So the extent to which various traits are adaptive vs. maladaptive is an interesting question. There are a lot of hidden trade-offs, especially when you start discussing cognitive heuristics. Modern life also has some fairly different selection pressures than our species has historically been exposed to, so maybe some of those instincts are getting out-dated.
But all of that is secondary to a much larger consideration. Evolution doesn’t share my goals. Evolution designed my brain for gene propagation. It does a decent job at survival, resource acquisition, and many other problems because those are useful for gene propagation. But I have almost no interest in gene propagation! I’m interested in the truth, even if the truth won’t get me laid. My deep suspicion of many of my biological impulses isn’t because I suspect natural selection of being a limited bumbling algorithm, but is instead rooted in my conviction that those biological impulses have a different goal in mind than I do.
As a side note, tool development isn’t a super useful competitive advantage because it’s a lot easier to steal or copy a tool than it is to develop one. The advantage you get from making a new tool is always temporary.
This is a key definition, the feeling of beauty, good, bad, justice, etc. are our conscious interpretations of reality, but their functional advantages all respond to our basic needs: to get laid and self preservation.
I guess if we pay attention to our conscious interpretation of reality then yes, our biases are have flaws because they are not entirely aligned with our values. But if we see how functional they are towards our biological needs maybe they are perfectly good.
200,000 years? Pfah. That’s a poor measure of success.
Goblin sharks have been around for 600 times as long. I don’t think we can say we’re particularly successful as a species for at least a 30 million years.
With luck you and I as individuals will be around to see it, but to do so, we’ll probably have deal with our biases.
Also, evolution happens across a species in an environment and within a species across a population. You don’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the slowest guy being chased by the bear.
So the extent to which various traits are adaptive vs. maladaptive is an interesting question. There are a lot of hidden trade-offs, especially when you start discussing cognitive heuristics. Modern life also has some fairly different selection pressures than our species has historically been exposed to, so maybe some of those instincts are getting out-dated.
But all of that is secondary to a much larger consideration. Evolution doesn’t share my goals. Evolution designed my brain for gene propagation. It does a decent job at survival, resource acquisition, and many other problems because those are useful for gene propagation. But I have almost no interest in gene propagation! I’m interested in the truth, even if the truth won’t get me laid. My deep suspicion of many of my biological impulses isn’t because I suspect natural selection of being a limited bumbling algorithm, but is instead rooted in my conviction that those biological impulses have a different goal in mind than I do.
As a side note, tool development isn’t a super useful competitive advantage because it’s a lot easier to steal or copy a tool than it is to develop one. The advantage you get from making a new tool is always temporary.
This is a key definition, the feeling of beauty, good, bad, justice, etc. are our conscious interpretations of reality, but their functional advantages all respond to our basic needs: to get laid and self preservation.
I guess if we pay attention to our conscious interpretation of reality then yes, our biases are have flaws because they are not entirely aligned with our values. But if we see how functional they are towards our biological needs maybe they are perfectly good.
200,000 years? Pfah. That’s a poor measure of success.
Goblin sharks have been around for 600 times as long. I don’t think we can say we’re particularly successful as a species for at least a 30 million years.
With luck you and I as individuals will be around to see it, but to do so, we’ll probably have deal with our biases.
Also, evolution happens across a species in an environment and within a species across a population. You don’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the slowest guy being chased by the bear.