When I was a child we would catch the occasional praying mantis and put it in a terrarium, feeding it live flies and crickets. One of the fascinating aspects of their eating behavior was that they would at a leisurely pace chew off the head of the insect, then equally slowly and meditatively eat in a circular manner around the insects body. We would keep the mantis in the terrarium for a couple weeks or so then let them go.
Dawkins bears more than a little responsibility since the femme fatale angle is presented in The Selfish Gene. I was eagerly awaiting Dr. Prete’s take on that, but it never arrived.
That is a good point, indeed. Dawkins is much too teleological from my point of view. So, I think you are correct. It is difficult, indeed, to get people to think outside of the constraints of teleology. Thank you for the note…
Man! Everything you could want to know about the history of an idea. That's an impressive essay.
What a fascinating essay; thank you!
When I was a child we would catch the occasional praying mantis and put it in a terrarium, feeding it live flies and crickets. One of the fascinating aspects of their eating behavior was that they would at a leisurely pace chew off the head of the insect, then equally slowly and meditatively eat in a circular manner around the insects body. We would keep the mantis in the terrarium for a couple weeks or so then let them go.
Thank you for the note… They are fascinating animals!
Dawkins bears more than a little responsibility since the femme fatale angle is presented in The Selfish Gene. I was eagerly awaiting Dr. Prete’s take on that, but it never arrived.
That is a good point, indeed. Dawkins is much too teleological from my point of view. So, I think you are correct. It is difficult, indeed, to get people to think outside of the constraints of teleology. Thank you for the note…