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Originally Posted by peter12

In regards to your first point, the purpose of evolution to an organism is to make sure that enough copies of your genetics are passed on to the next generation. I believe that Dawkins has said in interviews and in his writing that that is our ultimate purpose, to copy our DNA. Now I obviously know that he doesn't believe that is our sole purpose, but I do have a problem with viewing humanity as simply material survival machines.

Sure that's the purpose of our biological processes.. Read his Selfish Gene, from a gene's point of view we're merely transport mechanisms for genes to propagate.

Humanity could also be seen as a host for language to transmit and propagate itself if you are a linguist.

It depends on what context you are talking about.

Ultimately what else are we than survival machines then? And like I said before, you liking or not liking a view doesn't have anything to do with the validity of that view.

Evolution when used in context as a good scientific theory certainly does not claim to be an ideology, but there are still those who do use it as an ideology to explain and understand all aspects of human development.

I lost you, evolution is a major tool in modern biology (biology being the quest to explain and understand all aspects of biological development, which includes humans). Without evolution, modern biology does not exist.

What's an example of using evolution inappropriately as an ideology to explain human development?

This isn't a knock against evolution, just a reminder that like any human idea, it can be twisted for the wrong reasons. The notion of evolution, although distorted, was adapted very easily by the Nazis for their racial doctrine.

Of course it was, but if evolution hadn't been discovered yet, they would have went ahead anyway using some other reason agreed?

Like I said, just because someone takes something like natural selection and misuses it for their own ends doesn't mean ANYTHING with regards to the validity of that thing. Agreed?