The narcissism of small differences was a theory set forward by Freud, it is the idea that communities that are closer together are especially likely to engage in feuds because of hypersensitivity to details of differentiation. But such an idea lacks explanatory power. It simply tells us that what happens, but not why it happens. … Read more
Hegel was one of the most influential philosophers in history. In addition to Protestants and philosophers, Marx borrowed ideas from Hegel. But Russell thinks that Hegel’s doctrines are false. The Law of Non-Contradiction Hegel asserted that the rational is real and the real is rational, “the nature of Reality can be deduced from the sole … Read more
Nature has no use for anything that cannot reproduce abundantly. Nature cares more about the species than the organism. That is why through the struggle of natural selection, quantity has been set as the prerequisite to quality – large litters, big families, the race of a thousand sperms. Nature does not care that a high … Read more
Life is selection. Nature loves difference as the necessary material of selection and evolution. Nature does not care about any political manifesto’s that man has written. To nature, men are not free and is not born equal. Differentiation underlies evolution. Without variation, there is no nature, no complexity. Equality and freedom are at odds. Those … Read more
We usually think that competition is a form of cooperation since all sides must adhere to the laws of the game, but cooperation is also a form of competition, it is a tool for competition. “Competition is not only the life of trade, it is the trade of life – peaceful when food abounds, violent … Read more
The first lesson that Durant reveals to us is modesty. Two scientific revolutions forced us to be modest, the Copernican revolution, and the Darwinian revolution. Copernicus told us that we are not the center of the universe, and Darwin told us that we are merely highly evolved animals, but animals nonetheless. What we think of … Read more
What is behind human motivation? Freud would tell you that all human goals are manifestations of the biological need to reproduce. All our desires, including intellectuality and aesthetic taste, are merely by-products of sexual signaling. Comedians are not witty because there is anything unique about their personality, but because it enhances their chances of standing … Read more
The Red Queen is about how humans behave, and what led them to behave this way. Ridley compares the human mammal to other animals, and finds patterns that we have in common. The most universal of those patterns, Ridley argues, is sexuality. The explanations for why males and females exist, why they behave differently, why … Read more
Mankind is a self-domesticated animal; a social ape; an ape in which the male takes the initiative in courtship and females usually leave home; an ape in which men are predators, women herbivorous foragers; an ape in which males are hierarchical, females egalitarian. An ape in which males invest heavily in offspring by providing their … Read more
Are beauty standards cultural whims or innate drives? Incest may give us a hint. Freud thought that incest is a taboo that originated in people’s attraction to ther opposite sex parents, because it would result in birth defects. But there are several objections to this theory. First, sexual attraction is not the same as attraction. … Read more