RE: Literal and Not Literal
September 7, 2019 at 4:14 pm
(This post was last modified: September 7, 2019 at 4:26 pm by John 6IX Breezy.)
(September 7, 2019 at 4:00 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote: It’s irrelevant whether the behavior has any nongenetic basis. The behavior is allowedby their genes, whatever other factors come into play to manifest that behavior. Genes dictate behavior by both allowing it, and by mandating it, not just by mandating it. This is again something shallow reading of evolution and behavioral genetics overlook.
If the behavior is really against the survival of the genome that allows it, that genome will be weeded out of the overall gene pool. Gradually genes which prevents this behavior will gain ascendency, or the entire gene pool will disappear.
So regardless of whether any behavior has non genetic basis, all behavior must have genetic basis.
Right, I agree. I didn't mean to ask if the behavior has a nongenetic basis, but whether it has a genetic goal. In other words, are they sacrificing themselves for the queen or the queen's genes? If we switch larva between unrelated colonies, and the worker still sacrifices itself, then we know the goal of the behavior is not to save the shared genes.
