Jared Diamond questions
There was a brief question time at the end of each of the Jared Diamond lectures. Some of the questions were very good and insightful and Jared made some very thoughtful responses. However, others made me ashamed to be breathing the same air as the questioner.
Questions are in bold, Jared Diamond's answers are beneath. Both are reproduced as closely as I could remember, but are not exactly word-for-word.
I've been wondering about this, kinda all my life. Evolution and religion just don't mix, you know. But some evolutionists believe in religion, how is that possible?
Evolution and religion do mix. Many scientists are religious. Most religions have no difficulty accepting the reality of evolution. The opposition to religion only comes from certain groups in the Unitd States. The catholic church has been evolving it's position (unintended pun). Evolution is concerned with the diversity of life on Earth and how it got that way, wheras religion is concerned with other things, like ethics and core values. No incompatibility.
This question has three separate but related parts. Number one: have you read this book by [someone] in Australia that is titled [something long] and subtitled [something even longer] which concerns [some very long winded description]? And if you have, what do you think of it? And in particular ...
[Interrupts] You can stop there. This will be the shortest answer of the night: No, I haven't read it.
If you look at history of the US, can you think of examples of it coping with value shifts that give you hope that it could cope with these re-evaluations in the future?
Yes, the first example is race relations. When I was growing up, racism was institutionalised, with segregated transport and amenities. Now whites are still a majority but not so dominant, and there is much more equality (although it is still not perfect). Whites are a minority at UCSD, and almost a minority at UCLA.
Another example is attitudes to sexuality. When I was at college, there were separate dorm buildings for men & women - and the women's dorm was a mile and a half away from the mens. Now my sons go to colleges where the dorms have men and women on the same floor. That was unthinkable only 40 years ago.
Is America capable of reappraising its foreign policy or is it doomed to repeat its mistakes of the past?
Yes, it is capable of reapprasing its foreign policy, and it will happen on November the 7th, when we have the next congressional elections.
How can we, as teachers and parents help children to have ego strength and to be flexible?
Um, be a good parent?
Are there any examples of modern democratic societies that have made major changes, particularly with respect to the environment?
Yes, European countries have made widespread changes that would have been unthinkable 60 years ago. As one example, they now have low birthrates. The highest European birthrate is France with 1.8, which is below self-sustaining. Denmark uses a lot of wind power, and the Netherlands is one of the most environmentally conscious countries in the world.
Does the US's higher consumption of resources reflect a higher evolutionary status?
No.
You say that the American way of life is non-negotiable. But surely America is going to have to negotiate with other countries about things?
Our way of life is not something we negotiate with others, it is somethings we determine for ourselves. For instance, the reason that your university has so many non-Europeans - that wasn't something the New Zealand government negotiated with other countries. You decided what was in your best interests and that's what you did. But of course America still has to negotiate with other countries about other things.
I am frustrated by the end of your lecture. You talk about all of these changes needed, but you don't talk about the factors that are going to produce these changes.
These changes come from lots of places: government: local, state and federal government. Bottom up change from people. Change from non-governmental organisation. Change resulting from big business.
Yesterday you said we can learn from history. But we don't seem to have learned from history. We had the holocaust and we can compare the holocaust to the way we farm animals these days, so that the way we treat animals is like the holocaust so we don't seemed to have learned anything. What do you have to say about that?
The holocaust is very disappointing. We don't always learn from history. I remember photographs of the liberation of the concentration camps. and there was a sense around the world of 'never again'. But since then we have had several genocides claiming more than a million victims and a couple of dozen genocides claiming a couple of hundred thousand victims and there are cases still going on today. So I would agree with you that we don't always learn from history.
But we do the same thing to animals, what do you say about that?
I say that's a very different question.
What do you think about California's decision to take action about the world's six largest car manufacturers?
I regard it as a political matter, by that I mean I would like to see greenhouse gasses reduced, and this proposal by California could be a useful part of a repertoire of devices, so I'm willing to give it a try.
You talked before about large companies have a lot of power, and that some of them are actually good. But sometimes governments come up against the self interest of large businesses that have more power than some governments around the world. When it comes to a showdown, how do you see that playing out?
It varies. In some cases big companies stonewall and get their way, and in other cases they don't.
What is different between the societies of today and the socities that have collapsed that make us more or less likely to survive?
There are several differences. There are two major negative ones:
- Our technologies are far more destructive - we can deplete natural resources at a much greater rate than ever before.
- Globalisation means that we are all affected by what happens elsewhere in the world. We cannot isolate ourselves from the collapse of any segment of society, so collapses can more readily spread.
If those were the only two differences, I'd invite you all outside right now to join me in a mass suicide. But fortunately, there two other differences in our favour:
- The media. Through the media we can see what is happening around the world and can learn from it straight away.
- Historians and archaelogies. Through them, we come to know about past societies and about how they survivied or collapsed, so we can learn how to avoid the same kinds of problems.