>A good point, but is it really hard-wired? I can present counter-examples
>of negligent parentage.
Don't forget to bear the family circumstance in mind before you decide
how to group the behaviour. A bird with three young may let the weakest
die of starvation if food is short in order to improve the chances of
survival for the others. Is this negligent parentage? In times of plenty
the same bird would feed *all* her chicks. Same bird, different
circumstance. It's more difficult to make these comparisons in humans as
our nurturing periods are so much longer but can you say that the
examples of negligence that you have in mind are not normal reactions to
the situation that parent finds themselves in?
-- Martz martz@martz.demon.co.ukFor my public key, <mailto:m.traynor@ic.ac.uk> with 'Send public key' as subject an automated reply will follow.
No more random quotes.