… and I don’t think any of that justifies constructing that frame of reference.
The wording is indicative of a certain slovenliness that I’ve come to resent -
sort of like reducing evolution to procreation success and not seeing anything beyond that.
I ordered a copy of Descartes Meditations, after having listened to the book now for a second time and reading part in a PDF. What arrived was Selections from the Objections and Replies, Part of Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy, past couple days what spare time I can steal I’ve been going through and it’s interesting reading the best and brightest commenting on Descartes writing and the wrestling with understanding our functioning minds and all the rest - yet nowhere have I found evolution mentioned at all.
No where do they struggle to come to grips with, let alone explicit incorporate, the reality that what we are is evolved sensing creatures, we started as mats absorbing eons worth scum off the ocean floors and we’ve come a long way baby, and in any event our body and brain and the mind it produces are absolutely interwoven with each other to the point of being fused into one amazing creature.
Nope instead we’re still kicking the tires on Descartes and, well of course it’s not like he said it, but still wrap ourselves up in endlessly debating our belly button, rather than taking a look at our blinding self-serving arrogance when it comes to all that exists outside of our heads.
People are constantly treating “Evolution” as a thing, yet when that’s pointed out, denial, dismissal and resentment are all that can be expected.
I wish I could sit down for hours to come with an adequate response to your thoughtful comment, perhaps this winter, but not possible now . . .
Guess, my point (among many) is: It’s time we stop focusing so much on what keeps us apart from other animals and so smug - and start to recognize how freak’n un-apart we actually are.
Lots more to learn once we do a better job of recognizing physical reality and the Pageant of Evolving Life that produced us.
gotta run.