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About ... Home page for Ed Middleswart
Combining Evolutionary Psychology with Radical Ecology for a Better World…
Early in my life it seemed obvious to me that there were forces at play that made people
behave in ways that were not only self destructive, but destructive to society as a
whole, and to much of life on earth. The study of these forces driving us to act in
discord or in conflict with our intellect came to be known as Evolutionary Psychology.
And the analysis of the impacts that these behavior patterns have on the natural
environment is the basis of Radical Ecology. This page is an attempt to embrace these
perspectives and view the inherent relationship between them as simply and concisely
as possible.
Although I have written this from an "American" perspective, the reasoning and
principles apply equally well to any society interested in optimizing and sustaining
welfare for all life.
In addition to the above, other topics are explored with updates in the realms of art,
science, and philosophy.
CIRF, or the Center for Individual Responsibility and Freedom, initially began as a
discussion group in Pensacola, FL, and continues as a center for objectivist reasoning
with the goal of pursuing the greatest good for the greatest number in balance for the
benefit of all life.
A primary interest is exploring the optimal level of governmental regulation of individual
behavior ... and the ways the behavior patterns that government regulate best to serve
the long term interests of life. An underlying philosophical contention is that
government should regulate only where the health and welfare of unwilling victims are
affected. Thus laws controlling the use of drugs and medications should be limited to
assuring that whatever is sold is accurately and completely represented. Laws stemming
from moral or religious "beliefs" should be considered in conflict with the First
Ammmendment and again should be limited to protecting any unwilling participants. In
accord with this thinking it would seem reasonable to hold that people procreating when
they are not in a position to reasonably provide care for children are committing child
abuse against unwilling persons and should be held accountable and responsible for
their actions.
All this of course is at great odds with our current legal framework. Medications and
drugs are arbitrarily declared illegal, "moral" laws abound regulating everything from
beach clothing attire to sexual practices to when and where someone can order a beer.
And people can procreate with abandon while legally escaping accountability for their
wanton irresponsibility. Half of our prison population, proportionately the highest in the
world, exists due to the practice of an inflated government regulating in ways that are
out of balance with individual responsibilty and freedom. At the same time increasing
numbers of children world-wide are born to suffer the abuses of deprivation.
Ed Middleswart has a background in chemistry, math, and physics, and over the
years has extended interests to, among other things, the pursuit of an understanding of
the biological drives that influence our behavior ... including those that drive us to
over-breed, over-consume, and submit to the atavistic compulsions that drive us to
blindly submit to irresponsible patriotism and excessive religiosity.