In a message dated 97-04-29 14:31:24 EDT, you write:

<< First, I feel that homo sapiens is the only species on earth whose
 ability to live is primarily conceptual rather than genetic. By this
 I mean that human adaptive systems are learned rather than
 genetically stored. This gives an enormous amount of adaptive
 flexibility to this particular species. A deer must grow a coat of
 fur for protection vs the cold; the human can learn to make a coat,
 to make a house, to make fire. An animal will die if its food (green
 herbiage in this instance) are not available; the human can move to
 another area (let's say, to a rainforest - where that deer's hooves
 would never survive the moisture) - and above all, the human can
 develop artifacts, technology - to change their interactions with the
 envt and so create food. >>

A hermit crab dons an artificial coat made from another animal.  Swifts and
other birds build incredible and unduplicable houses.  Great herds of grazing
animals migrate to find food.  Chimpanzees learn to make and use tools
(termite rods) and teach their children the art.  I think we can get caught
up in our self important arrogance and ignore the fact that we are animals
and nothing more.  We can conceive of this idea (that we are animals and
nothing more), and maybe THAT is the only thing that separates us from other
animals.  We can recognize that we are animals and make choices based on our
intellect instead of our instincts.  But even that (our intellect) is
inherited genetically!

Mike, <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/EvCitizen/index.html">The Everett Citize
n</A>