Purity of Form Irony

[Zero]

To me, I thought that the Purity of Essence was more of mental thing. The Xel'Naga initially thought the Protoss were perfect as they were because of their Purity of Form, and with their communal link it appeared as if they had the Purity of Essence. It wasn't until the Protoss tribes started dividing and pursuing individual interests that the Xel'Naga realized that the Protoss fell short of having the Purity of Essence, and so they left in order to find the second piece of the puzzle, a race with the Essence the Protoss were lacking.

To add to that definition of the Purity of Essence, the Zerg did not fully achieve that until the Xel'Naga created the Overmind. With the Overmind, the Zerg became focused and of one mind. They were no longer individualistic, but acted and would even sacrifice themselves in order to further their race. That is what the Protoss had, but their pride showed that were truly lacking this oneness of mind.

[Noctis]

It wasn't oneness of mind so much and UNITY. The Zerg are united, the Protoss however disintegrated. Make no mistake the Xel'Naga are not a species like the zerg. They are all individuals - but they are a united races no matter what.

That's what the Protoss lacked - they broke apart.

[Visions of Khas]

And isn't that funny, Zero? That makes the zerg the most altruistic of all the races.

[Norfindel]

And isn't that funny, Zero? That makes the zerg the most altruistic of all the races.

No, that make them automats. They are basically living weapons.
Altruism requires conscience. You cannot make a sacrifice, if you don't even have a choice.

[drakolobo]

if we considers that the actions taken by the zerg are based on the collective wishes (integrated into the Overmind), it could be consider altruistic

[Visions of Khas]

automats

Y'mean automaton? Maybe. (I looked up automat because I was excited to learn a new word, only to find an entry about automatic restaurants... which is kinda neat too, I guess.)

Various organisms, such as ants, bacteria and animals are often described as being altruistic, sacrificing themselves for the communal good. But I suppose that's more of an evolutionary or biological altruism, rather than the more philosophical variety that requires conscioue thought and sacrifice. But don't forget that all zerg have varying degrees of sentience/consciousness. Moreover, you say that zerg breeds have no individual choice, while I say the choice of the swarm is the same thing as the choice of the individual. The will of the swarm is the will of each constituent, and vice versa. Therefor the motive of the individual is indistinguishable from the motive of the collective. Self and Other are the same thing.

[Norfindel]

Y'mean automaton? Maybe. (I looked up automat because I was excited to learn a new word, only to find an entry about automatic restaurants... which is kinda neat too, I guess.)

Various organisms, such as ants, bacteria and animals are often described as being altruistic, sacrificing themselves for the communal good. But I suppose that's more of an evolutionary or biological altruism, rather than the more philosophical variety that requires conscioue thought and sacrifice. But don't forget that all zerg have varying degrees of sentience/consciousness. Moreover, you say that zerg breeds have no individual choice, while I say the choice of the swarm is the same thing as the choice of the individual. The will of the swarm is the will of each constituent, and vice versa. Therefor the motive of the individual is indistinguishable from the motive of the collective. Self and Other are the same thing.

They're still like robots. They receive a signal and act accordingly. They don't sacrifice themselves for the good of the swarm, they're remote-controlled.

[pure.Wasted]

Various organisms, such as ants, bacteria and animals are often described as being altruistic, sacrificing themselves for the communal good. But I suppose that's more of an evolutionary or biological altruism, rather than the more philosophical variety that requires conscioue thought and sacrifice. But don't forget that all zerg have varying degrees of sentience/consciousness. Moreover, you say that zerg breeds have no individual choice, while I say the choice of the swarm is the same thing as the choice of the individual. The will of the swarm is the will of each constituent, and vice versa. Therefor the motive of the individual is indistinguishable from the motive of the collective. Self and Other are the same thing.

It's still up for grabs whether the human interpretation, 'sophisticated altruism,' is anything more than a COMPLEX biological response...

Ants have no choice but to be altruistic. Those of us who are 'altruistic' believe that we may have a choice, but romantic interpretations of human nature aside, that's mostly (if not entirely) an illusion.

It may be that Zerglings believe they have a choice as well, but NEVER under any circumstance choose to disobey.