On Tue, 19 Feb 2002, Eric Franz Leher wrote:
> Incidentally why does it seem that leftists are so hostile to Dawkins?
> From what I've read by him a) pretty much everything he says about
> evolution seems perfect sense and ought to be uncontroversial if
> understood properly, and b) NOTHING HE SAYS IN ANY WAY (necessarily)
> INDICTS A LEFT OR SOCIALIST PROGRAM.
>
> So what's up?
>
Umm--perhaps because there is a long history of using the idea of "survival of the fittest" to justify social inequalities? Race, gender, social class, you name it: in the past 150 years, people have often used the rhetoric of evolution to make social stratification seem natural and necessary. And it goes on: check out Thornhill & Palmer, A natural history of rape.
I understand this is not a direct indictment or criticism of D, but it should be pretty obvious why leftists--including biologists like Richard Lewontin--are skeptical about applying the idea of evolution to human social characteristics.
Miles