Panpsychism

Panpsychism expresses the idea that all parts of matter involve a mind. A holistic perspective states that the universe is an organism the posesses a mind. Hylozoist panpsychism considers all things to be alive and the constituent parts of matter are composed of some form of mind and are sentient. Panpsychism holds that all material entities have minds and an existance of their own independent of the human observer. Mechanical behavior is derived from the primitive mentality of atoms and other molecules. Organic behavior and sophisticated mentality are similar but the difference between them is attributed to the presence or abscence of complex structures in a compound object. Organic behavior is observed in our bodies. By defintion an organ is a group of tissues that perform a specific function or group of functions. molecules must have a basic organic instinct otherwise how could they transform from atoms to molecules to neucleatides to DNA to RNA to proteins to tissues and organs and onto bodies that make up society. We may find some amazing diiscoveriies if we look into what makes things act the way they do. Does each piece of matter have a mission and purpose of its own? It seems to make sense when you consider the unique properties and almost personalities of atoms, molecules, and compounds.

eco-phenomenology

Eco-phenomenology is a relatively new field in philosophy that advances awareness for what occurs in between an ecosystem and the human experiences of it. Through eco-phenomenology we can explore the world as infinitely more subtle, complex, and dynamic than anything from manmade society. We can also recognize that the Earth's wellbeing is in the hands of human beings who are all too dimly conscious of it. As we use personalized, wireless technologies—cell phones, laptops, iPods—what is happening to our attention? How aware are we of interactions down to the sensory cues that occur in the presence of one another? What does this mean to our feelings for another person and to our feelings of ourself? What does this mean in a world that is already fiercely competitive and anthopocentric? Is an ethical life tied to the full repertoire of being in a conscious, sensing body that locates itself in a place among other sentient, feeling bodies? By studying such experiences in a wireless age, it is possible to advance eco-phenomenological insights that would not have occurred to us otherwise. Could we change with new eyes, ears, alertness, with a deepened understanding of why such mundane encounters matter.

Rejecting Human Dignity

If the idea of human dignity is abandoned what should take its place? Moral Individualism is a thesis pertaining to the how individuals are to be treated. An indiiviiduals treatment should be determined by considering not by ther group members but by their own unique characteristics. If Darwin is correct there are no distinct differences between humans and membres of other species. rather than sharp breaks between species there are differences in degrees. there is a complex pattern of siiilarities and diifferences that all reflect a common ancestry among species. With this thought human diigniity is discredited becasue they are no longer special. Animals and humans experience an array of feelings and emotions. The phrase that all men are equal iis not true. This is merely a code for how to treat people. All people should be treated equally. " Wether a difference between individuals ustifiies a difference iin treatment depends on the kind pf treatment that is in question. A difference that justfies one kind of difference in treatment need not justify another." (Rachels p 178 Created from Animals) Consider the treatment of a chimp versus a shrimp. Because a chimp is curious and intellegent it can easiily suffer from boredom. A chimp should then not be placed in a cage wiith no stimuli. Shrimp however cannot be bored becasue they are not intelegent in the same way. Therefore it may be permissable to treat shrimp in ways that would not be allowed for chimps.

Biologicizing Ethics

Biology can explain ethics at all depths. Moral judgements are products of biological causes. Moral behavior is basically altruistic behavior. If the point of life is to live and allow our genes to be reproduced then kin alturism makes perfect sense. In peacocks it was observed that brothers and half brothers stay much closer together than unrelated peacocks. A group of brothers may display themselves to a mate together to out compete the non related peacocks. This is because brothers share most of the same genes so it is in the best intrist of the family that if one peacock is dismissed then his brother will be likely to reproduce instead. Either way the shared genes live on. But what casues unrelated animals to empathize with other members of their species or even other species? Reciprocal altruism explains this. Bonobo chimps do each other favors because they can remeber what they did and who they helped. They are able to remeber this act of kindness and rely on the other animal's reciprocal assistance. They may not be helping to spread their genes directly. But if a monkey is going to starve today he may help someone out in order to get food, live to tomarrow and have a better chance of reproducing another day. This form of ethics is present in many animal societies and has evolved to the morals we know in our human society.

Darwinism and Value Incrementalism

After Professor Silliman's presentation in class it made me think about the moral implications of Darwinism. The theory that humans and non-humans only vary in degrees sounds very much like value incrementalism. Although Darwin belived in his theory of evolution he did not distinguish humans as seperate from animals. Evolution of humans did not make them superior to animals it only gave each certain traits that are unique or shared among themselves to try and adapt better to their environment. Evolution is not heading in any specific direction there fore it is wrong to assume that the most recently formed organism is the most evolved. As humans we need to identify these differences and treat each other according to these differences if they are relevant enough.

sexual politics of chimpanzees

Alliances, betrayals, deception, trust, jealousy, adultery, motherly affection- it all sounds rather human. Nevertheless, we humans are animals- males abundant with sperm, female with scarce eggs- and our ancestors were subject to evolution just as much as any pipe fish or jacana. Just as Murray Bookchin wrote, human beings not only belong to nature and have natural activities, humans are the product of a long natural evolution. To understand the murkiness of the matter, we first have to understand where humanity came from.

I.

