SkeleTony's Profile
Hey Fireball,
"Some parasites and bacteria seem to treat us well... Some, but not all, but still - where is the similarity? (Some people can be considered "parasitic" but thats not what I mean...)
They are NOT "treating us well". They are doing what they do, without any thought given to the matter at all and if that hap[pens to also benefit us in some way then that is just an incidental matter. "Treating" implies intent. Similarly, if while eating a hamburger or breathing or bathing I happen to also be killing some microscopic species, it is not because I am "treating" said species with malice. I am simply doing what I must do to nourish or keep myself healthy.
"I'm sure you could, but is it always the persons intention? What did Mahatma Ghandi get? Imprisonment?"
Consciously? No...most people are probably not conscious of the self-interest that drives their acts of reciprocal altruism. Would Gandhi have acted as he did if the universal reaction by others were indifference or antagonism? Nope. But the fact that reverence and even idolization are the typical 'rewards' for such acts is the driving force.
And it does not matter one iota whether the person is going to live to enjoy such rewards directly. The knowledge or belief that he will be thought well of is itself a powerful motivator.
"Some parasites and bacteria seem to treat us well... Some, but not all, but still - where is the similarity? (Some people can be considered "parasitic" but thats not what I mean...)
They are NOT "treating us well". They are doing what they do, without any thought given to the matter at all and if that hap[pens to also benefit us in some way then that is just an incidental matter. "Treating" implies intent. Similarly, if while eating a hamburger or breathing or bathing I happen to also be killing some microscopic species, it is not because I am "treating" said species with malice. I am simply doing what I must do to nourish or keep myself healthy.
"I'm sure you could, but is it always the persons intention? What did Mahatma Ghandi get? Imprisonment?"
Consciously? No...most people are probably not conscious of the self-interest that drives their acts of reciprocal altruism. Would Gandhi have acted as he did if the universal reaction by others were indifference or antagonism? Nope. But the fact that reverence and even idolization are the typical 'rewards' for such acts is the driving force.
And it does not matter one iota whether the person is going to live to enjoy such rewards directly. The knowledge or belief that he will be thought well of is itself a powerful motivator.
