Does Homosexuality point to a non mechanistic world?
Please take this out of context. This is not about the morality of any sexuality, just a certain implication of its existence.
A purely mechanical evolutionary theory states that mutation is random, but the selction of beneficial mutations is made by whether or not the mutation is beneficial to allowing the organism to procreate and pass its genetics on to the next generation. If not then it dies, if so then it continues and its DNA is passed down. This would seem to militate against any genetics that prohibits procreation. If we are simply wet robots, constructed by random mutation that pass through a screening process that only checks for one quality, then it would be unlikely that a quality that is contradictory to the goal of the screening process would continue to be present. It would seem that natural selction would eliminate homosexuality if we are no more than the expression of the bits that make up our biological brains. Even if it showed up, it seems more likely that it would be selected out. However, if a person has a soul that can choose to go against its bodies biology, then we could expect to see just that. I am sure I am not having an original thought. So, if there is any free literature dealing with this then please point me to it. If you have anything constructive to say, I would be grateful for it.
A purely mechanical evolutionary theory states that mutation is random, but the selction of beneficial mutations is made by whether or not the mutation is beneficial to allowing the organism to procreate and pass its genetics on to the next generation. If not then it dies, if so then it continues and its DNA is passed down. This would seem to militate against any genetics that prohibits procreation. If we are simply wet robots, constructed by random mutation that pass through a screening process that only checks for one quality, then it would be unlikely that a quality that is contradictory to the goal of the screening process would continue to be present. It would seem that natural selction would eliminate homosexuality if we are no more than the expression of the bits that make up our biological brains. Even if it showed up, it seems more likely that it would be selected out. However, if a person has a soul that can choose to go against its bodies biology, then we could expect to see just that. I am sure I am not having an original thought. So, if there is any free literature dealing with this then please point me to it. If you have anything constructive to say, I would be grateful for it.
Comments (6)
We don't know exactly what determines sexual orientation. It may be determined by factors present in utero which have the consequence of feminizing the otherwise male brain at just the right moment. The male so affected is altogether male, is quite likely to act like most other males, BUT notably, is more likely to prefer other men for sex. Genes may have such an indirect role to play in sexual orientation that we can not now factor them.
Animals and plants have large genomes and even though we have "mapped the human genome" we by no means know what all of the genes do, or what combination of genes and gene switches is required in any instance. So, inheritance of traits (like homosexuality, permissive attitudes, risk tolerance, etc.) is by no means cut and dried.
Sexual behavior in a population plays itself out as a spectrum ranging from exclusive heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality. The number of men who are exclusively homosexual is a small percentage of the population -- 2% to 3%. When you see figures of 10% of males being homosexual, we're not counting exclusively gay men.
As someone said, the only unnatural sex act is an impossible sex act. People like sex, and whatever happens to arouse them at the moment can lead to sex. That's why many men who are not homosexual have sex with another man sometimes. At the moment it was an arousing possibility. Same thing for more or less gay men. Sex with a woman may, at the moment, be arousing.
Thanks for the info. I will check it out
True, but: Birds like the Bowebird do all they do to attract a mate. The lyre bird does all it does to attract a mate. The animal kingdom is full of examples of how genetics drive the courtship practice for the end goal of procreation. Then, here we are. I am saying all of this before watching the provided video, or any further research into this topic. I say that because I may be coming from a place of continued ignorance, hence my questions may be answered and I just do not know it yet. If genetics is driven by evolution & natural selection, it would seem that attraction & arrousal in humans would be as it is in the animal kingdom, unless there is another factor in us that allows us to choose against our genetics. Thanks for the response.
Homosexuality occurs in other species besides humans. Wild geese are known to form homosexual pair bonds, and go through the ritual of mating. They build a nest, and -- this is most remarkable -- sometimes steal eggs from other nests. The two guys sit on the eggs and hatch them. Male/male bonded geese tend to have high status because males have more status than females, and two males have twice as much. (See Conrad Lorenz: The Year of the Greylag Geese)