Bering's all Powerful and knowledgeable god is the gene pool. Since he is a psychologist I was expecting His god That Could Be the unconscious, aim in fact it works quite in the same way. That is something it drives your life, and though Deprived of Any awareness knows a lot of things. For example, how to explain suicide? Here is the answer (p.231): "as the evolutionary theorist William Hamilton's famous principle of inclusive fitness elucidated so Clearly [lol], it is the proportion of one's genetic material surviving in Subsequent generations that matters; and so if [?] the self's survival comes at the expense of one's genetic kin being white ble to pass on Their genes, Then Sacrificing one's life for a net gain genetic adaptive ancestrally May-have-been. " This is what J. Bering Would Have liked to share with the gay Who commited suicide, as he says ... in --other words, he Would Have Told them "Suicide is an adaptive process. Human gene pool Knows That you-have children if one day [Jesse hello, you just Told They Were Gay us!], Then They Will not Be reliable to reproduce Themselves [... oh my clever "little genes"!], hence your genes decide [quite a feat, since They Are Deprived of consciousness] That enough is enough and If You Could die immediately All Would it be better for everyone [ah! Now ... Surely you feel much better!]. "
Bering's religion is called "evolutionary biology" gold Sometimes "evolutionary psychology". It stipulates That Everything shoulds-have the same systematic explanation, much more qui est interesting than "It is the way it is Because God Decided it so," Indeed it water equivalent to "It is the way it is Because The Gene Pool Decided it so" . This is why J. Bering Certainly Does not believe in God: he Prefers Gene Pool. And what does Gene Pool wants, Above All else? Reproduction (as the practical way for survival ict). Quite a strange theory to endorse for a gay man, as he Repeatedly claims to be.
J. Bering considers evolutionary biology as the way to explain everything. And Indeed, he sheds Often Some interesting light on different issues Throughout His book, about cannibalism, the shape of the penis, acne to name a few. Purpose it is very Unlikely That evolutionary biology will be reliable to explain why shamans see therianthropes In Their psychedelic visions, or why humans are Unable to rebel against an economic system polluting the very air breathe They em and leading directly to the destruction of Their habitat ( the biosphere). So, DESPITE Some interesting material and thinking, I felt Often frustrated and found myself thinking "Why? Why does he limit himself to this rehash of the 'everything is in the genes' trend Followed By Some scientists more than 10 years ago?" It has nevertheless this interest to expose How Many scientists today think (Because evolutionary biology is really the new religion in fashion Among Many of Them), and how They Are too conservative (though understandable, since They Are Generally paid by states or big enterprises, Whose interests are in the perpetuation of the system).
Of course if a species survives it means clustering That icts gene pool Enables it to; and a species can only do what ict gene pool Allows it to do. Purpose Allows it a lot more than a single behavior, so all Trying to DEDUCE Behaviours from Gene Pool interests, and only Considering Gene Pool, is terribly simplistic.
As I evoked Earlier, evolutionary biology, in stressing the importance of exaggerately sexual reproduction tend to be homophobic. Selon J. Bering (who presents studies made by --other believers), if gays commit suicide more than heteros Often it est Because They have "poor breeding prospects." This argument (gays do not usually reproduce) is true, and suits His religion, ok. Now, Was tested this hypothesis, as shoulds be so-called Expired Any scientific truth? Of course not. Maybe it is not feasible to compare the suicide rates entre gays and heteros in non-homophobic societies (in ancient Greece, gold In Some tribes), Then It aims shoulds not be Expressed as a truth. And this sort of "truth" (regarded Because It suits the true religion) appears all along the book.
Not only Some unproven assertions are true regarded When They fit the Gene Pool religion, some facts are rejected, some insult hurled, and Some snap judgment made When They issue icts soundness.
Because the religion states That Everything Could Be interpreted via Gene Pool interests (well-Understood), and That Its foremost interest is to survive (Gene Pool is not eternal), the MOST significant thing in life, For Each of us, is to reproduce . THUS asexuals and Homosexuals are aberrations que la religion HAS Difficulties in explaining.
