Re: [xmca] Is the Ideal factual

[Martin Packer <packer@duq.edu>]

I don't this research is showing anything Lamarckian, Larry. As one of the commentators notes:

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"Lactose tolerance is now well recognized as a case in which a cultural practice — drinking raw milk — has caused an evolutionary change in the human genome."

This kind of writing drives me insane. There is no cause-and-effect between the cultural practice and the evolutionary change. The cultural practice may have created an environment which favoured a subsequent random mutation - that remains a random process without teleological underpinnings. Evolution is the patterns in the garbage.
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However, the recent research on epigenetic inheritance is finding some apparently heritable aspects of an individual's experience with a specific environment:

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=mga&part=A2201>

Martin

On Mar 3, 2010, at 12:00 PM, Larry Purss wrote:

> Martin, it is indeed an interesting article.
> I'm curious if when this line of inquiry is pursued, do people make reference to Lamarck's theories that have been so vilified by Darwin's notions of evolution?  It seems to me (with my very limited background) to be pointing at re-engaging with Lamarck's notions of the environment "causing" evolution directly and not through "random" selection.
> Larry
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Martin Packer <packer@duq.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 7:18 am
> Subject: Re: [xmca] Is the Ideal factual
> To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> 
>> This is not exactly new news here, but still an interesting article:
>> 
>> Human Culture, an Evolutionary Force
>> 
>> <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/science/02evo.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all>
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