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To: dark_lord
Yes. There are many studies that have been done on the selective advantage of "altruism". In nature, this is where an individual will take a risk that benefits others in the group, but increases the risk to that individual. The open question has been - how is this behavior genetically determined, if exhibiting the behavior will reduce the chance of the individual reproducing. The answer is, it is genetically passed through that individuals relatives.

Okay, I went back and reread what you said. You were just giving an example. LOL Duh. It sounds very far-fetched to me. Where does choice, character, kindness, goodness, and stuff like that fit in? The existence of altruism just reveals the part of humanity that is made in God's image, imo. How do you explain the human spirit? How do you explain human love, sacrifice, and self-denial? We are much more than just a bunch of genes. The CHOICES we make are the variables that separate great men from average or below average men. That's not genetics, that's free will.

71 posted on 01/30/2003 5:28:10 PM PST by RAT Patrol
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To: RAT Patrol
Well, the studies on altruism have been done on animals. Yep, apparently some animals exhibit this trait in the wild. So it is not just a human trait. That's why I used it as an example.

Don't get me wrong. Personally, I think a bunch of homosexual behavior is a "learned" behavior. I think that a person is "imprinted" towards heterosexuality or homosexuality as they enter puberty. But I think there is probably a genetic component also. Thus I think that someone might be genetically oriented towards homosexuality but will never practice it due to their culture. In that case they might not be very sexually oriented, or might become celibate, for example. I also think that someone who is genetically oriented towards heterosexuality (by far the general case) might, due to environmental experience or culture, practice some homosexuality but not be particularly interested in it.

Many if not most human behaviors have a genetic component. But the vast majority of behaviors are heavily influenced by culture.

So, if it turned out there was a genetic tendency towards homosexualty for a fraction of the population (say 2%), that does not mean that we have to say, well that's okay then. Our culture should still reject it. We should, in my opinion, suppress it. When we don't, the "gay" culture as we have seen is pretty disgusting and self destructive. But because it may well be that there is a such a genetic tendency, we need to "manage" the situation, not tar and feather them.

72 posted on 01/30/2003 5:59:52 PM PST by dark_lord
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