Jared Diamond Bitchslaps Tom Cruise
...And many other lesser-known morons, over "the naturalistic fallacy" -- the notion that what's natural is good, and then smashes the Tabula Rasa. Cathy Seipp profiles him in NRO online:
“Genocide is natural! Rape is natural!” he exclaims in response. “No, what’s natural is not necessarily good — often it’s repulsive. One of the most important functions of human society, and the driving force behind most political institutions, is to prevent humans from doing what comes naturally.”But a point he emphasizes in Guns, Germs and Steel is that, “contrary to what white racists believe,” advanced societies didn’t develop because of innate genetic ability but because of their luck of the draw in biogeography. On the other hand, he undermines the tender-hearted conventional wisdom that aboriginal peoples are ecological saints.
“Every human colonization of a land mass formerly lacking humans has been followed by a wave of extinction of large animals,” Diamond writes in Collapse, a point he’s made in his other books. The problem isn’t that American Indians or New Zealand Maoris were particularly bad managers, but that, like us, they were human — and thus prone to wiping out strange species before settling into a new environment.
Humans have also had a habit of exterminating other humans ever since Cain and Abel. It’s impossible to take the currently fashionable notion of a “people of color” brotherhood seriously after reading Diamond; his chapters on the globally genocidal history of the human race in The Third Chimpanzee, his first and in some ways most accessible book, are devastating.
The Norse were unable to sustain their Greenland settlement partly because they refused to hunt seals like the local Inuit, whom they dismissed as “skraelings,” or wretches. “If you regard people as wretches,” Diamond noted dryly, “you are not likely to learn from them.”
“Having been born in 1937, I grew up with the view that the Nazis were unique,” he told me. “And yes, the efficiency of [the Holocaust] was unique, but the effort was totally mundane. All the groups I work with in New Guinea, they’ve got their own stories of what they did to someone else.” Diamond has found the remote island so dangerous that he won’t let his twin teenage sons accompany him on expeditions. His stock response to their requests to go? “Once you learn to be really careful. Maybe when you’re 42 years old.”
> ...the efficiency of [the Holocaust] was
> unique, but the effort was totally mundane.
'Zactly: Do you think people are naturally good?
Crid at July 5, 2005 6:10 AM
No, I don't. I think people balance their natural self-interest with the need for reciprocal altruism, and a desire to play along with society so as not to be an outcast (ie, potential cost of raping and stealing outweighs benefits). The tabula rasa thing has been disproved by data. Mainly professional feminists, who tend to frown on the facts (because they're really, sniff, sniff, not very...nice!) promote the idea that we're socialized to be the people we turn out to be. Meet twins -- or even genetically proximate siblings -- who are raised apart and you'll see plenty of evidence against that. Judith Langlois' research on infants also disproves it. Judith? I think it's Judith. My full database is thousands of miles away. Nancy Segal at UC Davis does interesting twin research. Good question, by the way, Crid. And now, back to our regularly scheduled pain and suffering (aka deadline).
Amy Alkon at July 5, 2005 6:49 AM
Yes, Judith.
Doug Mason at July 5, 2005 10:07 AM
Do you think people are naturally good?
www.postsecret.com
eric at July 5, 2005 2:28 PM
This writer's books are fascinating. It will be interesting to see how it can be turned into TV.
No, I don't think people are naturally good, kind, moral, or ethical at all. Why else would we need societal structures of religion and politics (in the neutral sense) to keep all hell from breaking loose?
What is amazing about human beings is that we can THINK ABOUT and CHOOSE to act in ways that are good, kind, etc. Of course, those are society's lables anyway...
AdoringFan at July 5, 2005 3:41 PM
Eric, see also:
- http://grouphug.us/random
This acid is more distracted and teenaged, with less grade-school arts & crafts, and therefore browner.
Crid at July 5, 2005 3:46 PM
Good. Tom Cruise needs to be bitchslapped. And his lameass movies boycotted until he learns to mind his own damned business.
Patrick the cynic at July 5, 2005 4:49 PM
And recovers his mind from the kidnappers.
Amy Alkon at July 5, 2005 4:51 PM
Crid-
I think of brown as an Autumn color, peaceful and serene. The color of wood, compost, bad interior paneling from the time of the first Boston album...
What do you see brown as? Just curious.
(while watching as best I can "Troy" with Mr Pitt.)
PS- It seems like the blog has taken a lazy summer vacation these past few weeks, or is that my imagination?
eric at July 5, 2005 9:45 PM
Very observant! I am in Paris from July 2 to August 3. I'm now back in the groove, and posting should be less...lazy! That said, I'm on dialup at the moment, and French dialup at that. I think the phone line in this building was installed shortly after the French Revolution.
Amy Alkon at July 6, 2005 12:47 AM
Oh, and PS, the reason for the delay...packing, making deadlines under compromised conditions (portable printer stopped working, thank you HP, due to wrong diagnosis by idiots there). Oh, do I really need a "spitoon" for my 450ci? Thanks for telling me so I could have one Fedexed to my boyfriend ($30!) at the very last minute for him to bring with him on Thursday...and so I could go through my deadline charmingly printer-free!
Amy Alkon at July 6, 2005 12:49 AM
Do I think people are naturally good? Not naturally, no. But when they're stir-fried with salsa, they can be quite tasty.
Do I think people are naturally good? If you define "good" as with a basic regard for others, I would say, no. We may naturally yell to someone to get out of the way of a locomotive, but with regards to someone's happiness, well-being, and personal liberty, I think we tend to look out for ourselves and screw everyone else.
Patrick the cynic at July 6, 2005 5:55 AM
I believe that on the whole, people are trying to be the best that they can be. When I begin to get frustrated with people, I try to remind myself that every person needs love and respect, just like me. There are exceptions: Money Grubbers and Power Brokers and War Mongers. Ultimately, if there was no evil (insert your own definition here) in the world, how could we appreciate the good (insert your own definition here).
I could debate/philosophize for hours about this.
Goddyss at July 6, 2005 1:05 PM
Leave a comment