It is (morally?) wrong to allow actions to be justified based upon poor
analogies to Darwinism. This is a kind of "Naturalistic Fallacy", which
gets an excellent treatment in "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" by Dennett.
The menemonic is:
Ought does not follow from is.
Just becuase you you can explain a system using a paradigm does not
mean that that paradigm is (morally?) right. If we can't imagine another
way of doing things which will be successful that is a statement about
the limitations of our imagination...not reality.
To be perfectly clear, though...I don't think people in advertizing and
marketing should kill themselves. In a sense, they are doing us all a
service by bringing various things to our attention. If we have a tendency,
as a culture, to covet pornography, violence, and conspicious consumption
then that is what they will provide.
When one points at the moon, a fool looks a the finger.
If one doesn't like the look of the moon, a fool cuts of that finger...
...and the greater fool puts out his own eyes.
Reed
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Reed Konsler konsler@ascat.harvard.edu
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