Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Friday, May 24. 2013

Are savages noble?


Surely not by our bourgeois standards. Given the human brain and the human adaptability which is a gift from the most creative of us over the past 150,000 years, I think it's impossible to say what is "natural" for people other than to claim that it is natural for humans to make things and to live in cultures.


Are Savages Noble? The parts about war and sex (naturally) are especially interesting. So I guess war and sex are natural, too.


Posted by The Barrister in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 13:03 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

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So I guess war and sex are natural, too

When I was in high school I asked Max Lerner if the historical record did not suggest that war was inherent in human nature. That was after he gave a talk extolling the Olympics as a way to bring peoples together and avoid war. He answered that he liked to think not. I thought that was a lousy answer to a natural history question.
#1 chuck on 2013-05-24 13:47 (Reply)
"Compared to monogamous societies, polygamous cultures see more rape, kidnapping, murder, assault, robbery, fraud, child neglect and child abuse.”

Modern Judaism/Christianity vs. "modern" Islam? Is the science settled yet?
#2 Agent Cooper on 2013-05-24 16:23 (Reply)

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