"Are there any reasons for supposing our own species to be unique?"(pg189). Macbeth in regards to the question would answer that our species is supreme, because of the right to choose as he did, on killing his best friend Banquo. As for Dawkins, explanation would have to do with the fact that we have a culture. "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, that wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false and yet wouldst wrongly win." (act 1 sc5). As I write this, Microsoft word is trying to correct me, it does not understand that Shakespeare is not wrong, but what can I do? Languages evolve so says Dawkins, is a part of culture. Well I am glad that Macbeth's culture did not go to me, because I would not like to live in a world full of killers like MacBeth who betray their friends for his own good. But then again is just as Dawkins explains we are selfish, our genes are selfish, MacBeth wants survival of his genetic information by becoming king and maybe have little Macbeths running around.
If Dawkins were to have a conversation with Lady MacBeth or so as a lesson…
So Lady Macbeth how would you explain culture?
"Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under't. He that's coming must be provided for; and you shall put this night great business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom."(act1 scn6)
"These ideas are plausible as far as they go, but I find that they do not begin to square up the formidable challenge of explaining culture, cultural evolution, and the immense differences between human cultures around the world, of the Ik of Uganda, as described by Colin Turnbull, to the gentle altruism of Margaret Mead's Arapesh. I think we should start again and go right back to first principals." (pg191)
What are memes?
Just when, the witches predict to MacBeth he is going to be king, and we do so the idea is passed on such as, "ideas catch-phrases, clothes, fashions… propagate themselves in the meme the pool by leaping from brain to brain." (pg192) or when I said to MacBeth to kill Duncan "when in swinish sleep their drenched natures lies as in a death what cannot you and I perform upon th' unguarded Duncan?"(Act one scn7)
Yes very well.. You are getting the concept of selfish.. Now if I were to propose a game, Prisoner's dilemma that goes on like this: we are two people sitting backwards from each other a banker or judge on the middle we can either defect or cooperate. Such as this chart:
You are blue I am green…
Which of the strategies I taught you before today would you choose?
Cooperate | Defect | |||
| cooperate | We, both win.. but a small amount | I win you lose points | |
Defect | you win I lose points | Nothing happens | ||
Remorseful, you hurt me I will hurt you back have you forgotten that I want was best for me, I want to become queen! I defect and not cooperate for my own good… like I said before "business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom."(act1 scn6)
Ok great! You are a proof for my human selfishness; however, I might say that you would behave altruistic if it were your husband, or someone you cared for.
I think MacBeth and Lady MacBeth act just as Dawkins would explain she wants what is best for her and cares for her. She is surviving among nobles to become queen. There is a relationship between the Selfish Gene and MacBeth, one is the example of the other.
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