Re: COE and CoV (Was: Re: virus: Church of Virus)

Tim Rhodes (proftim@speakeasy.org)
Sun, 15 Feb 1998 00:19:23 -0800


Brett Lane Robertson <unameit@tctc.com> wrote:

> Is the universe relativistic
> or mechanistic (If the first, everything is equal but nothing matters:
If
> the second, nothing is equal and everything has an effect.)

I can't say I've ever heard relativism and equality being linked before.

> Genetics
> says that we are equal (chance combination) and must work to advance
> (competition):

Genetics says many things (I was just talking to him yesterday, as a matter
of fact), but it has never made the claim that all organisms are in any way
"equal".

> The question might be restated: Is there evidence of order in nature;
> and/or, do certain causes have predictable (ordered) effects. I say that
it
> is important to humanity that we can--at least--APPLY an order to
> things...that we can see logic, reason, meaning, purpose, advancement,
etc.

On this last sentence, however, I agree with you completely. Nevertheless,
we should be warry of confusing the order *we apply* to things, for some
inheirant order *in* the thing itself.

-Prof. Tim