True, but the relevant bit is the fact that a giant asteroid (an individual) following universal laws (gravitational attraction, the laws of motion, etc.) did indeed smack into the Earth 60 million years ago, causing huge changes in the history of the planet that would not have taken place if that individual were not there.
One problem with structuralism and some forms of Marxism is that they see the world as a closed system that does not admit the possibility of asteroids:). ("Asteroids" here meaning "stuff coming from outside the system."). However, the only closed system is the entire univese, not little bits and pieces of it. If the Tunguska event had happened over London (which it would have if planetary configurations had been slightly different), history would have been much different, because Britain would have ceased to exist. Just like world history would likely have been very different if Hitler had had his brains blown out by a bullet (which followed universal laws) in WWI.
Thought experiment: if the Tunguska collision happened right now over Jerusalem, what would happen?
----- Original Message ---- From: Joseph Catron <jncatron at gmail.com> These statements are true only in the sense that Latin is a "dead language" (as if 600 million people alive today didn't grow up speaking variations of it). Some of the dinosaurs were killed in the manners you describe, but many of the theropod clade evolved into today's birds. Biologists and linguists may disagree with me, but I don't think we should confuse evolution with extinction.
-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað." ___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk