Jul 15, 2008
Do you want to read the sort of thing that people are writing about and calling it science these days. Science was once a way towards empirical knowledge based upon testing sound hypotheses with reproducible experiments. This article entitled Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom - Homosexual behavior is common in nature, and it plays an important role in survival. The story begins with an account of "gay penguins" and moves into a discussion on the evolutionary value of same sex animal behavior.
It appears in Scientific American and seems to be a pack of speculation, just so stories and the bizarre reading of human behavior on to animals. Of course humans now look to animals to see what is acceptable behavior. If you can find some sort of creature doing it somewhere then it becomes plausible for human beings. In fact, if you want to justify just about any sexual configurations - just look to the Bonobos - as they seem to be real freaky primates.
This, for whatever it is, is not the scientific method I learned as a student of science...Of course I was in the Physics and Applied Science departments - not in evolutionary psychology or ethics. In this realm, anything can be explained by such story telling. Just make up a story as to why an animal does such and such and how "it might aid survival." We can do this any time and the animal will not be able to refute the thesis. They can't speak for themselves.
Here is just a sample of some of the just so stories found here. I have added the emphasis in the text.
Such behavior seems to ease social tensions. In Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape (University of California Press, 1997), Emory University primatologist Frans B. M. de Waal and his co-author photographer Frans Lanting wrote that “when one female has hit a juvenile and the juvenile’s mother has come to its defense, the problem may be resolved by intense GG-rubbing between the two adults.” De Waal has observed hundreds of such incidents, suggesting that these homosexual acts may be a general peacekeeping strategy. “The more homosexuality, the more peaceful the species,” asserts Petter Böckman, an academic adviser at the University of Oslo’s Museum of Natural History in Norway. “Bonobos are peaceful.”
In some birds, same-sex unions, particularly between males, might have evolved as a parenting strategy to increase the survival of their young. “In black swans, if two males find each other and make a nest, they’ll be very successful at nest making because they are bigger and stronger than a male and female,” Böckman says. In such cases, he says, “having a same-sex partner will actually pay off as a sensible life strategy.”
This seems to be some very strange logic at work...I am saying nothing here about human sexuality - though it seems that this article is more about this than mere animal behaviors in their natural habitats.
Comments
I don't think people generally try to justify otherwise unjustifiable behaviors or lifestyles by pointing out that somewhere else in the animal kingdom, a similar behavior is done or lifestyle is lived. When people refer to homosexual desire or relationships in animals, it seems like they are usually responding to the opinion, wildly popular with evangelicals, that human homosexuality is at once immoral, "unnatural," and uncivilized- as well as should be classified as a psychological disorder. Historically, I think religious leaders have made use of animal behavior to reason about what humans should not do-"I have never seen a little dog using a condom during sexual intercourse with another dog." I'm not sure that many serious people have defended various sexual or romantic situations with a sole appeal to- "other animals do it, so it must be ok for us too." No one defends, for example, rape, pedophelia, round the clock masturbation, or the cannibalism of a sexual partner using this kind of argument.
So I think usually, it's a defense of gay people against the ridiculous claim that being in a same sex relationship is "unnatural." A teenager being told that masturbation is an "unnatural" function of human sexuality by celibate priests would be relieved and bemused to discover that all sorts of animals masturbate. If no one told him that masturbating was unnatural, or the product of psychological disorder, he might only be mildly interested to learn that other animals masturbate, but it probably wouldn't seem to him particularly relevant to his own life.
As for the question "why"- if good scientists have a lot of evidence as to why a particular trait abounds in a species, they state it with more certainty- but respected evolutionary biologists are not generally trying to pass off speculative storytelling as fact. Good scientists are interested in evidence to support a theory, and not in creating speculative theories, beyond its usefulness in helping them find direction in their research. They might start with a theory- bonabos may have evolved practice x for evolutionary reason y, but all the evidentiary work is then ahead of them. Otherwise, no one should simply take their word for it just because it sounds plausible. With a vast network of fact checkers and peer reviewers, mere speculation hopefully doesn't hold a lot of water.
Good scientists, in my experience, are almost excruciatingly cautious to claim knowledge or authority- they thrive on what they don't know, and discard cherished theories if new evidence comes to bear. If we are comparing religious leaders to scientists, it is, I think you'd agree, much much more likely that a religious leader makes ridiculous know-it-all claims, faithfully and without much interest in proving themselves mistaken, to knowledge about just about everything imaginable. If someone believes that same sex marriages offend God, evidence is very often meaningless compared to their strong gut feeling. A good scientist only goes as far as the extent of the evidence, and is eager to change his mind the moment new evidence arises.
I'd be very interested to know your practical position on homosexuality. By practical I mean, people love to talk about why their holy book says homosexuality is a sin, but offer little or nothing in the way of practical advice. If a couple of 21 year old self-identified gay males in your church came to you and said they were deeply in love, and were going to get engaged- what advice would you offer them? Providing that you found their relationship to be healthy, monogamous, loving, and vibrant- would your advice be different from what you would offer to a heterosexual couple in the same situation? I have heard a few concrete options here: 1. "I know you say you belong together, but you most definitely do not. Break up immediately. Have you two considered a lifetime of romantic and sexual celibacy?" 2. "Here, I can offer you the name of an excellent Exodus International affiliated counselor or program in town." 3. "That's teriffic news. What can I do to help?"
Also, thank you for your long response to my other post. I've been really busy lately, but I plan on responding. I stumbled upon your blog through a friend's page, and think it's really interesting.
Posted by: Jesse | July 24, 2008 05:24 PM