CHARLES DARWIN or THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST... ¿HUMAN BEINGS?

ENJOY PHILOSOPHY MEETS WEEKLY EVERY SUNDAY BETWEEN 11.30 AND 14.30 AT EDUARDO VII PARK, HERE: https://goo.gl/maps/5e3jKFEweXkNvDdK6

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We will learn, debate, enjoy and investigate philosophers and diverse themes from the philosophical perspective. Each reunion is structured as a conversation among all attendees about that day s philosopher softly moderated by the organizer. The conversation will kick-off from the very brief suggested reading providing easy access to all attendees both to the philosopher and the conversation.

Let´s be greek and dive today on…

Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the widely known english Naturalist author of On the Origin of Species, where he published his theory of evolution based on natural selection with compelling evidence, an achievement beyond the biological kingdom given the far reaching consequences of his thesis at the Political, Ethical and Philosophical levels. But it was his contemporary english economist Thomas Malthus who had thrown the idea of an intrinsic and necessary human fight for survival leaving only the strongest individuals alive so the natural resources could stay balanced. In other words, the weak and poor have to die so we don´t run out of food. That is how it all begun. Darwin applied it at the Biological level with 2 extraordinary contributions: 1, he collected tons of evidence at the Beagle ship as Naturalist, and 2) It looks he was right. At doing so, Darwin gave immense validation to the thesis of a Natural Selection that was immediately applied to the political arena by Herbert Spencer, who coined the expression Survival of the fittest. Since then, the unhinged use of that perspective to any existing human field has become the essential element for many widely extended socio political positions. Often referred to as "Social Darwinism", from Free Market to Eugenesia or Racial Supremacy theories (among others) constantly claim to be "Just Acting according to the laws of Nature". So, only the fittest companies must survive (Free Market), only the fittest individuals must survive (Eugenesia) or only my people, which of course is the fittest, must survive (Racial Supremacy). And in that seemingly natural shift from factual survival of the fittest species to desirable and unavoidable survival of the fittest Individuals at every possible human dimension lies a good portion of the history of civilization. Because, yes indeed, nor lions or elephants have what we would simply call... ethics. And Kant s Cathegorical Imperative wasn´t written by a cat nor read by a peach nor applied by Crocodiles. So, should we rule ourselves as them ? Necessarily? Should we choose that, defend that, commit to that...? And even if we accept the premise... which fittest are meant? When is it measured? Aristotle, Simone de Beauvoir, Jesus, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King or Stephen Hawking wouldn´t have survived 10 seconds in a battlefield, and are as alive as any dead can be, whereas all those millions of soldiers of endless battles where they were the classical biological fittest, the strong and happy winners on a silent field full of corpses... are long time dead and as forgotten as any dead can be.

So, lets accept the challenge and talk about what in the world of the humans means... to be the fittest.

A relevant final note...
Darwin´s most important contribution to the theory is that the mutations that lead to some species to survive over others are mainly... aleatory.

So, its not that "you are amazing, baby..."
No.
You just got lucky.

Let s think with Charles...