more spurious science hypotheses to support the basic fact that people acted in error/poor judgment. okay. next you'll be lining up with dilbert to excuse your distaste of black people because they are "culturally less sophisticated" and "genetically more prone to violence, as the theory of evolution implies". please. it is not right. social behaviour is acquired, not innate and essentialist. far from determinist. a person's behaviour or values towards a race, religion, or creed are all programmed by the culture that person lives in. it's called 'ideology': the gap between objective reality and the person's subjective propositions. if american people immediately grab an arab after a terrorist incident, it's because the american culture has a pervasive and insidious anti-arab sentiment or distrust. put the science book down. that's a problem - an intolerance, a prejudice - within your (supposedly) democratic and egalitarian society. don't justify it with pseudo-science.
you know, science came up with the idea of evolution and the competition of the species just at the time when human society and intellectual-political development birthed liberalism, democracy: equality, liberty. just because the scientific background says one thing, doesn't mean we have to act that way. we are free agents (to an extent), and we have freedom of thought and choice. relying on scientific theories for everyday social behaviour basically implies that you view the human individual as a thoughtless automaton. the dignity and virtue of the human species lies in the 'sapiens' part of our name; we are sapient, not merely sentient. we attain the greatest grace and unlock the best parts of our species when we consciously educate or act with aforethought, and collaborate, against the baser instincts of our 'nature'.
so no: shit excuse. plus, if it's a scientific behaviorism (and thus a determinism) - why does this only happen in america? little odd, eh.
Last edited by Uzique The Lesser (2013-04-19 06:14:41)
