Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 16:18:28 -0400
Subject: Re: HAB: Brain Research and the Return of Universal Human Nature?


david:

at the fear of crossing yet another boundary of netiquette, not to mention
conflating intolerance with disagreement, i respectfully suggest that you
take some of your opinions off this public list, especially when they are
so vitriolic and exceedingly personal. send them directly to people
involved if you will. alternatively you can respond on topic and comment
on the relavance of functional MRI to the mind-body question, which i
presume was part of thomas mcdonald's point when he sent the times article
to the list, and habermas', and in fact frankfurt school's, particular
(universal indeed! look at the title) formulation of human behavior.
strategic action is just one of many starting points for discussion.

On Wed, 24 Jul 2002, David Hawkes wrote:

> I'm sorry, but the idea that human social behavior is determined by
> evolutionary biology is indeed rubbish--and fascistic rubbish at that.  Maybe
> it does have some relevance to Habermas, although I would say that the
> Arab--Israeli conflict is much more relevant, because it raises questions about
> the normative value of secular rationalism, among other reasons.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> David Hawkes
> 
> Kevin Olson wrote:
> 
> > Mmm, not rubish at all, David.  From the standpoint of naturalizing
> > rationality and/or solving the problem of social order, it's definitely
> > provocative.  You might consider the parallel with Habermas's (and
> > Parson's) argument that strategic action is parasitic on social
> > cooperation.  It would be quite interesting if the logical priority of
> > cooperation were mimicked by evolution.
> >
> > For a fuller account of "what this has to do with Habermas," you might read
> > chap. 2 of Joe Heath's _Communicative Action and Rational Choice_.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Kevin
> >
> > >First of all, this is rubbish.  Secondly, what does it have to do with
> > >Habermas?
> > >
> > >Cheers,
> > >
> > >David Hawkes
> > >
> > >Thomas McDonald wrote:
> > >
> > >> The New York Times
> > >> July 23, 2002
> > >>
> > >> Why We're So Nice: We're Wired to Cooperate
> > >> By Natalie Angier
> > >>
> > >> What feels as good as chocolate on the tongue or money in the bank
> > >> but won't make you fat or risk a subpoena from the Securities and
> > >> Exchange Commission?
> > >>
> > >> Hard as it may be to believe in these days of infectious greed and
> > >> sabers unsheathed, scientists have discovered that the small, brave
> > >> act of cooperating with another person, of choosing trust over
> > >> cynicism, generosity over selfishness, makes the brain light up with
> > >> quiet joy.
> > >>
> > >> Studying neural activity in young women who were playing a classic
> > >> laboratory game called the Prisoner's Dilemma, in which participants
> > >> can select from a number of greedy or cooperative strategies as they
> > >> pursue financial gain, researchers found that when the women chose
> > >> mutualism over "me-ism," the mental circuitry normally associated
> > >> with reward-seeking behavior swelled to life.
> > >>
> > >> And the longer the women engaged in a cooperative strategy, the more
> > >> strongly flowed the blood to the pathways of pleasure.
> > >>
> > >> The researchers, performing their work at Emory University in
> > >> Atlanta, used magnetic resonance imaging to take what might be called
> > >> portraits of the brain on hugs.
> > >>
> > >> http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/23/health/psychology/23COOP.html
> > >>
> > >>      --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >     --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> >
> >      --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> 
> 
> 
>      --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> 




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