RichardSRussell (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} richardsrussell) wrote,@ 2008-02-28 03:36:00 |
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Humans As Machines
How to win an argument: You get to make up what the other side says!
Yup, guaranteed win, but hardly a fair fight.
And also not very good training for what to do when you encounter an opponent who actually punches back, as I did when Williamsen started to speak of
Kurt Williamsen starts with his bizarre understanding of evolution and, not surprisingly, uses it to draw some bizarre conclusions:
= = = = = =
According to strict evolutionary theory, humans are simply a collection of genes operating through chemical reactions. We're like chemically based computers that follow set programming.
Yet human behavior belies this claim. We make choices through free will; we have self-awareness to the extent that we realize our place in the cosmos; and we have a conscience.
And though we are said to be machines designed to selfishly propagate our genes, we often exhibit generosity and compassion toward strangers, even at the risk of own lives. We stand apart.
= = = = = =
Well, my, aren’t we special?
If Williamsen’s use of “set programming” meant nothing more than “humans, like everything else in nature, follow the laws of physics”, I’d have no objection to his characterization. But he’s clearly trying to imply something darker than that. He’s showing us a picture of human beings as mindless automatons — robots — and saying that this is the picture painted by evolution.
By presumed contrast, religion takes the view that we’re all just free, free, free — gloriously unbound by our genetics or environmental conditioning — free to romp thru the meadows of springtime without a care in the world, calloo, callay!
Carefully omitted from this upbeat depiction is the story available in many religious tracts and pamphlets about just how “free” you really are, according to the Christian worldview. “God has a plan for you!”, they trumpet. This is followed a few pages in by depictions of sinners shrieking in the flames of Hell, with the follow-up message “And this is what becomes of you if you don’t bow down and accept God’s plan for you.”. Yeah, good luck if you actually try to use that freedom thing, buddy.
So this pleasant little tale of how evolution forces you into a straitjacket of predeterminism while religion promises you the limitless benefits of free will is really just a snow job, a sales pitch that leaves out the painted-over rust spots and collision history of the lemon they’re trying to get you to buy.
What’s really going on is that the human brain is so complicated that we have no way of telling in advance what it’s going to come up with. It’s unpredictable. But why is it unpredictable? Is it because we have “free will”? Is it because it behaves randomly? Or is it simply because we don’t have deep enuf knowledge or sophisticated enuf techniques to make such predictions reliably?
To quote Arthur C. Clarke’s 3rd Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
And any sufficiently complicated decision-making engine — and there are none more complex than the human brain — is indistinguishable from free will.
Do human beings “stand apart”, as Williamsen contends? Well, yes, to borrow the old cliché, we’re unique, just like everybody else. The particular thing that makes us unique is the giant brain we possess. But cheetahs are also unique, in that they’re the fastest land animals known. The blue whale is unique because it’s the biggest animal on Earth. Dogs are unique because they’ve got the most highly developed sense of smell. Bats are unique because they’ve refined sonar to an unbelievable level of sophistication. Termites are unique because they’re the species with the largest total biomass on the planet. Certain strains of archaea are unique because they’re the oldest continuous species on Earth.
Despite the fact that humans have the most complex brains, we are far from alone in exhibiting complex behavior. Cheetahs, whales, and termites also demonstrate complex behavior, not the sort of thing that looks like a machine at all. They too are unpredictable at our current level of knowledge. We’re not as fast as a cheetah; cheetahs aren’t as smart as we are. But we humans can motor along pretty good when we need to, and cheetahs aren’t so stupid they’re going to chase tree stumps instead of gazelles. We’ve each got a lesser helping of what the other is tops at.
There’s nothing whatever about “free will”, self-awareness, a conscience, generosity, or compassion that’s even remotely incompatible with evolution as it really works. Of course, just about all of them are incompatible with the caricature of evolution that Williamsen draws, but that’s his problem; you shouldn’t make it yours as well.
There have been whole books written about why altruism is a survival characteristic, favored by evolution, but I won’t get into that depth here. Let me leave it with just an example.
A huge man-eating tiger is stalking the jungle. In this jungle live 2 tribes, the Droppos and the Grabbos. One day a Droppo comes running into his camp screaming “The tiger is coming. Drop the kids and run.” Everyone does. A week later a Grabbo comes running into his camp screaming “The tiger is coming. Grab the kids and run.” Everyone does.
The basic premise of evolution by natural selection is that certain traits will lead to the survival of more offspring, and over the long haul this will favor the species that exhibit those traits. Which trait do you suppose evolution favors in the tiger-infested jungle, the selfish behavior of the Droppos or the altruistic behavior of the Grabbos?
Evolutionary theory — real evolutionary theory, not Williamsen’s cartoon version — provides a perfectly understandable explanation for the rise and success of altruism among humans. Nothing at all supernatural about it.
Humans aren’t machines; we’re much more interesting than machines. But, in the truly wonderful world of nature, none of the other critters are machines, either. Science shows how we’re all interconnected and similar. It’s not so big on this “standing apart” business.
