Solitary Self

Britain's leading moral philosopher, Mary Midgley, visits the RSA to challenge the idea that we are self-directed individuals at the mercy of our 'selfish genes'

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• mary midgley
• midgley
• philosophy
• society
• culture
• individualism
• the solitary self
• selfish gene
• individual
• rsa
• royal society of arts
• the rsa
• social

[Smithers103]

Wish I could be that coherent and naunced at 91.

[betadryl]

Is there a transcript for this?

[0111001101100001]

Women does not know what she's talking about.

[stephenblackman2003a]

where is the rest of this video?

[outsidemendham]

"where is the evidence for a 'selfish gene'?"

It is all around us. There is only natural selection at the gene level, no sexual selection or epigenetics nonsense. Youtube user inmendham makes good videos with a philosophy based on the concept of the selfish gene.

[GekkeMalloot]

@outsidemendham What's more stupid? To continue combating unscientific nonsense when you are retired from university or writing unscientific stories under the flag of science? By the way, where is the evidence for a 'selfish gene'? So far for his scientific achievements.

[outsidemendham]

@GekkeMalloot

Dawkins may address issues outside science, which does not diminish his credentials as a scientist and originator of the concept of the selfish gene. And I correct myself: It is Decades ago, Mary Midgely should have left the science to scientists instead of interfering and obfuscating what is true.

[GekkeMalloot]

@outsidemendham The way the story of evolution as origin is described by Dawkins reads like an epic but is not based in reality nor on evidence. Talking about leaving the academic realm, Dawkins left a lot earlier and unlike Dawkins Midgely stills acts as an academic.

[outsidemendham]

@GekkeMalloot

What do you mean by "mystification"? Dawkins and Atkins watch?v=Iw7WOwjqIQw strongly disagree (and own) Mrs. Midgely, who should have left the academic realm years ago.

[GekkeMalloot]

She's is so right about neo-Darwinists claiming non-Darwinian claims and the mystification of the story of evolution turning it into a heroic fairytale without any supporting facts.

[shamusmachamish]

@Pylo01 You have to actually define what you are talking about before you can talk clearly about it. That is part of the job of Philosophy. Surely the contributions on the Philosophy of Science by such people as Popper (and Hume) (and Kuhn) are regarded as valuable be even the most anti-rational empiricist?

[thedeeliciousplum]

Though "wpfairbanks" used an exceptionally harsh manner to express their thoughts of Mary Midgley, I do agree in that Richard Dawkins is not himself an absolutist and that Mary is incapable of conceiving this probability of people possessing evolving thoughts. Had Mary Midgley taken a respectful amount of time & energy to engage Richard Dawkins in a public discourse on this, she would do a great service to those who love her work and to all who enjoy learning about life & about human behaviours.