> From: David Parenteau
> A dolphin will leave a shark that it knows about alone for
> years until that
> shark attacks a human, at which point the dolphin will kill
> the shark to
> defend the human. The dolphin gains absolutely nothing
> towards any of its
> own basic needs or extended desires by doing this, and yet it
> does so anyway.
That may not be entirely true.
In an abstract way, all humans are related and genetically close - at least
in comparison to another species. Ditto for dolphins. It makes a vague sense
to protect similar genetics as it helps ensures that a part of your genome
will survive. This is the selfish-gene explanation for charity; that beyond
a certain point that sense of 'protecting those genetically close to you is
beneficial' gets rather abstract in its definition of 'close to you'.
Now the skunk sisters aren't human, but they're human enough (and out
instinct abstract enough) for us to emphasise with them. A human isn't a
dolphin, but they maybe 'dolphin enough' in comparison with 99.9% of other
life forms the dolphin encounters (having solid bones, lungs, four chambered
heart, familiar reproductive organs, makes lots of noise) for the dolphin to
emphasise with us. Maybe the dolphin thought it was helping another dolphin,
or something close enough it deserved the same level of empathy.
ANTIcarrot.
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Received on Tue Feb 20 2007 - 19:00:41 CST