Many people may theorize that humans have evolved from primates. However our social interactions may be much more closely related that we would ever imagine. In only few species is altruism undermined and animals help strangers without any regard for blood ties. Vampire bats are one. They spend each night searching for animals whose blood they can drink. But if they fail, they can return to their cave and beg for some blood from an unrelated bat that had a more successful hunt. Robert Trivers, a Rutgers University anthropologist, has dubbed cases like these "reciprocal altruism" Evolution can favor reciprocal altruism because in the long run two unrelated animals that help each other may enhance their chances of survival more than if they had behaved selfishly.
Reciprocal altruism may be particularly likely to evolve in species with big brains. If you have the mental capacity to keep in mind who has helped you out and who owes you, you can use reciprocal altruism to your advantage. So it should not be a surprise that some of the best evidence for animals helping strangers comes from our closest relatives - chimpanzees and bonobos( a separate species synonymous with pygmy chimpanzees).
Chimpanzees cooperate with unrelated chimps, do favors for them, and sometimes make sacrifices for them. They may join together on hunting expeditions, looking for duikers or colobus monkeys and sharing their kills. Reciprocal altruism may help chimpanzees gain social power. Two subordinate males can make an alliance to overthrow the top male of their group. They do not hand out favors blindly. They keep track of their kindness, and if they are betrayed they will cut off their generosity or even punish a cheating chimp.
In chimpanzee society, males can take advantage of reciprocal altruism while females cannot. Whereas males spend their whole lives where they were born, females leave their group once they reach adulthood. Once a female chimp joins another group, the demands of raising children keep her from establishing long-term relationships. Lugging a baby makes it impossible for her to keep up with the group while they search for fruit. Because baby chimps depend on their mothers for up to four years, female chimps may end up spending 70 % of her adult life away from her group.
As a result male chimpanzees have all the power. they bond with other males making alliances that help them to climb the social ladder. Reciprocal altruism also allows males to cope with an unstable food supply. Chimpanzees rely mainly on fruit, which requires them to travel continually to find ripe trees. To supplement their diet males can hunt together for meat, and share the spoils, and they can also form raiding parties to attack smaller groups of chimps, taking over their fruit trees.
If a group of chimpanzees comes across food, the females invariably wait while the males have their fill. Male chimpanzees will also inflict violence on the females. They will hit them to coerce them into having sex, and when new females show up to a group with a baby they will kill it. As in other species, female chimpanzees do not suffer passively. They do what they can to protect their offspring and find good mates. Compared to other ape species, female chimpanzees take a long time to reach sexual maturity; some primatologists have suggested that the delay is a strategy for reducing the chances that they will come into a group bearing an infant that may get killed.
Once a female reaches sexual maturity she uses sex to protect her offspring. At the time that she becomes sexually receptive she is only fertile a for a short period of time. On average a female chimp will have sex 138 times with 13 different males for every infant she give birth to. As with lions, female chimpanzees mate with many males in order to defend against the infanticide instinct of males. They are making it harder for males to determine the paternity of their offspring.
II.

The evolutionary conflict between the sexes sometimes lead to male-on female violence, as in the case of chimpanzees but it does not have to. If the conditions are right, apes may evolve a tranquil existence, in which sex becomes more than a matter of survival of genes. It becomes a tool for keeping the peace. The peaceful apes in question are the bonobo species. The differences between chimps and bonobos are more than just anatomical. During WWII the allied forces bombed the German city of Hellabrun. One of the zoos nearby had a colony of chimpanzees , which were not affected by the terrific sound of explosions. Another zoo in the city kept a colony of bonobos and all of them died of fright. Also, bonobo's sex lives are also quite unlike those of chimpanzees. Chimps mate more canum while bonobos do so more hominum. This is a trait bonobos only share with humans. As with many chimpanzees, male bonobos stay in the community where they were born and a female must leave to find a new community when she reaches adulthood. But when she arrives she does not face a gang of bullying males because in the bonobo society females dominate. Male bonobos have a hierarchy of their own, but it is the sons of the dominant females who rank high; among themselves, males form hardly any bonds at all.

While female chimps are receptive 5% of their life bonobo females are sexually receptive 50% of the time. Young bonobos try to mate far before they are able to conceive. Also bonobo sex is not only heterosexual. Among bonobos, sex is not just for reproduction or even protecting babies from angry males. It is a social tool. Sex can also diffuse the tensions that build up in society. "The chimpanzee resolves sexual issues with power; the bonobo resolves power issues with sex," says Frans de Waal, a primatologist at Emory University, in his book Bonobo: the Forgotten Ape.

These unique differences of the evolutionary line of chimps are related to the bonobo habitat. Thanks to the abundance of food, bonobo groups don't have to move as fast as chimp groups. This allows females to keep up and make stronger bonds. And by cooperating the females keep the males in line. As a result, infanticide is unknown in bonobo society. The bonobo males are peaceful and do not wage war when meeting other groups . For female bonobos the benefits of this social structure are clear: they start becoming pregnant earlier producing more offspring than chimpanzees. The difference lies in the fact that the female chimp has to cope with the treat of infanticide. Bonobo females, thanks to their social power, no longer have to worry about that.

Social Ecology

As Bookchin wrote "economic, ethnic, and gender conflicts are at the core of the world's most serious ecological issues." All of these issues could be addressed when people begin to respect life in a deeper manner. At a basic biological level we are all the same and we thrive with nature not at the expense of it. Humans should not consider oil to be more valuable than the preservation of wilderness and human and non human life. Today Americans, particularly corporate America, value the resources and material objects that give them wealth and display their hierarchy at the cost of many other individuals' wealfare. By the way that we use our technology we are competing amongst each other in a very immoral way. We may be taking advantage of the "survival of the fittest" and forcing others to be inferior through illegitimate means. People could contribute to the world more positively if they were treated fairly. Oil, timber, minerals, land, and water are all resources that should be used is a conscious and stabilizing manner because of the way they form such specific cycles. We can not set a value on our society of harvested raw materials being worth more than the natural wealth of the ecosystem that we are apart of; no matter how pressing we believe our social issues to be.