evolutionary biology

[qrius]

Can you suggest some books on evolutionary biology to squash the myth propounded by capitalist media about the survival of fittest and that is why capitalism is the only way?

[Zutroy]

If you're referring to natural selection, that is in fact a major force of change in evolutionary biology. If you want to counter the application of this to capitalism, then point out that the analogy between biology and economics is flawed to begin with.

I don't have any books to suggest, as I don't know of any scientific material that refutes natural selection. If such material exists in modern discourse, I personally would keep my distance from it. What you're looking for is a philosophical counter-argument, not a biological counter-argument.

[qrius]

Of course I'm not trying to refute the concept of natural selection, as I am quite aware of its importance in evolutionary biology & such. However the coinage "survival of the fittest" is by Herbert Spencer if I'm not wrong. Darwin later introduced it in his books. I am just looking for good books on evolutionary biology which will throw some light on the current developments in this field, so that I can get a somewhat good grasp of the matter and also be able to refute such baseless claims propagated by the mainstream media which I guess you have correctly labeled as flawed.

[darkblues]

db

[Comrade Jacob]

Just say: "We have selfishness and greed because it is a survival tactic, if we could create a society where you didn't need selfishness and greed to survive then it would fade away. Cubans are far less selfish than most, they will do what they can to help each other and they don't have to compete for things like jobs because jobs are very available (they have the lowest unemployment in the world) compared to capitalist countries where everything is run by greed but it doesn't have to be this way and human nature can and does chance to fit it's surroundings. (Survival of the fittest)"

Or explain it like this: "So we make a society where it benefits your survival by being selfless, charitable and conscientious and where it is a detriment to survival to be greedy, the greedy part of nature becomes defunct and we are left with the selfless aspect".

This is how I use natural selection to show how Communism can be reached. When people use the "human nature" argument they forget that human-nature exists because of it's surrounding and given the environment human nature (maybe it takes 100s of years) can change for the better.

:grin:

I'm not sure of any books, but I'm sure they exist.

[qrius]

Hmm. I should have made myself clear at the beginning. Of course I can shift my argument in either of those directions. However I am more interested in the scientific aspect of this, so as to know the arguments against the reemerging trends of sociobiology which proposes immutability of human social behavior in the light of genetic determinism.

Herbert Spencer is credited with starting the concept of Social Darwinism. The phrase "survival of the fittest" has become widely used in popular literature as a catchphrase for any topic related or analogous to evolution and natural selection. It has thus been applied to principles of unrestrained competition, and it has been used extensively by both proponents and opponents of Social Darwinism. Its shortcomings as a description of Darwinian evolution have also become more apparent (see below).
The above portion lifted from wikipedia also states how this coinage is being used by both the opponents and social darwinists alike, though to arrive at widely different conclusions.So I just wanted to know if there's any such book which will help me in understanding this a bit better. I have already read Not In Our Genes and plan to read The dialectical Biologist soon. So,any other suggestion?

[Remus Bleys]

Mutual Aid by Kropotkin was an evolutionary view and it relying on mutual aid.
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/mutaidcontents.html

[Devrim]

Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene (2nd edition or later)
Devrim

[cyu]

What if the cells in your body competed with each other? What if they fought constantly to grab as many resources as possible? What will you have at the end? One lone "superior" cell, and all the other cells are dead? If that's how biology worked, we wouldn't be humans, we would be single-celled organisms :D

[Tim Cornelis]

Frans de Waal's The Age of Empathy is what you're looking for.


Are we our brothers’ keepers? Do we have an instinct for compassion? Or are we, as is often assumed, only on earth to serve our own survival and interest? In this thought-provoking book, the acclaimed author of Our Inner Ape explores how empathy comes naturally to humans and other animals.

Drawing from fieldwork and laboratory research on chimpanzees, bonobos, and capuchins—as well as on dolphins and elephants—de Waal shows us that many animals are predisposed to take care of one another, come to one another’s aid, and, in some cases, take life-saving action. De Waal argues that human biology similarly offers a giant helping hand to those striving for a just society, and that every human is destined to be humane. Written in layman’s prose with a wealth of anecdotes, wry humor, and incisive intelligence, THE AGE OF EMPATHY is essential reading for our embattled times.

Also this video:

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Just say: "We have selfishness and greed because it is a survival tactic, if we could create a society where you didn't need selfishness and greed to survive then it would fade away. Cubans are far less selfish than most, they will do what they can to help each other and they don't have to compete for things like jobs because jobs are very available (they have the lowest unemployment in the world) compared to capitalist countries where everything is run by greed but it doesn't have to be this way and human nature can and does chance to fit it's surroundings. (Survival of the fittest)"

Or explain it like this: "So we make a society where it benefits your survival by being selfless, charitable and conscientious and where it is a detriment to survival to be greedy, the greedy part of nature becomes defunct and we are left with the selfless aspect".

This is how I use natural selection to show how Communism can be reached. When people use the "human nature" argument they forget that human-nature exists because of it's surrounding and given the environment human nature (maybe it takes 100s of years) can change for the better.

:grin:

I'm not sure of any books, but I'm sure they exist.

Evolution doesn't work that fast. I read or saw somewhere (I think a documentary) that showed human biology has been surpassed by civilisation and that in reality we are not entirely 'compatible' with civilisation. So it's illusory to think 100 years of no competition will change our biological human nature. Evolution is not conscious and has no plan, so "greed" etc. will not just fade away because it's socially obsolete. Evolution is a series, an array, of random accidents and an environment that enables it or not. Just because something is beneficial will not mean evolution will develop it and just because something is not beneficial will also not mean evolution will not develop it. And if it does happen it takes far more than 100 years, more like 10,000.

[MarxSchmarx]

Probably the most rigorous book applying a Marxist analysis to evolutionary biology and how its major tenets coexist with capitalist economics is R. Levins and R. Lewontin "Dialectical Biologist".

Both authors are pivotal figures of modern evolutionary biology.

[Ace High]

I swear I read that title as "revolutionary biology" at first.