Natural Selection

[ZenFred]

Hope you all can help me properly understand natural selection. I suspect it is frequently used out of context.

It is the method by which the organisms that are most likely to survive and reproduce pass on their traits while those with traits less likely to reproduce are, over time, not passed on. Right? So evolutionary psychology, sociology, ect all say that the desire to successfully pass on genetic traits is the driving force behind behavior. But is this a function of natural selection? That desiring or behavior conducive to passing on genetic offspring is itself formed by natural selection? Because if you don't care about reproducing as your main goal you won't be as successful at it?

 

Thanks, Fred

[Greg H.]

I think we also need to consider that this may be a case of correlation without causation. I don't know that we could ascribe anthropomorphic drives to things like, for instance, viruses or bacteria, but they certainly reproduce with amazing fecundity. And just because an particular organism doesn't reproduce and have offspring doesn't mean they had no desire to do so. Even in humans, people want to have children but end up not doing so, for a variety of reasons.

[Delta1212]

I think we also need to consider that this may be a case of correlation without causation. I don't know that we could ascribe anthropomorphic drives to things like, for instance, viruses or bacteria, but they certainly reproduce with amazing fecundity. And just because an particular organism doesn't reproduce and have offspring doesn't mean they had no desire to do so. Even in humans, people want to have children but end up not doing so, for a variety of reasons.

But in general, yes, drives associated with reproductive success are prevalent because those with them tend to reproduce more. It may not always be about reproducing for it's own sake, though.

 

We have a sex drive because people who have lots of sex are also more likely to have lots of children, and those children, being descended from people who were wired to seek out sex, will be more likely to want to have lots of sex themselves.

 

Natural selection really just means that a population tends to accumulate traits that result in more reproduction because those members that have traits that cause them to successfully reproduce more will be overrepresented in the next generation.

 

Edit: Or looked at another way: The next generation tends to look and act more like those from the last generation who had kids.

Edited July 19, 2015 by Delta1212

[Asimov]

Zenfred: The desire to reproduce our genes is not necessary for reproduction. Ask any high school student. Successful species select behaviour that passes on the most genes.Those individuals less prone to sex pass on less genes..Lower organisms that reproduce sexually have no concept of sex. Apes know little or nothing about the connection that coupling has with reproduction but couple for pleasure enthusiastically and protect their young.Prebiotic molecules evolved without any desires at all. Those molecules or arrangements of same that tended to persist and eventually utilized heat to re-arrange surrounding molecules in their image persisted over those that couldnt.

 

Our desire to have children is as if we wanted to pass on genes whether we think of that or not. Ask a potential partner if they wish to join your gene pool and you likely have already failed. Try this at the bowling ally. Buy rounds. Parents often have many children for security in old age or to get more welfare money. Does financial success promote reproduction? Maybe. Wow, a whole world of Donald Trumps? Be still my heart!

 

If one says the driving force to pass genes along is what affects our behavior then they would be refering I would think to a species' collective tendency to persist and compete.Desire wouldnt literally be the correct word. A rock tends to persist, so do Baobab trees. Neither has any desires.

 

Think of DNA as the real life, a kind of super organism. Evolution's most successful of all experiments.Our bodies and minds are only tools developed by them to create more of them,yet they are themselves mindless. Still they have us well trained.