nj writes:
Can an evolutionist make moral pronouncements, such as "rape is bad," while still clinging to his or her beliefs in evolution? Does it leave them in an indefensible position or can any of you reconcile this?
Morality and biology are almost completely nonrelated. Simply put, morality is how we as humans try to define appropriate behaviors and inappropriate behaviors to stabilize society and hopefully make life more comfortable for people. Biology is simply a field of science that studies interactions between organic beings and describes how these interactions come about. I don't know if this is the official definition or not and I don't care. It just came off the top of my head.
The point is evolution is simply a description of what we observe and what seems to be the case in nature. Frankly, I don't understand how one can draw any correlation between morality and something like evolution. Just doesn't work.
PS - I don't pretend to understand completely what evolution is all about. In other words, I really don't see myself as a true evolutionist.
Place yourself on the map at http://www.frappr.com/evc
The thread about this map can be found here.
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