Re: "Found: the human brain's moral engine"

Phil Graham (pw.graham who-is-at student.qut.edu.au)
Tue, 26 Oct 1999 07:55:06 +1000

>Is this the final link of the protestant ethic and the spirit of
capitalism?

That sort of thing: christian fundamentalism gone awry.

>In any event, it seems
>unlikely to be widely popular especially given the wild success of Viagra.
>Do they find it a contradiction to offer the ova of sex-goddesses while
>getting rid of the hormonal drives that lead to the valorization of these
>models' charms? It's strange, but then this is the season of the witch.

The events are unrelated in terms of the people involved. And in any case,
nobody has a monopoly on self-contradiction. I also got the impression that
choice wasn't really an issue.

>I'm sort of surprised that we haven't heard about eliminating
>left-handedness.

Yes. That sounds rational. Think of all the money that will be saved if we
eliminate the need for left-handed scissors and the like.

>On a related note: a TV ad shown during the world series ended with the
>company's logo and the slogan: "Brave New Business".

That's the stuff that has the normative effect. It's everywhere by now,
even, or should I say, especially in kids' television (esp Disney's new
stuff). It seems that the logic of "competition of everyone against
everyone" (p. bourdieu), which is supposed to be what keeps prices down,
promote wealth, and so forth, is promoting something that exists latently
into an unmitigated, national and international virtue (e.g. we have
"competition" and "productivity" commissions here that hands out dictates
to state, federal, and local governments).

Phil

Phil Graham
p.graham who-is-at qut.edu.au
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/8314/index.html