PHIL 200 Chapter Notes -Pleistocene, Feral Child, Gluttony
12 Jun 2018
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A gene is fit insofar as it programs adaptive behavior, since the more adaptive the behavior it
programs, the more readily it replicates.
As pleasurable behavior is, all else equal, emitted more frequently than its alternatives, genes that
make adaptive behavior pleasurable thereby ensure its more frequent repetition and are more fit.
Enjoyment of what enhances fitness enhances fitness further, spreading genes that program it.
This is why, although we can't read a lion's mind, we are sure meat tastes good to him.
Eating meat help(ed)s lions reproduce, giving a lion gene that programmed carnivorousness an
advantage.
A gene that made carnivorousness self-reinforcing had a greater advantage still, so that is the gene
today's lions are apt to carry.
The two aspects of behavioral drives are telescoped in the word "Appetite," which implies both an
urge to do something and pleasure in the doing.
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Document Summary
A gene is fit insofar as it programs adaptive behavior, since the more adaptive the behavior it programs, the more readily it replicates. As pleasurable behavior is, all else equal, emitted more frequently than its alternatives, genes that make adaptive behavior pleasurable thereby ensure its more frequent repetition and are more fit. Enjoyment of what enhances fitness enhances fitness further, spreading genes that program it. This is why, although we can"t read a lion"s mind, we are sure meat tastes good to him. Eating meat help(ed)s lions reproduce, giving a lion gene that programmed carnivorousness an advantage. A gene that made carnivorousness self-reinforcing had a greater advantage still, so that is the gene today"s lions are apt to carry. The two aspects of behavioral drives are telescoped in the word appetite, which implies both an urge to do something and pleasure in the doing. overeat despite the patent maladaptiveness of gluttony.
