Adaptive is a technical term with a precise definition.
There are plenty of maladaptive traits that I wouldn’t want eliminated. For example I think people are currently maladaptivley altruistic and evolution is selecting against that because the benefits of kin selection are much reduced in our atomized society.
I agree that the wording could be better. What word would you replace “adaptive” and “maladaptive” with, so that they still put across the basic idea (traits that might have once been useful, but that we no longer want in this/future society, either for the individual, or for society as a whole)?
If you suggest something that works better, I will happily edit!
I see you mention “bad” and “unwanted”. Would either of those terms be acceptable replacements?
Maladaptive =/= unwanted
Adaptive is a technical term with a precise definition.
There are plenty of maladaptive traits that I wouldn’t want eliminated. For example I think people are currently maladaptivley altruistic and evolution is selecting against that because the benefits of kin selection are much reduced in our atomized society.
I agree that the wording could be better. What word would you replace “adaptive” and “maladaptive” with, so that they still put across the basic idea (traits that might have once been useful, but that we no longer want in this/future society, either for the individual, or for society as a whole)?
If you suggest something that works better, I will happily edit!
I see you mention “bad” and “unwanted”. Would either of those terms be acceptable replacements?
It is indeed a hard word to replace. Perhaps optimal and suboptimal, because this is basically a value judgement? I’m not sure.
Or maybe throwing in some utility speak. That’s always popular with the LW crowd. :)
Optimal and Suboptimal it is!
Thank you! Post edited :)