As I am writing this article I am quite unsure whether it can have the opposite effect contrary to the desired one. But let’s try it – by supporting freethinkers by monetary means and disobeying our selfish genes.
I was startled when learning nobody made donations for people who are at risk at Freethinkers International – fellow freethinkers, humanists, atheists, and LGBTQ people. I doubted whether the counter was defective. No, it wasn’t.
From survival of the fittest to the Theory of selfish gene
The evolution from “survival of the fittest” to the “selfish gene” theory traces a path through key scientific developments.
In 1859, Charles Darwin introduced natural selection in On the Origin of Species positing that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Herbert Spencer later coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” to summarize this concept.
In the mid-19th century, Gregor Mendel’s experiments on pea plants revealed principles of heredity, laying the groundwork for genetics. His work, rediscovered in the early 20th century, was integrated with Darwin’s ideas during the Modern Synthesis. This synthesis, involving scientists like Ronald Fisher and J.B.S. Haldane, combined natural selection with genetic mutations as sources of variation.
The discovery of DNA’s structure by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 unveiled the molecular basis of genetic inheritance. Thus, furthering our understanding of how traits are passed down.
In 1966, George C. Williams argued in Adaptation and Natural Selection that natural selection acts on genes rather than individuals or groups. Richard Dawkins expanded this idea in The Selfish Gene (1976). He suggested that genes are the primary units of selection and that organisms are vehicles for gene replication.
Thus, the journey from “survival of the fittest” to the “selfish gene” theory reflects a shift towards understanding evolution through the lens of gene-centered selection, emphasizing genetic replication and the role of genes in shaping evolutionary processes.
We are not like animals. Let’s disobey our selfish genes and support freethinkers
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, adored by the Czech folks as a politician (though he is known as a philosopher in the West) nearly 100 years after his death, proclaimed that people had tended to be evil. He has had, of course, no knowledge of evolutionary biology in our present form.
So we are plagued by this (meaning in an altruistic way) maladaptive behavior. We shouldn’t buy cars, vacate, or eat out, but help people who are in dire situations.
We don’t have free will (further reading) and even if we had, there are limiting aspects of our being such as the abovementioned selfishness, IQ, talents and creativity derived from it, innate or acquired personality traits, and so on.
Despite hundreds of thousands of cultures existing, we have a stable evolutionary personality that doesn’t change. And it suppresses our rationally thought out altruistic behavior and – saddenly – drives us to be selfish. Because then we can reproduce and spread our selfish genes.
Unlike other animals, we can defy our primitive instincts to a certain degree and go against nature.
Our situation and theirs
While there is a huge number of Freethinkers International members and even more X’s followers, nobody wants to give their money away. Saddeningly, a huge portion of people are from developed countries.
As I am reclining at my desk I feel no pain, no signs of torture, no running for my life. No unbeareable state.
Good room temperature, full stomach, no thirst, fatigue, not being homeless, no displacement, no financial hardship, no discrimination, no oppression.
Of course, I am mentally ill, so I have no emotions and I have depression and suffer from anxiety (these are just examples).
I guess a lot of people in my situation would have given it up. But that is not my style. I believe in a cure and have no intentions of committing suicide. Thus, my goal is to enrich my readers and irritate my beloved establishment. So if I die, it would be a foul play. And since I can relate to people who suffer, I opened up my wallet and gave money for a good cause. And I am a disability pensioner!
Support freethinkers by laughable amount of money
Supporting our endangered freethinkers may be nothing for the rich US middle class which is – as far as I know – almost the richest middle class in the world. People from rich countries should not mind giving a dime for a cause.
There are people from Germany and France but even from the Czech Republic who shouldn’t mind giving a small amount.
But why do I emphasize that some countries are rich? Because poor people from developing countries cannot afford it even though I know some donate.
I can appeal to you, the creators of Freethinkers International can’t
I am taking matters into my own hands and it is quite simple. The respectable creators of Freethinkers International cannot ask you since it would be impolite.
So instead of a delicious luncheon, disobey nature and put your prehistoric instincts away (and it can be hard) and support people who really struggle and a small amount of money can change their life upside-down.
Thank you.
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