Tomoro: The Odds against the Universe
How to win an argument: You get to make up what the other side says!
Yup, guaranteed win, but hardly a fair fight.
And also not very good training for what to do when you encounter an opponent who actually punches back, as I did when Williamsen started to speak of
Kurt Williamsen starts with his bizarre understanding of evolution and, not surprisingly, uses it to draw some bizarre conclusions:
= = = = = =
According to strict evolutionary theory, humans are simply a collection of genes operating through chemical reactions. We're like chemically based computers that follow set programming.
Yet human behavior belies this claim. We make choices through free will; we have self-awareness to the extent that we realize our place in the cosmos; and we have a conscience.
And though we are said to be machines designed to selfishly propagate our genes, we often exhibit generosity and compassion toward strangers, even at the risk of own lives. We stand apart.
= = = = = =
Well, my, aren’t we special?
If Williamsen’s use of “set programming” meant nothing more than “humans, like everything else in nature, follow the laws of physics”, I’d have no objection to his characterization. But he’s clearly trying to imply something darker than that. He’s showing us a picture of human beings as mindless automatons — robots — and saying that this is the picture painted by evolution.
By presumed contrast, religion takes the view that we’re all just free, free, free — gloriously unbound by our genetics or environmental conditioning — free to romp thru the meadows of springtime without a care in the world, calloo, callay!
Carefully omitted from this upbeat depiction is the story available in many religious tracts and pamphlets about just how “free” you really are, according to the Christian worldview. “God has a plan for you!”, they trumpet. This is followed a few pages in by depictions of sinners shrieking in the flames of Hell, with the follow-up message “And this is what becomes of you if you don’t bow down and accept God’s plan for you.”. Yeah, good luck if you actually try to use that freedom thing, buddy.
So this pleasant little tale of how evolution forces you into a straitjacket of predeterminism while religion promises you the limitless benefits of free will is really just a snow job, a sales pitch that leaves out the painted-over rust spots and collision history of the lemon they’re trying to get you to buy.
What’s really going on is that the human brain is so complicated that we have no way of telling in advance what it’s going to come up with. It’s unpredictable. But why is it unpredictable? Is it because we have “free will”? Is it because it behaves randomly? Or is it simply because we don’t have deep enuf knowledge or sophisticated enuf techniques to make such predictions reliably?
To quote Arthur C. Clarke’s 3rd Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
And any sufficiently complicated decision-making engine — and there are none more complex than the human brain — is indistinguishable from free will.
Do human beings “stand apart”, as Williamsen contends? Well, yes, to borrow the old cliché, we’re unique, just like everybody else. The particular thing that makes us unique is the giant brain we possess. But cheetahs are also unique, in that they’re the fastest land animals known. The blue whale is unique because it’s the biggest animal on Earth. Dogs are unique because they’ve got the most highly developed sense of smell. Bats are unique because they’ve refined sonar to an unbelievable level of sophistication. Termites are unique because they’re the species with the largest total biomass on the planet. Certain strains of archaea are unique because they’re the oldest continuous species on Earth.
Despite the fact that humans have the most complex brains, we are far from alone in exhibiting complex behavior. Cheetahs, whales, and termites also demonstrate complex behavior, not the sort of thing that looks like a machine at all. They too are unpredictable at our current level of knowledge. We’re not as fast as a cheetah; cheetahs aren’t as smart as we are. But we humans can motor along pretty good when we need to, and cheetahs aren’t so stupid they’re going to chase tree stumps instead of gazelles. We’ve each got a lesser helping of what the other is tops at.
There’s nothing whatever about “free will”, self-awareness, a conscience, generosity, or compassion that’s even remotely incompatible with evolution as it really works. Of course, just about all of them are incompatible with the caricature of evolution that Williamsen draws, but that’s his problem; you shouldn’t make it yours as well.
There have been whole books written about why altruism is a survival characteristic, favored by evolution, but I won’t get into that depth here. Let me leave it with just an example.
A huge man-eating tiger is stalking the jungle. In this jungle live 2 tribes, the Droppos and the Grabbos. One day a Droppo comes running into his camp screaming “The tiger is coming. Drop the kids and run.” Everyone does. A week later a Grabbo comes running into his camp screaming “The tiger is coming. Grab the kids and run.” Everyone does.
The basic premise of evolution by natural selection is that certain traits will lead to the survival of more offspring, and over the long haul this will favor the species that exhibit those traits. Which trait do you suppose evolution favors in the tiger-infested jungle, the selfish behavior of the Droppos or the altruistic behavior of the Grabbos?
Evolutionary theory — real evolutionary theory, not Williamsen’s cartoon version — provides a perfectly understandable explanation for the rise and success of altruism among humans. Nothing at all supernatural about it.
Humans aren’t machines; we’re much more interesting than machines. But, in the truly wonderful world of nature, none of the other critters are machines, either. Science shows how we’re all interconnected and similar. It’s not so big on this “standing apart” business.
Tomoro: The Odds against the Universe
