Blackfish documentary on CNN - anyone else watch it?

[kandrathe]

The irony here is that it is your thinking that is in fact "black and white" on this issue. The article you linked just furthers my point by proving how we've evolved our traits FROM these basic desires to survive and propagate. Let me ask you, why do you think you care even remotely about your offspring, that you feel emotions whatsoever?

More importantly, why do I care about my parents? Why do I care about total strangers?

Do you honestly think you are special in some way, that you care for your offspring more than anyone else? Think again! We have all, including most animals, evolved these traits as an important evolutionary step in propagation!

I also grew a brain that allows me to understand the difference between instinctual behavior, and choice.

Perhaps you think you "care" about things because this emotion comes from your god as written in the good book (i.e. all good things come from above)? If so, you are even more deluded with religious philosophy then I ever dreamed.

Perhaps you are exhibiting some bigoted, "holier than thou" attitudes that make me want to barf? How does this apply to your philosophical proposition?

No, we've evolved emotions to help us "care" for our offspring so we could thrive through nurturing and propagation. That's all we are designed for, and it encompasses everything we do as a species and all our thoughts.

And, yet, thousands of children are starved, beaten, neglected, murdered, raped and sold into slavery all the damn time.

This is why there is no true altruism because everything we do, we do for survival of us, or even of our species in those two example you cited.

And still, Greenpeace activists put themselves between harpoons and whales.

I'll reiterate, there is no true altruism in the pure sense of the word.

Your opinion is complicated by the truth that the most common sources of unethical behavior among potential moral agents is self-interest. Also, we must recognize the from the POV of self, our needs and wants are more strongly weighted as we cannot feel the needs and want of others, but only empathize with their plight (been there, done that etc.) Therefore, self interested behavior is prominent, and rationally expected, especially from those who are ignorant, or calloused to the suffering of other sentient beings among them.

This does not negate the occurrence of truly altruistic behavior (in the pure sense -- whatever that means).