Comment by Alwaysrushed on Open thread, November 2011 · 2011-11-03T22:46:11.681Z · LW · GW

I didn't know where to put this. Maybe someone can help. I am trying to further understand evolution.

PLEASE correct my assumptions if they are inaccurate/wrong: 1) Organisms act instinctively in order to pass alleles on. 2) Human biology is similar, but we have some sort of more developed intelligence (more developed or a distinct one?) that allows us to weigh options and make decisions. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that we can act in contradiction to assumption #1 (ex: taking birth control), is this because of the 2nd assumption? Do other animals act similarly (or is there some consciousness we have that they don’t)? Or do they choose not to act in contradiction to assumption #1