I Don't Think There's Much Point In

There Is An Obvious Evolutionary Explanation For The Scarcity Of Altruistic Saints: Without A Strong Predilection For Their Own Interests, Our Ancestors Would Have Been Unlikely To Survive, Reproduce, And Give Their Own Offspring A Chance Of Doing The Same. Now Conditions Have Changed And For Most Of Us, Surviving And Reproducing Isn't Such A Struggle But We Still Carry The Genes Of Our Ancestors And They Influence - Not Determine, But Influence - Our Behavior.

I Believe That Nationalism Is A Very Strong Force, But There Are Other Forces Operating; There Are Tendencies Pushing Towards A Larger Picture, Especially In Europe, I Think; But I Still Think Nationalism Is Real.

According To Classical Utilitarianism, The Only Intrinsic Good Is Happiness; The Only Intrinsic Bad Is Pain. That Implies No Intrinsic Value In Preserving Nature, That Preserving An Endangered Plant Is Valuable Only If It Benefits Humans Or Other Animals. Intuitively, That Seems Wrong But Perhaps I Shouldn't Trust My Intuition Here.

If Zoos Are Like Arks, Then Rare Animals Are Like Passengers On A Voyage Of The Damned, Never To Find A Port That Will Let Them Dock Or A Land In Which They Can Live In Peace. The Real Solution, Of Course, Is To Preserve The Wild Nature That Created These Animals And Has The Power To Sustain Them. But If It Is Really True That We Are Inevitably Moving Towards A World In Which Mountain Gorillas Can Survive Only In Zoos, Then We Must Ask Whether It Is Really Better For Them To Live In Artificial Environments Of Our Design Than Not To Be Born At All.

My Major Concern About Leaving Enhancement To The Marketplace Is That Then The Rich Will Be Able To Buy Themselves Genetically Superior Children And The Poor Will Not - Sharpening The Class Divisions We Have Now. That Problem Could Be Overcome If, Genetic Enhancement Were Available To All, Subsidized By The State - And That Would, Over Time, Have Benefits For Society As Well.