January 09, 2003
BIO106 Lab thoughts
I made it to my last "first class" today. My BIO106 lab. I'm actually enjoying it, despite my earlier prognostications of gloom and boredom. Of course I'm not enjoying it for just the class, but instead for the fact I get to do philosophy in it. Specifically in the Nova video we watched about ants, the PhD Dr. Wilson presented his opinions/value judgment as fact.
What my issue with the video was is that Dr. Wilson stated some things that are fundamentally value judgments without them being identified as such. Its strange, but a year ago, I never would have made that determination. I think I owe alot to Dr. Irvine in expanding my horizons and philosophical acumen over the past year.
I actually spent a few minutes talking with the TA about concerns, and she was happy that I was thinking about more than just "Dr. Wilson is ant obsessed" (he is.) But she also said that he's very on the mark, with his theories that ants are wholly altrustic, and selfless. I agree it does appear this way, but we don't have the same perspective, ants may instead all be working for their own survival. Its worth some more investigation.