The origin of intelligence : the role of information in individual lives

154 Pages·2009·3.96 MB·English

by  Kerr, Thomas D.

THE ORIGIN OF INTELLIGENCE:
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION IN INDIVIDUAL LIVES

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THE ORIGIN OF INTELLIGENCE:
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION IN INDIVIDUAL LIVES

THOMAS DEXTER KERR

Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
New York
Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Kerr, Thomas D.
The origin of intelligence : the role of information in individual lives / Thomas Dexter Kerr.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-61209-355-0 (eBook)
1. Intellect. I. Title.
BF431.K425 2009
153--dc22
2009013584

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York
CONTENTS

Preface vii
Notes on Usage ix
Chapter 1 Information is Real 1
Chapter 2 The Patern of Inteligence 15
Chapter 3 The Evolution of Inteligence 23
Chapter 4 Religion and the Existence of Information 33
Chapter 5 Love and Hate and the Imitation of Life 39
Chapter 6 The Utility of Rationality, Art and Humor 45
Chapter 7 The Interdependence of Freedom and Equality 51
Chapter 8 Love and Freedom 59
Chapter 9 The Atraction of Virtue 65
Chapter 10 The Structure of Morality 89
Chapter 11 The Natural Basis of Human Rights 99
Chapter 12 Decentralizing Decision-Making 107
Chapter 13 The Poverty of Nationalism 121
Chapter 14 The Nature of Belief 127
Index 133
*
PREFACE

Many years ago I was mystified by these translated lines at the end of a
passage by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, which I can no longer find and here reproduce
from memory:

and in his measuring glance
and in his hesitations
I could see nothing
but a rage of unbelief.
unbelief.
believing is loving.

While I have no idea what he meant to say, to me the words both rang true
and made no sense. I felt they were right and didn't know why. Some kernel of
truth was there, but what was it? There is something very familiar about a person
with an emptiness inside. Everyone has recognized this in others and at times in
themself. But here an inner hollowness is traced to a turning away from belief. I
recognized instantly the emptiness described but what could be its opposite? What
could be fullness, what could be belief in the absence of religion? Loving sounds
good, but what is it, and why equate it with belief? What is believing, what is
loving, why would a measuring glance be bad? What connects a measuring glance
and unbelief? Why would unbelief be a rage instead of cool and rational?

*
Note about Usage: English lacks a third person singular pronoun that refers to a person but is
not restricted by gender. For lack of a word with the correct meaning, people stick in 'he or she',
'his or hers', or arbitrarily 'he' or 'she'. Thus, 'A person can walk, but (he or she) cannot fly.' In
this work I have adopted the third person plural forms, 'they' and 'theirs' for the indefinite third
person singular pronoun, because to me this solution sounds better, closer to colloquial English
viii Thomas Dexter Kerr
These lines contradicted the framework within which I understood life, while
resonating with so many of its details. And so I embarked on a long journey to
find the sense of these things. This is what I found.