Blish's "Conscience" vs. Wolfe's "Fifth Head"

Gerry Quinn · 05 Jan 2006, 12:52 · from rec.arts.sf.written.2006.mbox

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From: Gerry Quinn <gerryq at DELETETHISindigo.ie>
Subject: Re: Blish's "Conscience" vs. Wolfe's "Fifth Head"
Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 12:52:51 -0000
Message-ID: <MPG.1e2726fb3de2cc0298a938 at news1.eircom.net>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
References: <1135781723.546189.19520 at g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <douf3o$bho$1 at news.datemas.de> <1135795018.842798.188130 at g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <1135804521.649021.27000 at o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com> <1135815134.304806.19780 at g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <MPG.1e1e0926b714556398a8f6 at news1.eircom.net> <1135977318.382507.90100 at o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com> <MPG.1e20a0c25ed57a9398a911 at news1.eircom.net> <1136140788.099115.191800 at g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <MPG.1e23298113628f98a919 at news1.eircom.net> <1136424646.063637.45590 at g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>

> Gerry Quinn wrote:
> > > Gerry Quinn wrote:
> >
> > > > [And you don't have to be a Catholic to believe in original sin - one
> > > > might draw a similar conclusion from the study of Darwin!]
> >
> > > Similar, but not the same.  For one thing, in sf, the flaws we inherit
> > > from our ape ancestors are conceivably curable.
> >
> > Not really.  Our self-interest and our socialisation will always be at
> > war, so the flaw is inescapable.
> 
> Well, that comes from being individual members of a species, not from
> ape ancestry.  

But our species evolved to be social, with all the tensions that 
implies.

> And one could still imagine "curing" it, at least by
> arranging for more of us to be satisfied living alone.

A species of hermits happy to live in synthetic cocoons would hardly be 
Man.  Killing the patient doesn't count as a cure.

- Gerry Quinn

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