About

CIRF9.com is the home page for Ed Middleswart… Combining Evolutionary Psychology with Radical Ecology for the Greater Good

Early in life it seemed obvious to me there were subliminal forces at play inclining people to behave in ways that were not only self destructive, but destructive to society as a whole and the natural world sustaining it. Although most seemed to understand the discord, destructive behavior patterns were either ignored or rationalized as custom, tradition, religious, and on.

The study of forces driving us to act in discord or in conflict with our intellect came to be known as a part of the field of study 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 site is an attempt to embrace these perspectives and view the inherent relationship between them as simply and concisely as possible. Doing our job to sustain the health of the natural world surrounding us will make the lives of future generations worth living.

Although I have written this from an “American” perspective, the reasoning and principles apply well to any society interested in striving for the welfare for all life forms.

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 for the greater welfare of all.

A primary interest is exploring the optimal level of governmental regulation of individual behavior… and the ways government might best function to serve the long term interests of life. An underlying contention is government should regulate behavior only where the health and welfare of unwilling victims (including those apart of the natural world) are affected. Thus, for example, laws controlling the use of drugs and medications should be limited to assuring that whatever is sold is accurately and completely represented. Thus acts between consenting adults should be left to the the consenting adults.

In accord 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 and unconsenting persons and should be held accountable for their irresponsible behavior.

All this of course is at great odds with our current legal framework. Medications and drugs are arbitrarily declared illegal, “moral” laws stemming from religious orthodoxy abound regulating everything from beach clothing to sexual practices and 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, are incarcerated due to government regulating in ways out of balance with individual responsibility and freedom. At the same time increasing numbers of children world-wide are born to suffer the abuses of poverty and deprivation. An overwhelming proportion of world poverty exists as a result of irresponsible procreation.

Ed Middleswart has a background in chemistry, math, and physics, and over the years has extended interests to include, among other things, the pursuit of an understanding of the biological drives that influence human behavior… including those that drive us to over-breed, over-consume, and submit to the atavistic compulsions that drive us to blindly succumb to irresponsible patriotism and excessive religiosity.