In fact J. Bering Does not believe That there exist since asexuals "What Would the evolutionary psychologist make of asexuality?" (P.125). "The Only Good way to solve the riddle est aussi a bit unsavory. Purpose UNLESS psychological scientists [sic] ever gather a group of willing, self-APPROBATION asexuals and, Systematically and under controlled conditions exposes em to an array of erotic stimuli while Their sexual arousal measuring [...] the truth of the matter will bind forever hidden away in the asexuals' pants. " (This denial of people's feelings is directed only Toward asexuals; J. Bering That Does not offers heteros or or anyone else gays shoulds be tested).
Since Gene Pool Decided every behavior It can Decided our sexuality as well. Here J. Bering INSTEAD of using denial of the facts, Prefers to insult the people Who Would not share His points of view: (p.199) "it requires a prodigious degree of stupidity to talk about What Makes one's genitalia Become as tumescent being white a conscious choice ". Though my own life Some Doubts cast on this assertion. I used to be heterosexual before realizing That I liked my body and I Was ble to stroke Any share of it, and I Was Even ble to caress Many animals and to take sexual pleasure with a dorknob watermelon gold, so why I couldn't do the same with a boy I would-have liked? And I Was not the only one in my situation. Are we so servile We Can Not Even choose what to do with our bodies? Then I tried a sexual relationship with my best friend, Who Was gay, and it was wonderful. I prefer the responsiveness of muscles to the slackness of fat, so I now consider myself as being white gay. My story might show That Any heterosexual Who can jerk off With Any object is only heterosexual Because The society Told him / her to be, and not a gold Because of gene Gene Pool superpowers.
To retaliate After This terrible insult (I am a prodigy stupidity), I will give a last example of evolutionary biology relevant. Because Gene Pool needs reproduction, asexuals are not trusted When They Say They take no pleasure in sex, J. Bering goal being white gay he can not posit That Homosexuals do not exist Neither. So does he respect em Does He or stick to His religious beliefs? As any good priest, he Prefers to spit on His fellows than to renounce His religion. He tries to soothe the Parents Who Would Have homosexual children: (p.200) "I think it's far better for Parents to Recognize the source of Their Concerns about Having a child as being white gay motivated by unconscious genetic interests". And he insists "it's significant to stress aussi That success is genetic since Weighed in evolutionary biological terms as the relative percentage of one's genes That carry over into Subsequent generations -rather than simply number of offspring per se- there are other, though Typically less profitable , ways for your child to contribuer to your overall genetic success "[do not forget this shoulds be your ultimate goal in life ...] and THUS" Could your ultimate genetic payoff, strangely enough, be larger Even with one very special gay child than it Would Be if ten mediocre offsprings leaped straight from your loins. "
What a convoluted way to explain homosexuality! I do not share J. Bering's own homophobia, and to answer to the point he Makes: there is no excuses to be homophobic; there is no consolation needed for relatives raising a gay child, except if Their Concerns are due to society's homophobia; I do not care about the survival of my genes - or yours -; if I had a child Would not he be more or "less profitable"; and I dislike your religion qui Such statements lead to.
What is my finding about this book? I am thankful to J. Bering for explaining His religious beliefs about Gene Pool in an honest, clear and Often humorous way. It is interesting as a religion today Widespread Among the scientific community. It is thought-provoking, and a lot more awaits the reader than what I presented here. Goal in the end I dislike evolutionary biology: I prefer to think than to Believe, I prefer to listen to what people say before interpreting or insulting 'em, and I do not have children Consider gay "less profitable" since I really do not care about Gene Pool.
To end with positive remarks, I want to add J. Bering That is reliable to be compassionnate; he holds interesting and friendly animals stanzas about treatment or "green burial". Also, to be full about J. Bering's understanding of suicide, I must add That His religious interpretation is a much more Followed by interesting presentation of a "suicidal person"; J. Bering lets down His religious beliefs for a moment and present R. Baumeister's article "Suicide as escape from self" (1990).
At last, the book is presented in a good quality edition.
