File spoon-archives/bhaskar.archive/bhaskar_2003/bhaskar.0311, message 95


Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 21:15:52 +0000
From: Mervyn Hartwig <mh-AT-jaspere.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: BHA: Flourishing, Aristotle, etc.


OK, one could equally argue that competion and aggression have been 
necessary for biological evolution to proceed, and a eudaimonian society 
might well want to retain competition in various forms. But I think it 
remains the case that co-operation is ontologically prior within 
communities. The ability of the wolf to successfully attack the deer 
derives from co-operation and social love--if they spent most of their 
time fighting each other they couldn't do it, and what fighting they do 
do with each other is sustained by co-operation in a way that doesn't 
apply vice versa.

Mervyn


jamie morgan <jamie-AT-morganj58.fsnet.co.uk> writes
>Might it not be that competition and aggression has proved successful within
>evolution as much as cooperation and thus both have had their place in
>species evolution and also in human social development - implying that both
>are aspects of nature and of society where the concept of primacy or triumph
>is not necessarily the best way of think about what we want to take from
>each?
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mervyn Hartwig" <mh-AT-jaspere.demon.co.uk>
>To: <bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
>Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 6:18 PM
>Subject: Re: BHA: Flourishing, Aristotle, etc.
>
>
>> Hi Dick,
>>
>> But it hasn't, i.e. notwithstanding inter-(and intra-)specific
>> aggression, species have proliferated and flourished. If aggression
>> dominated both inter- and intra- the whole show would come to a halt (as
>> of course it might yet owing to contingent aggression within a
>> contingently powerful species, i.e. ours; it would remain the case that
>> there could be no process of biological evolution if love did not
>> triumph over evil, Eros over Thanatos).
>>
>> Mervyn
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  "Moodey, Richard W" <MOODEY001-AT-gannon.edu> writes
>> >Hi Mervyn,
>> >
>> >You wrote:
>> >
>> >"One can argue that, given that biological evolution proceeds, it must be
>> >the case that co-operation, care etc prevails over self-preservation,
>> >aggression etc within species."
>> >
>> >But isn't it possible that conflict among (between)different communities
>> >may prevail over co-operation among (between)them, even as this
>> >conflict requires high degrees of co-operation within each of these
>> >communities?
>> >
>> >I don't write this out of any basic disagreement with the other arguments
>> >for the either the existence or the fundamental goodness of something
>> >(not yet fully specified, perhaps) that we can point to with the
>heuristic
>> >concept, "human nature."
>> >
>> >Regards,
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>      --- from list bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
>>
>
>
>
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