that the effort to reduce all human values to biology can produce howlers?

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Does "howler“ here refer to "a joke that seems extremely funny"?

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There is no denying, however, that the effort to reduce all human values to
biology can produce howlers. For instance, when the entomologist E. O. Wilson (in collaboration with the philosopher Michael Ruse) wrote that !°morality, or more strictly our belief in morality, is merely an adaptation put in place to further our reproductive 33ends,!± the philosopher Daniel Denntt rightly dismissed it as !°nonsense. The fact that our moral intuitions probably conferred some adaptive advantage upon our ancestors does not mean that the present purpose of morality is successful reproduction, or that !°our belief in morality!± is just a useful lusion. (Is the purpose of astronomy successful
reproduction? What about the practice of contraception? Is that all about reproduction, too?) Nor does it mean that our notion of !°morality!± cannot grow deeper and mor refined as our understanding of ourselves develops.

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[+5] - contrex - 01/26/2015[quote="oristarA"]Does "howlerâ�� here refer to "a joke that seems extremely funny"?[/quote] A howler is an unintentional glaring error that seems funny to people...

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@oristarA,

Yes, you're correct about that.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

You're confusing your thesis with abortion. Morals is a human concept that has no relationship to nature.
All humans are capable of the best and worst.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

You're confusing your thesis with abortion. Morals is a human concept that has no relationship to nature.
All humans are capable of the best and worst.

You are haunted by the illusion of free will.
You have to learn "How science can determine human values."

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Nature determines human values; it includes the whole gamut of human activity.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

Nature determines human values; it includes the whole gamut of human activity.

In essence, it is right. But it is not practical to say that Nature determines human values, which is like saying "Cosmos determines human values."
"Science determines human values" is so far the best description.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

But it is nature that allows whatever to happen happen.

1 Reply

Rape makes perfect darwinian sense. Therefore science is for rape?

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

But it is nature that allows whatever to happen happen.

It is theoretically correct.
But in order to be practical and operational, you have to narrow down so vast a scope.

0 Replies

@Olivier5,

Olivier5 wrote:

Rape makes perfect darwinian sense. Therefore science is for rape?

Did Mary agree before God put her in pregnancy? Without her permission, was it a rape? Or are you touting such a rape?

You are lame in understanding Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

What does god and mary's extra marital sex have to do with anything?

Morality cannot be based only on nature. It would be redundant of instinct, if it was only based on nature. Also it would justify rape, since rape has darwinian advantages... Biology is amoral. Female spiders eat their mate, etc.

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

I said "Science determines human values", not Nature, which cicerone imposter did.

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@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

I said "Science determines human values", not Nature, which cicerone imposter did.

Science have nothing to do with morality. For science, a dead child is just as good as a live one. One has to feeds the worms, right?

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

Olivier5 wrote:

oristarA wrote:

I said "Science determines human values", not Nature, which cicerone imposter did.

Science have nothing to do with morality. For science, a dead child is just as good as a live one. One has to feeds the worms, right?

You're as ignorant as people one hundred years before.
You have to write in proper English before I give you an answer.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Quote:

You're as ignorant as people one hundred years before.

Before what?

Quote:

You have to write in proper English before I give you an answer.

Same here, and therefore end of discussion.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

Does "howler“ here refer to "a joke that seems extremely funny"?

A howler is an unintentional glaring error that seems funny to people other than the person who made it. They are common in the written work of schoolchildren, but adults also make them.

Some British exam howlers:

The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. Explain:
In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children,Cain,asked, ‘Am I my brother’s son?’

Where was the American Declaration of Independence signed?
At the bottom.

To change centimetres to metres, you…?
Take out centi.

What is a vibration?
There are good vibrations and bad vibrations. Good vibrations were discovered in the 1960s.

Name one of the early Romans’ greatest achievements:
Learning to speak Latin.

What is meant by the term ‘hermaphrodite’?
Lady GaGa.

What do we call the science of classifying living things?
Racism.

What is a turbine?
Something an Arab or a Shriek wears on his head.

2 Replies

@contrex,

Enjoyed that!

0 Replies

@contrex,

Excellent!

0 Replies

BTW, i think the response to the OP question is:

Howler = one who howls, ie who "cries out loudly and without restraint under strong impulse". In this context: preachers, wailing prophets, haranguers, people who shout a lot but make little sense. I'm not a native speaker so don't take my word for it.

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@Olivier5,

Olivier5 wrote:

BTW, i think the response to the OP question is:

Howler = one who howls, ie who "cries out loudly and without restraint under strong impulse" ...

See my post above for what a "howler' is in the context

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that the effort to reduce all human values to biology can produce howlers?

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