[lbo-talk] singer: darwinian left

[ravi]

Charles Brown wrote:
>
> CB: This seems substantially false. Marx and Engels said Darwin's work
> represented their method as applied in natural history. J.B.S. Haldane. Marx
> had a concept of species-being.
> 
> Even for all historically revolutionary changes in  the ensemble of social
> relations,  Marxists would affirm that many characteristics of homo sapiens
> as taught by biological anthropology would persist, comprising a human
> nature - long childhood, bipedal, mammalian, unique genome, language, et al.
> Marxism considers humans an animal species, in Darwin's sense.
> 
> Culture operates as a LaMarckian-like mechanism, i.e. allowing cultural or
> extra-somatic/non-bodily inheritance of acquired characteristics.. In this
> sense, human history goes beyond Darwinian natural history. But culture
> doesn't obliterate human au naturelle history. 
> 

perhaps i misdirected the discussion by posting the text of a
review/inteview. in the booklet, singer is a lot more nuanced: he quotes
marx/engles as suggesting/claiming that they extend darwinian theory (in
particular, he quotes engels eulogizing marx: what darwin did for
biological evolution marx did for social evolution, or words to that
effect). his criticism of marxism ("some marxists", perhaps, is more
appropriate), which it is important to note is part of the larger
critique of the left's problems with darwinian theory, is of the notion
that biological evolution is a negligible force (including in terms of
its historical impact) in defining "innate" human nature. i will try to
reproduce exact quotes from the text in the next few days.

singer's primary point, as i read it, is this: the left should not
accept or fall prey to the rightist interpretation of evolutionary
theory, as a) incompatible with co-operative models and traits and b)
assuming that the scientific theory implies moral/ethical positions
i.e., the is/ought (fact/value) divide.

	--ravi