Science, Creation & EvolutionMorality and evolutionismOh On My Way, If both criminals think the same way, they'll both go to jail for 10 years! You could risk telling on him and HOPING that he doesn't tell on you. This is an example of egoïsm. You do however want to avoid your partner in crime that year that you are both in jail. He'll be pretty pissed off that you'll be free in 1 year, and he in 10! You can try to deceive each other, which lead to 11 (1+10) or 20 (10+10) years in jail. If you both keeps your mouths shut and don't tell on each other to the police, the total time in jail will be 3+3= 6. And on top of that, there are no hard feelings between the two, because they stayed loyal to each other. --------- The latter is an example of mutual altruism. You give something (=you don't tell on your friend) and expect something in return for that favour (=that HE doesn't speak). ------ Another example: A cro-magnon human lives in an ice age. He sees a large deer. He has 2 options: * He grabs his spear and tries to kill the deer. That way his family can eat for a couple of days. The chance that he kills the deer are about 50%. * He calls a friend of another family, and you BOTH try to catch the deer. The chance of catching it are increased (let's say 75%). The down side is that you'll only have 1/2 a deer for your family, instead of a whole one. Option two would be another example of mutual altruism. If option 1 fails for our ice age ancestor, his entire family might starve to death. The benefit is greater (a WHOLE deer/only 1 year in jail), but the chances of failure are more prevalent as well. And when the price of failure is very high (10 years in jail, no food for your family), the smart move would be mutual altruïsm. You share your profit and your pain. You'll settle for half a deer, but you know your family does not starve this week. Our behaviour is strongly influenced by this mutual altruism. (Altruism is 'giving without expecting something in return'). It has been said that true altruisms does not exist in our species. We ALWAYS get something in return, even if its just 'a good feeling'. All altruism is in that way mutual. People give away free coupons, because they want you to spend your money at their place. To simplify it: Mutual altruism is a win-win situation and it usually flourishes when the price of failure is too high / the risk of being selfish is too high. ---------------- Our 'moral' choices are heavily influenced by this mutual altruism dilemma. Working together increases the changes of success but limits the profit per individual. Our society is based this way. Egoism would mean 'robbing a bank' (and getting rich) but it has a big risk: failure means jail! The other way is gettng a job: You help someone run a company, and in return you get money. It might not be as much as robbing a bank, but there are no risks that will get you in jail. --------- Did god have any say in this? I doubt it: We see this behaviour in all sorts of animals. All social animals that work together to catch a prey (and SHARE it) are mutual altruists. In that way, we are just another species of animal, guided by our ancestor's animalistic instincts, which have become the basis of our society/economy/religions. |
🌈Pride🌈 goeth before Destruction
When 🌈Pride🌈 cometh, then cometh Shame