Re: (article) Epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of altered stress responses

[Guest guest]

> CJ wrote:

>>

>> I read this article today and found it very distressing. Have you read

>> this one, Bill?

>

> I hadn't. But now I have. What it is that distresses you?

Yes, me too, I'd be interested to know what you found distressing

there, CJ.

Admittedly I haven't found the time or interest to trawl through the

entire article myself, but isn't it simply saying in a long-winded way

that our " self " or our " identity " today is the sum total of our own life

experiences and those of our ancestors?

I find this conclusion to be largely intuitive myself. Our ancestors

started as amœba who learned to crawl out of the sea, found they could

use arms and legs to climb trees, and more recently started to put

clothes on to keep warm and be decent. What we are today, is the sum

total of all that, each individual's ancestors having followed slightly

different paths to arrive at a similar successful conclusion, namely

" us " .

On a shorter timescale, events that our grandparents and parents

experienced before they procreated and had us, are all part of us just

the same.

OTOH bad events such as battles that got our ancient relatives killed,

sicknesses, deformities, stupidity, bad planning etc. etc. before

they procreated, are not part of us, so we're the result of the

survival of the fittest.

IMHO this is just the way things are and how we've developed, so if you

find something distressing about it, I think it would be worthy of

analysis to try and find out what that is.

[Guest guest]

Well said (as a biologist w/ a genetic research background). Les. To: aspires-relationships Sent: Saturday, June 2, 2012 8:34 PM Subject:

Re: (article) Epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of altered stress responses > CJ wrote:>>>> I read this article today and found it very distressing. Have you read>> this one, Bill?>> I hadn't. But now I have. What it is that distresses you?Yes, me too, I'd be interested to know what you found distressing there, CJ.Admittedly I haven't found the time or interest to trawl through the entire article myself, but isn't it simply saying in a long-winded way that our "self" or our "identity" today is the sum total of our own life experiences and those of our ancestors?I find this conclusion to be largely intuitive myself. Our ancestors started as amœba who learned to crawl out of the sea, found they

could use arms and legs to climb trees, and more recently started to put clothes on to keep warm and be decent. What we are today, is the sum total of all that, each individual's ancestors having followed slightly different paths to arrive at a similar successful conclusion, namely "us".On a shorter timescale, events that our grandparents and parents experienced before they procreated and had us, are all part of us just the same.OTOH bad events such as battles that got our ancient relatives killed, sicknesses, deformities, stupidity, bad planning etc. etc. before they procreated, are not part of us, so we're the result of the survival of the fittest.IMHO this is just the way things are and how we've developed, so if you find something distressing about it, I think it would be worthy of analysis to try and find out

what that is. ------------------------------------ "We each have our own way of living in the world, together we are like a symphony.Some are the melody, some are the rhythm, some are the harmony It all blends together, we are like a symphony, and each part is crucial.We all contribute to the song of life." ...Sondra We might not always agree; but TOGETHER we will make a difference. ASPIRES is a closed, confidential, moderated list.Responsibility for posts to ASPIRES lies entirely with the original author. Do NOT post mail off-list without the author's permission. When in doubt, please refer to our list rules at: http://www.aspires-relationships.com/info_rules.htm ASPIRES ~ Climbing the mountain TOGETHER http://www.aspires-relationships.com