While I was fishing around yesterday, I ran into an article by Gene Callahan titled, The Sociobiological Conceit. [via Mefi].

I know this isn't the sexiest lead-in I've ever penned, because any reader with an ounce of sense would connect the words "altruism" and "sociobiology" and figure out that we won't be talking about Michael Jackson here. In fact, we will, but in a roundabout way.

First off, Callahan's essay fails to support its thesis, which is that sociobiologists (he also calls them "Darwinists") must be mistaken because their conclusions are contradictory. He asserts that at some point during the '60s, Darwinists began to struggle with the "problem of altruism." That is, a selfless action on another's behalf has no survival value, and the concept of morality is a "collective illusion" maintained by the human race to promote genetic reproduction.

You can see that once the question is framed in these terms, Callahan has established a massive straw man he can list at from almost any angle—and he does. But there is no army of "Darwinists" out there, and sociobiologists for their part work within the confines of the scientific method. We don't need to support or refute their work with appeals to religious fervor and emotional hysterics (as Callahan does).

The interdisciplinary consensus thus far is that human beings are not possessed of instincts (modal action patterns, if you like), but do have certain predispositions. Being rational, self-reflective creatures, we can elect to follow our predisposed inclinations or we can override them. "Morality," in this sense, is the name we give to various systems for evaluating conflicts between our self-interest and the interests of others.

The more interesting question though, concerns why we override good sense and wise behavior in favor of decisions that make absolutely no sense and often work in direct opposition to our best interests. I respectfully submit the following as cases in point.

Naked In the Snow

As should be utterly obvious by now to anyone trying to get attention on the Net, nothing draws interest like naked bodies.

Anti-war women protestors in Marin County figured that out, and here's a group in New York who've reached the same conclusion. They've got a point, surely, since they attracted the press by electing to bare themselves in 20-degree weather for a photo-op. Gathering in small groups in New York's Central Park so as to "avoid arousing police suspicion," they re-assembled at Bethesda Fountain to arrange themselves in several alphabetical configurations.

From an artistic perpsective, as well as a political one, their efforts were noteworthy insofar as the message was overshadowed by its means of presentation. How this statement (i.e., "No Bush") should be interpreted is open to interpretation, but here's organizer Wendy Tremayne with an explanation:

"For me, it's been a growing embarrassment about being American that started before Bush," Tremayne said. "This event derives from the belief that people can do things, that people still care and can make a difference."

The Hidden Agenda of Yoga

Periodically, I take up Yoga because it offers all sorts of benefits, chief amongst which is a straightened spinal column. Yet there is a mental component to the practice as well, a fact to which anyone who's done Yoga will readily attest. In addition to a sense of well-being and harmony with the universe, you can even experience remarkable visualizations like exploding flashes of light and a loosening of the divide between the self and the extenal. These are generally good things.

Some might disagree, however, like the parents of children who attend Aspen Elementary School. Here's pastor Steven Woodrow, of the First Baptist Church: "At its base element, yoga is a spiritual practice. You can't separate the religious from the spiritual." It gets weirder.

Leah Kalish, an author of the curriculum being used in Aspen, said opponents took issue with any Sanskrit words. One was "namaste," a word that she said was used in yoga classes to say, "The light in you is the light in me," or more generally, "to acknowledge our common humanity."

"The ultimate goal of the yoga is to balance the body, the mind, the soul and the spirit," said the priest, the Rev. Michael O'Brien of St. Mary's Catholic Church. "When you are talking about the soul and the spirit, then aren't you in the realm of religion? And if so, which religion?"

It Couldn't Be the Food

This seems to be the attitude of McDonald's Corp., which is overhauling its advertising practices due to experiencing its first-ever quarterly loss. Here's McDonald's chief marketing officer, Larry Light:

Light said that McDonald's has "changed the mission statement, and is putting the customer first. We promise to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat."

Fun In the Sun

The Vietnamese just love to cavort and frolic in the surf of their country's beautiful beaches. Only problem is, some of them aren't great swimmers. So passengers on Vietnam Airlines have taken to stealing the emergency life vests located under their seats. Vietnam Airlines' security department Hoang Duy Khanh outlines the scope of the problem:

"There are many flights from which 16 to 20 life vests have been stolen."

1:47:49 PM