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Excellent summary of the core issue. Though I think there should be room for some nature vs. nurture debate. Exclusively attributing this behaviour to our genes

by fnl 9y ago

Excellent summary of the core issue. Though I think there should be room for some nature vs. nurture debate. Exclusively attributing this behaviour to our genes seems a bit like the "lazy excuse" to me. I don't see why properly educating ourselves could not lead to a population with improved inter-group empathy (or both, i.e., trigger that evolution at the generic level, too). But yes, maybe changing our educational system is as hard as finding a genetic engineering-based solution...

Niksko 9y ago
I agree with you and the grandparent partly, but if you take an intersectional view of diversity issues, solving diversity and (as you put it) increasing inter-group empathy are effectively one in the same. For me, the constant rearing of this connection (societal scale problems being solved in tandem by solving other societal scale problems) is what convinces me that ideas of intersectionality are real, but sadly leads to the conclusion that yes, the problems are extremely difficult and operate on generational scales.
- fnl 9y ago
  The upside here being that societal evolution seems to be accelerating, just as nearly everything else.
insickness 9y ago
It's equally as lazy to exclusively attribute behavior to social construct. Yet this is now the status quo: blank slate theory, where any public figure would be excoriated for suggesting that genes may be a factor in the difference in representation anywhere.
noobermin 9y ago
Didn't get that at all from their comment that there isn't room for nature vs. nuture, because they just mentioned statistics. Statistically significant variations between groups are not all due to nature. For example, it is a generally supported fact that differences in IQ are due to environment more than innate differences. Of course, it plays into it, but what one observes in life of course is a norm a vector across a huge dimensional space.

by fnl 9y ago

Niksko 9y ago

I agree with you and the grandparent partly, but if you take an intersectional view of diversity issues, solving diversity and (as you put it) increasing inter-group empathy are effectively one in the same. For me, the constant rearing of this connection (societal scale problems being solved in tandem by solving other societal scale problems) is what convinces me that ideas of intersectionality are real, but sadly leads to the conclusion that yes, the problems are extremely difficult and operate on generational scales.

fnl 9y ago
The upside here being that societal evolution seems to be accelerating, just as nearly everything else.

insickness 9y ago

It's equally as lazy to exclusively attribute behavior to social construct. Yet this is now the status quo: blank slate theory, where any public figure would be excoriated for suggesting that genes may be a factor in the difference in representation anywhere.

noobermin 9y ago

Didn't get that at all from their comment that there isn't room for nature vs. nuture, because they just mentioned statistics. Statistically significant variations between groups are not all due to nature. For example, it is a generally supported fact that differences in IQ are due to environment more than innate differences. Of course, it plays into it, but what one observes in life of course is a norm a vector across a huge dimensional space.